Childhood and Education Journey of William Shatner in Timeline
An overview of the childhood and early education of William Shatner, highlighting the experiences that shaped the journey.
William Shatner is a Canadian actor renowned for his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise. His career spans seven decades, beginning with the original Star Trek television series in 1966. He played Kirk until his character's final appearance in 'Star Trek Generations' (1994).
1905: Birth of Ann Garmaise, Shatner's mother
In 1905, Ann Garmaise, William Shatner's mother, was born.
1928: Birth of Joy Rutenberg, Shatner's sister
In 1928, Joy Rutenberg, William Shatner's older sister, was born.
March 22, 1931: William Shatner's birth
On March 22, 1931, William Shatner was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1940: Birth of Farla Cohen, Shatner's sister
In 1940, Farla Cohen, William Shatner's younger sister, was born.
1952: Graduation from McGill University
In 1952, William Shatner graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the McGill University Faculty of Management in Montreal.
August 12, 1956: Marriage to Gloria Rand
On August 12, 1956, William Shatner married Gloria Rand, a Canadian actress.
1958: Birth of Leslie Shatner
In 1958, William Shatner's first daughter, Leslie, was born.
1961: Birth of Lisabeth Shatner
In 1961, William Shatner's second daughter, Lisabeth, was born.
1964: Birth of Melanie Shatner
In 1964, William Shatner's third daughter, Melanie, was born.
1967: Pyrotechnical accident during Star Trek episode "Arena"
During the shooting of the 1967 Star Trek episode "Arena", William Shatner experienced a pyrotechnical accident that may have led to his development of tinnitus.
1967: Death of Joseph Shatner
In 1967, Joseph Shatner, William Shatner's father, passed away.
April 1968: Admirer Incident
In April 1968, a group of fans attempted to tear his clothes from him as he left 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
March 1969: Divorce from Gloria Rand
In March 1969, William Shatner divorced his first wife, Gloria Rand, after leaving her while acting in Star Trek: The Original Series.
1969: Cancellation of Star Trek and its aftermath
In 1969, following the cancellation of Star Trek, William Shatner faced challenges in finding employment and experienced financial difficulties, including a period of living in a truck-bed camper.
1973: Marriage to Marcy Lafferty
In 1973, William Shatner married Marcy Lafferty, the daughter of television producer Perry Lafferty.
1977: Star Wars Success Impacts Star Trek
In 1977, the enormous success of George Lucas's film Star Wars led Paramount to decide that the next Star Trek adventure should be in theaters instead of television.
1977: The $10,000 Pyramid Blunder
In a 1977 episode of The $10,000 Pyramid, Shatner blurted out the word "blessed" instead of providing a hint, disqualifying his partner from a $20,000 prize. He reacted by throwing his chair out of the Winner's Circle.
1987: King of Mardi Gras Bacchus parade
William Shatner was king of the Mardi Gras Bacchus parade in 1987.
December 1989: This Is Your Life Appearance
In December 1989, Shatner was surprised by Michael Aspel on the set of the Starship Enterprise for the British television series This Is Your Life.
1990: Support of Hollywood Charity Horse Show begins
Since 1990, William Shatner has been one of the most important supporters of the Hollywood Charity Horse Show, which raises money for organizations serving children.
1992: Death of Ann Shatner
In 1992, Ann (Garmaise) Shatner, William Shatner's mother, passed away.
1994: Grand Marshal of Tournament of Roses Parade
On New Year's Day 1994, William Shatner was the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, riding on horseback and participating in the coin toss for the Rose Bowl game.
1996: Divorce from Marcy Lafferty
In 1996, William Shatner divorced his second wife, Marcy Lafferty, after being married for 23 years.
1997: Marriage to Nerine Kidd
In 1997, William Shatner married Nerine Kidd against advice and his own good sense; Leonard Nimoy was his best man.
August 9, 1999: Death of Nerine Kidd
On August 9, 1999, William Shatner found his third wife, Nerine Kidd, dead in their swimming pool; her death was ruled an accidental drowning due to alcohol and diazepam.
1999: Nerine Shatner's death
Following the death of Nerine Shatner in 1999, actress Heather Locklear offered her support and comfort to William Shatner during his bereavement.
2001: Marriage to Elizabeth Anderson Martin
In 2001, William Shatner married Elizabeth Anderson Martin.
August 2004: Doohan forgives Shatner
In August 2004, during James Doohan's final convention appearance, it was reported that he had forgiven William Shatner, and they had achieved a friendship as senior citizens.
2004: Elizabeth Martin Co-Wrote "Together"
In 2004, Elizabeth Anderson Martin co-wrote the song "Together" on William Shatner's album, "Has Been".
2004: Release of "Has Been" Album
In 2004, William Shatner's album "Has Been" included a spoken word piece, "What Have You Done", which described his anguish upon discovering Nerine's body.
May 16, 2006: Appearance on The View
On May 16, 2006, during an appearance on The View, William Shatner announced that the proceeds from the kidney stone sale, along with $20,000 from the Boston Legal cast and crew, were donated to Habitat for Humanity.
January 2007: ShatnerVision Autobiographical Vlogs
In January 2007, William Shatner began posting daily autobiographical vlogs on the LiveVideo platform. This project was named ShatnerVision.
December 2008: Shatner's Raw Nerve Chat Show
In December 2008, William Shatner experimented with the chat show genre in the humorous Shatner's Raw Nerve.
2008: Publication of Up Till Now
In 2008, William Shatner's memoir, Up Till Now, co-written with David Fisher, was published. This book predated their later collaboration on a book about Leonard Nimoy and Shatner's relationship with him.
February 28, 2010: Speaker at the closing ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics
On February 28, 2010, William Shatner was one of the speakers at the closing ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.
2010: Shatner Describes Star Trek Film as Wonderful
At a convention held in 2010, William Shatner described the 2009 Star Trek film as "wonderful".
March 2011: End of Shatner's Raw Nerve
In March 2011, Shatner's humorous chat show, Shatner's Raw Nerve, concluded its run.
2011: Honorary Doctorate from McGill University
In 2011, McGill University awarded William Shatner an honorary Doctorate of Letters.
April 24, 2014: Autobiographical One-Man Show on Broadway
On April 24, 2014, William Shatner performed an autobiographical one-man show on Broadway, which was filmed for screening in theatres across Australia, Canada and the United States.
2014: Grand Marshal of the Calgary Stampede parade
In 2014, William Shatner served as the Grand Marshal at the 102nd Calgary Stampede parade in his native Canada.
2015: Leonard Nimoy's death
In 2015, after the death of Leonard Nimoy, Shatner expressed his love for him, stating, "I loved him like a brother." Due to other commitments, Shatner could not attend the funeral, but his daughters attended in his place.
August 23, 2016: Premiere of Better Late Than Never
On August 23, 2016, the NBC reality miniseries Better Late Than Never premiered, featuring William Shatner and other celebrities touring Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.
September 2016: Special guest at Salt Lake Comic Con
In September 2016, William Shatner was invited to attend the Salt Lake Comic Con as their special guest.
2016: Estrangement from Leonard Nimoy revealed
In 2016, Shatner revealed that he and Nimoy had not spoken in the five years before Nimoy's death the year before, despite their long friendship.
2017: Controversy over support for Autism Speaks
In 2017, William Shatner tweeted support for Autism Speaks, leading to arguments with autistic individuals and allies. He later suggested his critics should have kept quiet and called the incident a misunderstanding.
May 2018: Honorary Doctorate from New England Institute of Technology
In May 2018, William Shatner was granted an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the New England Institute of Technology.
2018: Petition against dolphin exploitation on Star Trek cruise
In 2018, William Shatner, dismayed by the opportunity for customers to swim with dolphins, petitioned the CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line through PETA not to include dolphins in the programme of their cruise.
2019: Shatner Filed for Divorce from Elizabeth
In 2019, William Shatner filed for divorce from Elizabeth Anderson Martin.
January 2020: Divorce from Elizabeth Martin Finalized
In January 2020, William Shatner's divorce from Elizabeth Anderson Martin was finalized.
2020: Shatner reveals age-related aches and pains
In 2020, Shatner revealed that he suffers from swollen joints and age-related "aches and pains," which he treats with cannabidiol oil, a dietary supplement.
2020: Argument over being called a 'straight white cis man'
In 2020, William Shatner engaged in a month-long argument with other Twitter users about being described as a "straight white cis man".
March 2021: Release of Senior Moment
In March 2021, William Shatner starred in the film Senior Moment, which was released in the same week he turned 90.
July 2021: Wally Funk's Spaceflight
In July 2021, Wally Funk flew on Blue Origin's first crewed spaceflight at the age of 82. She was surpassed as the oldest person to fly into space by William Shatner on October 13, 2021.
October 13, 2021: Blue Origin Spaceflight
On October 13, 2021, William Shatner participated in Blue Origin's second sub-orbital human spaceflight, Blue Origin NS-18, travelling on the RSS First Step and becoming the oldest person to fly into space at the time.
2021: Dismissive of Jewish convert of color
In 2021, The Forward noted that William Shatner was dismissive of a Jewish convert of color, drawing parallels to his previous arguments regarding the term "cis" and Autism Speaks.
2021: Spaceflight aboard Blue Origin NS-18
In 2021, at age 90, William Shatner flew into space aboard Blue Origin NS-18, becoming the oldest person to fly in space at the time.
February 24, 2022: Statement on Ukraine Invasion
On February 24, 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, William Shatner issued a statement via Twitter expressing unqualified support for the Ukrainians.
December 4, 2022: Star guest at L.A. Comic Con
On December 4, 2022, William Shatner was a star guest at the L.A. Comic Con.
2023: Brent Spiner's statement about Shatner's Twitter account
In 2023, Brent Spiner stated in a podcast interview that William Shatner had told him his Twitter (now X) account was managed by an employee, and that Shatner had minimal direct involvement in the content.
2023: Death of Joy Rutenberg, Shatner's sister
In 2023, Joy Rutenberg, William Shatner's older sister, passed away.
May 19, 2024: Ed Dwight Surpasses Shatner as Oldest Person in Space
On May 19, 2024, retired U.S. Air Force pilot Ed Dwight surpassed William Shatner's record, becoming the oldest person to fly into space at the age of 90 years, 253 days.
2024: Ed Dwight's spaceflight on Blue Origin NS-25
In 2024, Ed Dwight, aged 90 and 48 days older than Shatner, flew on the suborbital Blue Origin NS-25 spaceflight.
2025: Reconciliation with Elizabeth Martin
As of 2025, William Shatner and Elizabeth Martin have reconciled, and he is once again referring to her as his wife.
2025: Takei wishes Shatner a happy birthday
In 2025, George Takei wished Bill Shatner a happy 94th birthday and well wishes.
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