Holy Crap. 80 years old? You know what bums me out a little? The world will make a WAY bigger deal about it when he kicks than we did about Deforest Kelley or James Doohan, and I expect that trend to continue with the rest of the original cast.
maybe because the Shat y'know, had a career after Trek rather than being dragged out of obscurity for sequels?
He's also a shameless self-promoter. Not that there's anything wrong with that in his line of work but, in comparison, De Kelley was a shy, courtly man who slipped back into a very private life in between his several *hundred* credits in TV and film. He was so quiet, apparently, that the Academy "forgot" to mention him in their memoriam segment the year he died.
Happy Birthday, William Shatner! Hard to believe Captain Kirk is 80. He seems very active still; I hope he has many more birthdays to come!
A story Nimoy likes to tell, about meeting the Japanese translator who oversaw the movie and novel translations for Japanese audiences. The guy was concerned, first of all, that the movies weren't "military" enough, and had issues with the familiarity with which Bones and Spock addressed their superior officer. Nimoy tried arguing the point that Starfleet was more relaxed than similar 20th century entities and was getting nowhere. The translator even admitted to taking liberties with the texts to make them "more military" and "more respectful." Unable to shake loose of the guy, Nimoy tried to change the subject. First thing he thought of (maybe it was close to the birthdays) was to say "Hey, did you know that Bill and I were born only four days apart?" To which the translator replied: "Yes, I know. But you look much older."
Oh, I definitely need to get ahold of some TOS that's been translated into Japanese and then subtitled in English.
Seriously though, when Shat checks out I am going to be seriously bummed. I mean SERIOUSLY bummed. I've grown up (to my 40's!) with the guy and James Kirk was one of my role models from a young age- Care for your people, care for your ship, accomplish the mission, and don't be afraid of command. Risk is our business. Do right. Don't make or accept excuses. Shat brought that character to life and imbued him with a spirit that, while sometimes corny, seemed very real. His passing will be a hard one for me. Assuming he doesn't outlive me, of course.
Edit: Speaking of The Shat's awsomeness, does anyone else remember this show besides me? [YT="The Shat with Doug McClure in '75's The Barbary Coast."]Bj-g0b13lQs[/YT]
