Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Poll result and "What Are Little Costumes Made Of?" (toupee tape).



Our latest poll asked for your take on the most important factor for Bill Shatner when choosing a new toupee. 3% suggested it was that the toupee be as thick as possible; 5% thought that it may have once bee affordability, but now it's ease of use; 7% thought it was the "wow!" factor - a toupee that gets people talking and 12% thought it was keeping up with the fashions and trends of the times. In joint position at 18% are a secure attachment to the scalp and age-appropriate believability. The most votes, 33%, went to the notion that the hair not look like a toupee.

Thanks for voting!

Sugar and lace and toupee tape.

Now, on to something else entirely. We doubt we'll get much argument in stating that Sherry Jackson is one of the sexiest guest stars to have appeared in any incarnation of Star Trek. Her infamous costume, as worn in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", didn't just raise eyebrows on television screens, but also on set, as documented in many of the behind-the-scenes books on the series.

Star Trek producer Bob Justman.

In the book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story producer Bob Justman recalled:

"Sherry was petite, but her body was perfect. The tunic that [costume designer William Ware] Theiss designed for her was open on both sides, and there was no way she could wear a bra without it being seen - as if she had any need for one. The top of her costume concealed very little. Gene [Roddenberry] felt that the garment could be 'improved' by making some 'hands-on' adjustments.

"...Bill Shatner was in the projection room with us and tried to get into the act. 'I think Bob's right. Maybe if you...' he volunteered and moved to help. But Gene shouldered him aside too."

Sherry Jackson's appearance in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" caused temperatures to solidly rise on the set.

But now the actress joins another (perhaps more prestigious) club already populated by the likes of Bob Justman, James Doohan, Robin Curtis, Yvonne Craig, Tanya Lemani, Harlan Ellison and William Campbell (others including Clint Howard, George Takei and even Leonard Nimoy have also made references) - Star Trek cast and crew members who have openly talked about William Shatner's toupee!

Sherry Jackson in May 2011 (looking great for her age).

At the recent convention Phoenix Comicon, Jackson described her experiences on the show with stories of how her dress managed to stay in position leading directly to a tale related to Bill Shatner's toupee-wearing:



"It was interesting meeting Shatner. He wasn’t as tall as I thought he would be. He’s not all that tall – I mean, by my standards…" (Bill Shatner wore lifts on the series to increase his height).

Jackson then describes how she remarked to Bill Shatner that he was wearing unflattering clothing before returning to the issue of his hair and her dress:

"…And also everyone knew he came onto the set each day without his hairpiece on. So it was no big secret that he wore a hairpiece even then. So the reason that I prefaced that is that people often ask me about my outfit. And I have to say that I had to act well enough to overcome my outfit. I didn’t want my outfit to be the star."


"And then one of the problems is that…in those days there were a lot of censorship rules. And one of the rules they had then was that you could see cleavage in the front [but] no cleavage on the side. So…we had to make sure that there was no gaping anything on the side. So we went and took Shatner’s toupee double-sided tape that he wore for his hairpiece and we taped my outfit, just my sides, and that’s how we fixed that problem."


What's toupee tape? It looks like this and would have helped to keep Bill Shatner's toupee secure on the top of his head, easing the load on the lace anchoring on his forehead.

Our thanks to reader "Shat down a mine" for the tip. The full audio clip can be heard here, including an interesting new theory on Bill Shatner's dramatic pauses being caused by deliberate breathing techniques!

9 comments:

  1. Shatting my life awayJune 14, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    wow she really gave shatner a hard time in more ways than one! ratting on his height, hair and clothes!!

    maybe it was that outspoken attitude that prevented her from becoming a big star as she certainly had the looks in spades - she one of the hottest if not THE hottest of the Trek babes (im talking the whole of trek too)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shatting my life awayJune 14, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    some more (non toup) Shatner Sherry info here:
    http://www.sherryjackson.net/apps/forums/topics/show/3073467-best-kisser?page=last

    ReplyDelete
  3. That, um, interestingly shaped stalactite Shatner is holding deeply disturbs me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. To Stallion Cornell, I knew you'd be transfixed by that photo.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's funny to consider how in those days of heavy censorship, such an obviously phallic-looking object made its way into the show! -ST

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Spock..SPOCK...Beam me up! I (pause) found (pause) the statue of Anthony Weiner's (pause) penis!"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Does Bill Shatner secretly send some Twitter followers pictures of his toupee or his toupless bald head? We just don't know... -ST

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fine tale by lovely Miss Jackson, but Shatner fooling around on the set without a toupee? Hard to believe.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Here's a little more on Sherry's bio and career outside of Star Trek:

    http://bmoviebabes.blogspot.com/2016/06/21-sherry-jackson.html

    ReplyDelete