Trekkies know by now that William Shatner had a hostile relationship with the rest of the cast during the years of filming Star Trek: The Original Series. Some actors like George Takei still hold resentment toward Shatner for his behavior years ago. But even Shatner’s haters would need to bow down to him for the commitment he showed towards Star Trek in the face of a personal tragedy.
Shatner’s father Joe Shatner died in Miami in 1967 when the actor was filming episodes of the first season of Star Trek. He never told anyone about his loss and left quietly after the day’s shoot to attend the memorial. He returned the next week to film the rest of the series.
William Shatner Did Not Let His Personal Tragedy Interfere With Star Trek Filming
When Captain Kirk and Spock were dealing with the mysterious monster Horta in the episode The Devil in the Dark, William Shatner was going through a personal loss. Shatner’s father Joe Shatner passed away at the age of 68 during this time. The story was revealed years later in an edition of Star Trek.com in 2003.
Eddie Paskey, who played a background artist in Star Trek: The Original Series, shared how Shatner left the set only after completing his scenes. Paskey played Lieutenant Leslie for 68 episodes and often appeared as Shatner’s stand-in. He was on set on the day of filming The Devil in the Dark.
Shatner apparently didn’t let anyone know of his father’s death and Paskey shared that he couldn’t tell the actor was in mourning. The cast & crew only came to find out about the death in his family after he had boarded the airplane to go home. Paskey shared that it showed a lot of dedication from Shatner towards his work. Paskey told Star Trek.com:
As soon as we wrapped with that show, Bill left. We came to find out that as he shot all day long, he was preparing to get on an airplane to go home — his father just passed away. No one knew until he was actually gone. And, y’know, that says a lot for the dedication of the man.
Joe Shatner was buried in Montreal, Quebec, where Shatner was born. The busy schedule of television at the time did not give him much time to process his father’s death. He was back the next week to film the next episode of the series. Despite being known for his troublesome behavior, the actor deserves all the respect for this dedication.
William Shatner Was Allegedly A Nightmare To Work With In Star Trek
William Shatner’s co-stars in Star Trek, including the great Leonard Nimoy, were not very fond of the actor. When he was given the role of Captain T. Kirk, he allegedly considered himself the star of the show. According to an article on Uproxx, he allegedly changed the lines of other stars and clashed with directors for not putting him in the center of the frame.
He had a major issue with Nimoy’s character because he feared that he would look impulsive and irrational compared to the calm and intelligent Spock. Shatner allegedly didn’t speak to other co-stars including George Takei, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig. Takei still held a grudge against the actor, as he commented in an interview with The Times:
Shatner is a cantankerous old fossil. All of us have had problems with him. There is this fiction that Bill and Leonard were good friends, but we know better — Leonard privately expressed his irritation with Bill. Bill is an egocentric, self-involved prima donna.
Shatner too didn’t hold back on his comments, sharing with The Times UK, “I began to understand that they were doing it for publicity.” He shared that his co-stars were bitter and that Takei had “never stopped blackening” his name.
Star Trek: The Original Series is currently available to watch on Paramount+.
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