Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Special Coverage: First Toupee in Space


 We will have special coverage of the historic first ever flight of a toupee into space. Stay tuned, and for now: Godspeed! 


UPDATE: They made it! The capsule detached (from the lower stages), and the toupee stayed put. There will be a wealth of scientific data to analyze in the days ahead. But for now, history has been made. Bill Shatner has become the first person ever to fly a toupee into space. Congratulations! 

UPDATE II (let the verbal puns begin!): Despite tremendous stresses and g-forces, the parachute and capsule remained firmly attached to each other at all times during the final stage of reentry. Remarkable technologies have ensured that the risk of a separation is all but impossible.


47 comments:

  1. I wish he'd bring all different styles from the past 60 years and put them all on for old times' sake.

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  2. That looks like an Edward Katz Special he's sporting there for the big day. I hope it's had some good maintenance in advance.

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  3. This is surely the biggest test any toupee has ever had to face.

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  4. He wore a baseball cap to help pat it down! Top toupee-tethering against the G-force.

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  5. Farewell to the Denny Katz! Bill has a new toup these days.. quite reminiscent of the Kirk like pieces
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9415329/Star-Trek-alum-William-Shatner-celebrates-90th-birthday-hair-replacement-center-Encino.html

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  6. I wear a wig myself, so I was fanscinated with Shatner's new grey piece. Love it.

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  7. Shatner says Prince William misses the point of space tourism: "The point is to create a business where toupees are sent into space so they can relax in zero-G and return to Earth ready to resume their duties for their owners, making them look better than ever" said Shatner, who was busy touting his latest album entitled "Bill".

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  8. that is brilliant!

    and as an aside I want to say shattoupblog: you need to come back; the same way the siren song of the enterprise lured James Kirk back into her captaincy, so must you return to manning this wonderful blog. It's your first best destiny.

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  9. Podcast toupee anecdote by Paramount publicist/Trek screenwriter Fred Bronson (17:30 mark of S3 E6 of Trek Files podcast):

    https://thetrekfiles.libsyn.com/3-6-the-counter-clock-incident-revised-draft-july-31-1974

    Shatner's "makeup secret" is accidentally discovered during TOS!

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  10. What's with comment block on your ridiculous claim of the CBC and BBC being fair news sources? They are propaganda machines. You obviously don't live in Canada. Shatner was right when he said "What about the bbc and the cbc?" I like your blog but I can't believe you would support these 'News sources.' CBC has practically ruined Canada, along with all the 'Paid for by the liberals' legacy news sources that support propaganda.

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  11. Congratulations the blog gets a mention in this news article
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11120215/William-Shatner-seen-leaving-hair-transplant-clinic-LA.html

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    1. yes I came here to say that too! Great mention.

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  12. White Comanche is now on Youtube. Lots of new stuff for analysis https://youtu.be/grT8hH0DQBE

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  13. Anyone else here congratulate William Katz for the first toupee in space?

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    1. @MJ, the LA Times featured Ed Katz in a profile on wigs…and outed Shat in the process!!!

      https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2013-may-12-la-ig-thin-hair-20130512-story.html

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  14. Replies
    1. The greatest american hero guy? ;-)

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  15. Ratty Lost Years PieceMay 3, 2023 at 5:19 AM

    Stopped by to pay Mr. Shatner a Happy 92nd Birthday greeting and submit this recent photo for toupological analysis. Lots at work here and a good in-the-wild shot of Bill’s latest, a DK-inspired “toupee all the way down,” courtesy of his new purveyor Denise Johnson Originals.
    Note the lifting sides, similar to the Tek War cover; and a prominent Toupee Tan Line at the left temple.
    Despite a rough transition area at the edges, Bill keeps it light and it looks good!
    https://www.space.com/william-shatner-stars-on-mars-tv-show

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  16. Toupee up for auction this weekend as part of the Greg Jein collection:
    https://trekmovie.com/2023/10/10/captain-kirks-hairpiece-and-much-more-iconic-star-trek-memorabilia-up-for-auction-this-weekend/

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    1. That is the holy grail!!

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    2. Can’t believe it - The JKL up for auction! Posting the lot description in case it gets deleted:
      William Shatner "Captain Kirk" Lace Hairpiece from Star Trek: The Original Series (Paramount TV, 1966-1969). Vintage original blond/brown human hair, hand-knotted, lace-front wig worn by William Shatner as "Captain James T. Kirk". The wig features all the hallmarks of the most famous Starship captain, from the side part to the front curl. A truly unique collectible from this iconic series. Accompanied by its vintage and original storage form and 9" x 7.5" x 3" Max Factor box. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions. From the Collection of Greg Jein.

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  17. Ratty Lost Years PieceOctober 16, 2023 at 12:47 AM

    Old-school toupologists may recall that ShatToup covered a similar post from Heritage Auctions during the peak output years of this blog:
    https://shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com/2010/07/tell-me-why-i-bid-on-shatners-old.html

    This new listing does not look as fake as the prior, though no rear-facing shots are posted. @ShatToup, would you come back from your own Lost Years to weigh in?

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    1. The max factor box tells me it is at least correct to the time as well as they were the leading manufacturers of screen worn hair appliances at the time in Hollywood

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    2. Ratty Lost Years PieceOctober 20, 2023 at 7:19 AM

      The Max Factor branding is period-correct, but it’s hard to believe an authentic JKL from the ‘60’s would be in such good condition.
      Also, if I remember correctly, Bob Justman noted the TOS toups had a tendency to go missing after filming wrapped. Still, like Mulder, “I want to believe!”

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    3. you guys are pathetic

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    4. If I had the money to buy it, I would want to see the storage form to see if it had all the right info on it regarding being Star Trek make up department, and for William Shatner etc...

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    5. you might try some DNA testing too...

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    6. Ratty Lost Years PieceNovember 15, 2023 at 3:15 AM

      @Baldy B, More evidence suggesting that toup is legit: in a new (toupless) interview, Walter Koenig mentions shopping for Chekov wigs at Factor. If his piece was sourced there, the JKL may have been, too.

      The interview covers other trek topics and also shows what a class act Koenig is. He won’t be baited into the interviewer’s attempts to slander the Shat.

      https://trekmovie.com/2023/11/13/interview-walter-koenig-on-joining-star-trek-shatners-acting-and-chekovs-best-scene-cut-from-generations/

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  18. If Shatner were a politician, he'd be Mike Rogers from Alabama. No doubt about it.

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    1. Here is a pic of the toupee wearing freak Mike Rogers. Compare and contrast with The Shat.
      https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/rogersmike_062519gn4_lead.jpg?w=960&h=540&crop=1

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  19. His inspiration was obviously William Shatner. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/former-ohio-congressman-jim-traficant-dies-73-after-injuries-farm-n213136

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  20. I have some first hand (first scalp?) knowledge that I will share with you. Several years ago, as a college graduation gift for my son, I got us two tickets to a convention in Pittsburgh. I parted with extra spinach and got us a photo op with The Shat himself! I have been a fan of this site for a long time, and have had extensive hair transplants myself.
    Long story short, under the guise of getting myself into position for the photo (under bright lights, I might add), I bent over for a second and was within four inches of The Shat’s scalp. My verdict?

    That ain’t a toupee.

    I saw not the slightest evidence of a hairline or a base, and I know what to look for. He has had hair transplants, and a damn good job of them. I saw a scalp with hair growing out of it.
    Perhaps for filming, he has worn a toup, but I know what I saw, and it was real hair. If it isn’t, Ed Katz deserves a Nobel Prize for hair replacement.
    Because of Covid, I may be the last member of humanity to ever get this close to The Shat’s noggin again.
    Please use this knowledge for good and not evil.

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  21. You saw one of Shatner's many body doubles. Some of them have hair plugs and some of them have toupees. The real William Shatner hasn't been seen in decades.

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    1. Well, I was wearing a red shirt when I stood next to him and I lived, so perhaps he WAS a body double, as we know what happens to anyone wearing a red shirt (who is not a principal cast member) who is in proximity to The Shat. But his speaking voice sounded like Captain Kirk as well.
      In all seriousness, I think those are very good transplants. And no one uses plugs any more, they haven’t for years.
      BTW, the three worst hair transplants I ever saw were on 1) a guy who worked in a convenience store near me, scar tissue (with no hair growing) looked like a toothbrush or shotgun blast, 2) a plastic surgeon (!) with wispy red hair, looked like a barbie doll, and 3) guitar player Roy Clark.

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  22. Did you hear Shatner on WTF podcast over the past summer? Bald or not, he said some really profound stuff.

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  23. “Hair without context is a luxury few can afford”
    “We live in a world where man’s fate is directly attributed to his pate patina”
    “The hair is strong on a man whose life is spent out of strong winds”
    Quotes attributed to Lieutenant Rodney McFlyover during his (unsuccessful) campaign to criminalise the plucking of nasal hairs in public places (circa 1876).

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  24. Does the toup belong to Mr S, or does Mr S belong to the toup?

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  25. The Trouble With TrichilogistsMarch 6, 2024 at 11:25 AM

    As a young lad of 14 looking to find his way in life, I once plucked up the courage to take a copy of my Star Trek Fotonovel #10 to my hairdresser to see if he could sculpt my drab lifeless locks into that of Captain Kirk in the episode ‘Day of the Dove’.
    To me, Bill’s hair in that episode was rugged, dynamic, bold and, at the same time, creative, and remained so even under the harshest of hostile environments. No more the bowl cut I had steadfastly refused to change since my much younger days. Now I was ready to face the world as the new me, the new Jim Kirk, ready to explore the universe with exciting and adventurous hair that could defeat anything pitted against me.
    I knew this would be daunting for me as this was at a time when appointments didn’t exist and you had to guess the quiet times in advance in order to get served quickly and not expose your innermost thoughts regarding a new image in front of too many waiting customers. Through fear of ridicule, even if I had misjudged how busy the barbers was (and it was busy for I had misjudged demand that time/day) would I back down and continue to hide my fotonovel in the carrier bag I had brought with me? To blazes with that, I thought to myself in a tone reminiscent of Dr McCoy in one of his more emotive outbursts, and down I sat on the old cracked leather bench proudly displaying as much of the cover as I could to all and sundry without trying to make it too obvious that this was to be my new image. After all, I didn’t want everybody to copy my proposed new look and undermine my moment in the limelight as the next James T Kirk.
    After waiting thirty minutes, it was finally my time to enter a new phase of my life. “Next” said the man with the scissors who looked as if he might need to use them on himself as his grey nasal hairs were more than prominent and looked as if they had a hint of a few boogers on them.
    But suddenly, my courage deserted me. Now, for some reason that Jung or even Freud might have trouble understanding, I froze (for what might have been a long time even for the Scalosians) when asked the question “what’s it to be?” Gathering myself and trying not to think of the level of innermost security, zen and tranquility my regular bowl cut had afforded me, I eventually replied “this, let’s try this”. Upon viewing the cover, Mr Barber said with a hint of both scorn and trepidation, the latter at the thought of having to recreate a style beyond his abilities, “It might be a bit tricky. You know he wears a wig, don’t you?” Shattered, I was. Shattered. My hero wears a wig? “Same again then, please” I blurted doing my best to disguise my shock and horror that the universe had regularly been saved by a man, a true hero of mine, with synthetic hair.
    On that day I realised that things aren’t always what they seem and that living life with a bowl cut carried less of a stigma than trying to forge a new path with hair styled on that of a touped celebrity. The bowl cut would remain for many years until Mother Nature decided to intervene and slowly rob me of many of my follicles. I do have one regret about the shattering of my dreams on the day I was told by my barber that Captain Kirk wore a toup; I am now completely bald and regret a missed opportunity to look like one of my heroes, even if his look was enhanced, even elevated beyond mere mortal status, by the glorious weave atop his dome in that particular episode.
    The moral of the story? Take the opportunities life affords you when you have hair and do not be afraid to go from being a simple bowl cut sporting mediocre meandering automaton to a heroic, even dashing, suave adventurous hero.
    Anyway, I can always get a wig.

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    1. You could still look like him. Just get the Capt. Kirk toupee. It would look more realistic than what the barber could've achieved back then. It would be interesting to see a before & after comparison. Remember, risk is our business. The Kobayashi Maru taught that you can overcome a no-win scenario. James T. Kirk lives on through the bravest of us. Toodle-oo!.

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    2. The Trouble With TrichologistsMarch 13, 2024 at 11:10 AM

      Excellent advice, Anonymous. I will certainly consider it, but there are still times when I think to myself ‘ My hair could have been as rich and lustrous as any man’s, if only. If only.’ However, reconciling myself with the law of diminishing follicles and a current look more akin to The Deadly Years rather than The Day of the Dove, I have, over the years, become accustomed to my chrome dome and now take great comfort in knowing that my water bills are reduced through shorter daily showers as I do not have to wash my once crowning glory (albeit a bowl shaped one). Thanks again.

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  26. If clothes maketh the man, what contribution does hair make?

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  27. Like time, hair is an illusion.March 14, 2024 at 6:25 PM

    At what point does a person’s hairline actually become ‘receding’? Is there actually a specific reference point on the head/face at which this affliction occurs? Do people with high foreheads have receding hairlines? When does a forehead become a five (or worse) head? At what point in the styling of hair does a side parting become a combover? Are combovers unfairly ridiculed in today’s society? Aren’t they too worthy of the kind of praise lavishly heaped on creative hairstyles? Instead of a combover to reduce a receding hairline, maybe another option would be to get eyebrow extensions and brush them up vertically so that the gap between them and hairline is reduced? With a receding hairline, is it better to frown and create an interesting distraction on the forehead and thus away from the hairline rather than an unfurrowed brow that instantly draws attention to the line of hair?

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  28. Takei - as in ToupeeMarch 22, 2024 at 5:57 PM

    Fire up those touposcopes! Big Bill is 93 today, and this article has some detailed close-ups of the “hair.”. Note the lack of visible hairline and sudden, unnatural transition from bare skin at the temples to full thick hair.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13227155/William-Shatner-celebrates-93rd-birthday.html

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  29. Maybe from > 50 yds. away it looks OK.

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