80!

The entire staff of The William Shatner School of Toupological Studies would like to wish one William (Alan?) Shatner a very, very happy 80th birthday!


How can Bill Shatner be 80? In Star Trek VI, the line was that the Enterprise crew were already getting too old - "Go to hell!" was Spock's witty response. And that was twenty years ago! Thankfully, Bill Shatner continues to savor life in a way that makes men half his age feel old and lazy. And that's really, we think, the essence of the man.

Icon is a word that is often bandied around, but we certainly believe William Shatner has earned that title.


Icons are complicated, often insecure, often have dark sides and some even wear toupees (we wish we had an official "toupee day" to celebrate too)...check to all that. But it's really the sheer volume of stuff that the actor/singer/writer/horse-rider/charity campaigner/voice-over artist etc. etc. has done that makes the word "icon" so valid.


In all of this, Shatner was always Shatner - for better or worse (or just plain kitsch), the guy never stopped. There were times in every decade of Bill Shatner's life when it seemed that the best days may have already been behind him, but he always found a way to step up, take the work (whatever it was), give everything his COM-PLETE FULL EN-ER-GY!!! and hope that better days lay ahead. He can't look back; he can't stop, even at 80; he can't feel contented or that he's done enough - that just wouldn't be Shatner!

His father would be very, very proud of him.

"Second star to the right, and straight on till morning..."

We won't end by saying "Live long and prosper" because that's trite and the other guy's catchphrase (he turns 80 later this week!), and besides, you've already prospered, so just live long. And never stop (except for a dramatic pause)...