William Shatner Felt Unwelcome at Leonard Nimoy's Funeral

[kingaliencracker]

https://comicbook.com/startrek/2018/...ral-star-trek/

William Shatner Felt Unwelcome at Leonard Nimoy's Funeral

By JAMIE LOVETT - September 4, 2018

Star Trek fans may remember the controversy surrounding Leonard Nimoy’s funeral in 2015. That controversy centered on William Shatner, who did not attend the ceremony. Shatner has addressed this in his new book, sharing his thoughts about his former friend.

The book is a memoir titled Live Long And...What I Learned Along the Way. Trek Movie received an advanced copy of the book, in which Shatner reflects on Nimoy’s passing.

Fans will remember that Shatner skipped the funeral because he had a Red Cross fundraising event to attend, causing a scheduling conflict. His daughters attended the funeral in his place.

In the book, Shatner admits that his absence came from someplace deeper. Those reasons were rooted in his once-close friendship with Nimoy that had gone cold for reasons he says he still is unaware of.

“It was made clear to me that I was not welcome at his funeral,” Shatner writes. "That was painful. I had an easy excuse."

“My closest friend was Leonard Nimoy. We were born four days apart and raised in Orthodox Jewish homes. We shared so much throughout our careers. I loved Leonard, and he used to refer to me as his brother. Yet at the end of his life and for reasons I still don’t know, he was not my friend. I would call him and he wouldn’t answer the phone or return any messages. He died and I didn’t feel welcome at his funeral,” he adds.

In Shatner’s 2016 book Leonard, which focused on his relationship with his Nimoy, Shatner said he hadn't spoken to Nimoy for five years before his death. This was after Shatner filmed Nimoy without permission for the Star Trek documentary The Captains.

“I thought he was kidding,” Shatner said of Nimoy’s refusal to appear in the film. “It was such a small thing.”

But five years passed and Nimoy never reconciled with Shatner. Based on Shatner’s new memoir, it seems he may still believe that the footage used in the documentary was too small of a thing to create that rift. Now he is left wondering what the real root of the problem was.

[Powerboy]

That's unfortunate but this is the sort of thing Shatner spent decades creating for himself with all his co-stars.

Garret Wang (Ensign Harry Kim) recalled meeting Shatner. He introduced himself and held out his hand. Shatner shook it but then wiped his hand on his shirt and walked away without ever making eye contact. Wang said he felt a rage at this blatant and pompous slight to the point that he said he wanted to just haul off and punch Shatner in his "fat gut" and hang the legal consequences and, even during the interview, he said he still felt the rage and that he had never despised and hated someone like that at first meeting. One can imagine how people felt who had to work with Shatner and take that sort of treatment for three years plus movies.

Maybe Nimoy was influenced by other people's opinions or maybe it was something we don't know about. Just saying that Shatner has spent decades doing things that result in his totally deserving this.

[kingaliencracker]

Well, I think it's fair to say that while William Shatner does have friends, he certainly has burned some bridges along the way also. I would definitely love to know what straw broke for Leonard Nimoy to cease talking to him after being his staunchest ally for 40 years.

[Nate Grey]

My impression of Shatner is that he's an ahole who somehow doesn't know he's one (or doesn't accept that he's one) and is thus always surprised that people don't like him or want him at events. I remember he famously said he doesn't know why George Takei doesn't like him nor why he didn't invite him to his wedding.

We may never know what the falling out was really about, after all we only have Shatner's word and Nimoy isn't here anymore to offer a rebuttal...but my theory is it was some slight that the rest of the world BUT Shatner understood to be out of line and Nimoy after years of this finally said I'm done. But, again, we may never know.

[Marvelgirl]

The rumour must be true that the TOS Cast hates Shatner, I used to think it was something George Takei made up.

[Gray Lensman]

My impression of Shatner is that he's an ahole who somehow doesn't know he's one (or doesn't accept that he's one) and is thus always surprised that people don't like him or want him at events. I remember he famously said he doesn't know why George Takei doesn't like him nor why he didn't invite him to his wedding.

We may never know what the falling out was really about, after all we only have Shatner's word and Nimoy isn't here anymore to offer a rebuttal...but my theory is it was some slight that the rest of the world BUT Shatner understood to be out of line and Nimoy after years of this finally said I'm done. But, again, we may never know.

That's probably the best take I have heard.

[Toreador]

You would think that Nimoy's wife or son would know and comment on it. How well did their children (Shatner's and Nimoy's) get along? Did they interact at all?

[Mutant 77]

That's unfortunate but this is the sort of thing Shatner spent decades creating for himself with all his co-stars.

Garret Wang (Ensign Harry Kim) recalled meeting Shatner. He introduced himself and held out his hand. Shatner shook it but then wiped his hand on his shirt and walked away without ever making eye contact. Wang said he felt a rage at this blatant and pompous slight to the point that he said he wanted to just haul off and punch Shatner in his "fat gut" and hang the legal consequences and, even during the interview, he said he still felt the rage and that he had never despised and hated someone like that at first meeting. One can imagine how people felt who had to work with Shatner and take that sort of treatment for three years plus movies.

Maybe Nimoy was influenced by other people's opinions or maybe it was something we don't know about. Just saying that Shatner has spent decades doing things that result in his totally deserving this.

This would also explain why a super-gifted, handsome and magnetic actor like him had zero career outside Star Trek and Hogan.

[RikWriter]

Hogan?? Who's that?

[sunofdarkchild]

If what he says is true, then I completely understand why Nimoy refused to talk to him even though they had been close friends before.

[titanfan]

This would also explain why a super-gifted, handsome and magnetic actor like him had zero career outside Star Trek and Hogan.

You mean Boston Legal?

[sunofdarkchild]

You mean Boston Legal?

Maybe he means T.J. Hooker.

But I'm not sure if he's even talking about Shatner or Wang, as the latter is the one who barely had a career outside of Star Trek. Shatner's had a constant stream of work since the 1950s.

[ChrisIII]

Shatner's sort of mostly been doing talk shows and documentaries (Although the latter are mostly Trek-related) these days I think. I think he's at least given Walter Koenig an olive branch of sorts after the death of his son. Also heard he made up with Doohan before his death.


I think he and Deforrest remained friends until his death as well.