William Shatner, of Star Trek Fame, Receives NASA’s Highest Civilian Honor

William Shatner, of Star Trek Fame, Receives NASA’s Highest Civilian Honor

Shat was honored for his “outstanding generosity and dedication to inspiring new generations of explorers around the world”

Apr 29, 2014 |By Megan Gannon and SPACE.com

William Shatner is presented with NASA’s Distinguished Public Service medal by Bob Jacobs, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator, Communications, on April 26, 2014.
Credit: NASA

NASA saluted Captain Kirk over the weekend, giving William Shatner the Distinguished Public Service medal, the space agency’s highest award for civilians.

The 83-year-old Canadian actor played Captain James Tiberius Kirk, one of TV’s most beloved space pioneers, who commanded the starship USS Enterprise in NBC’s “Star Trek” from 1966 to 1969. In real life, Shatner has been a vocal advocate of science education and space exploration.

“William Shatner has been so generous with his time and energy in encouraging students to study science and math, and for inspiring generations of explorers, including many of the astronauts and engineers who are a part of NASA today, ” David Weaver, NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. [William Shatner’s Twitter Chat with Astronaut in Pictures]

“He’s most deserving of this prestigious award,” Weaver added.

Shatner accepted the honor Saturday evening (April 26) in Los Angeles at his Hollywood Charity Horse Show, an annual event in which he raises money for children’s causes, NASA officials said.

According to the medal’s citation, Shatner was honored for “outstanding generosity and dedication to inspiring new generations of explorers around the world, and for unwavering support for NASA and its missions of discovery.”

NASA and the Star Trek franchise forged a mutual admiration society a long time ago. References to NASA and its programs were written into Star Trek storylines throughout the TV series and films. Originally called Constitution, NASA’s space shuttle prototype was named Enterprise in honor of Star Trek.

Shatner has been more than happy to be an informal spokesman for NASA, especially in recent years. In 2011, Shatner beamed a wakeup call that recreated his “Star Trek” introduction to NASA astronauts working on the shuttle mission, STS-133, the final flight of the shuttle Discovery. The next year, he recorded a message for the real-life spacemen living aboard the International Space Station. And to help drum up excitement for NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, Shatner narrated a video about the robot that was released just a week before it landed on the Red Planet in 2012.

Shatner has also supported his home country’s smaller space agency; last year, he traded tweets with astronaut Chris Hadfield, Canada’s first space station commander.

William Shatner, 82 Today: 6 Top Moments from Life of Captain Kirk

By Tom Porter | IB Times – 15 hours ago

 

• William Shatner, 82 Today: 6 Top Moments from Life of Captain Kirk

William Shatner, who rose to fame playing Captain James Tiberius Kirk, commander of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek, celebrates his 82nd birthday on Saturday.

After starring as Kirk from 1966 to 1969, Shatner reprised the role in numerous Star Trek feature films and an animated series, and went on to feature in scores of films and TV programmes.

He continues to entertain audiences, starring recently in law drama Boston Legal for which he won two Emmys and a Golden Globe Award, and co-hosting the Academy Awards with fellow Canadian Seth MacFarlane last year.

As well as becoming one of the world’s most recognisable TV stars, he has also branched out into music, comedy, directing, and even writing, with a series of sci-fi novels, some of which were adapted for television.

IBTimes UK looks back at the life of a genuine legend.

In the 1968 Star Trek episode Plato’s Stepchildren, Shatner, in his role as Kirk, kissed co-star Nichelle Nichols, in a scene believed to be the first kiss between a white man and black woman on scripted US television. The scene was cut when the episode was shown in apartheid South Africa.

In the 1970s, Shatner struggled to find work and break free from his role as Kirk. He was reportedly reduced to living in a trailer and being paid for appearances at small parties to support his family.

He also starred in a range of commercials and B movies, of which TV movie The Horror at 37,000 feet (1973) is believed to feature his worst performance.

Shatner branched out into music with his 1968 album The Transformed Man, in which he delivered spoken word interpretations of Mr Tambourine Man and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. His interpretation of Elton John‘s Rocket Man at the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards has gone on to become something of a cult classic. He went on to record three more studio albums.

As Star Trek gained a huge following, after numerous syndicated reruns on US TV, Kirk became a cultural icon, and Shatner began appearing at Star Trek conventions organised by Trekkies. However, by the 1980s, he felt the role was becoming a millstone, and in a 1986 appearance on Saturday told fanatical fans to “Get a Life”.

Shatner has been married four times and has three children. His third marriage, to Nerrine Kidd-Shatner, ended in tragedy, when Shatner discovered her body in their swimming pool. An autopsy revealed traces of alcohol and Valium in her blood, and a coroner ruled she had drowned accidentally. On his 2004 album Has Been he describes his anguish at finding his wife’s body on track What Have You Done.

Shatner’s career got a long overdue boost with his comedy-drama role as Denny Crane in Boston Legal, which ran from 2004-2008. Watch highlights of his performance on the YouTube video below.