ACTOR LEONARD NIMOY — FAMOUS FOR HIS 'MR. SPOCK' ROLE IN 'STAR TREK' SERIES — HAS DIED

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Trekkies are by definition nerds. Look it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaB_G1WNT70

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

[LibCampFireClub 635]

No way to slap this into happy pile:

William Shatner said he can’t make the Sunday service in California for “Star Trek” co-star Leonard Nimoy, who played the half-human, half-Vulcan officer on the USS Enterprise.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/03/01/william-shatner-feels-awful-about-missing-leonard-nimoy-funeral/?intcmp=features

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

He's doing some charity work I read, in case you were going to get all righteously indignant about it.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Oh, charity work. Well, maybe next time then.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

https://www.facebook.com/david.gerrold/posts/10205041846058181

So -- to the fans who engaged in some Shatner bashing, who complained because he's keeping his word to the Red Cross in Florida, or because didn't treat you like a long-lost brother when you were number 627 in the autograph line, or because you still think those books written by other people are accurate records of what really happened on the soundstage....

No. Just no.

I know Bill Shatner. We're on good terms. He's someone I admire and respect. Without him, a lot of us would not have had careers. He's an American treasure.

He is also a very private man. I think he's shy -- so shy that he has a blind spot. He doesn't know how to deal well with people one on one, he has to be Bill the star, Bill the performance.

(Those who've complained about the way he signs autographs at conventions -- he has to sign hundreds of autographs and he has to do it in a very short time -- and if you've ever had to sign hundreds of autographs, your hand can get tired very quickly. It's not a pleasant experience, It's a chore.)

Anyway, this is why he's a workaholic. It's his way of dealing with the world.

He's an entertainer. He's a terrific dramatic actor -- he's even better as a comic actor. He's had a longer career than most actors have been alive. And he has the skill of reinventing himself to the needs of the show.

Now -- here's something you need to know about the production of Star Trek.

Bill was the star. That meant he had to be in almost every scene. That meant he usually had 60 pages of script to learn EVERY ###### WEEK. He had to be there early every morning. (Only Nimoy had to be there earlier, to put on those damned ears.) If there was a makeup challenge, he would have to be there at 6am.

The rest of the cast did not have such a grueling schedule. They usually worked only two or three days per week. (Nimoy probably worked almost as many days as Shatner, because they shared a lot of scenes, but the burden still fell on Shatner's shoulders.)

In addition to having to learn 6 pages of dialog every day, Bill also had interviews, photo shoots, appearances, etc. to help promote the show. It was an exhausting schedule. I saw Bill on the set enough times to know that he worked very hard at keeping people's spirits up. He was playful, energetic, focused, and as hard a worker as you could ever want to share a soundstage with.

If he didn't have time to be buddy-buddy with the rest of the cast it's because he was a young man carrying a big-budget TV show on his shoulders and he didn't want to be the reason it failed, he wanted it to work, every moment of every episode.

That some of the actors wrote tell-all books ... well, okay -- they told all. What they told was how they experienced it. (And one of them said some very stupid stuff.)

But when Bill wrote his book, he was candid. He was honest. He admitted that he could have treated the others better. Indeed, he spoke better of the supporting cast than they spoke of him. To me, that's a mensch.

So if you want to bash William Shatner from your position of fannish infinite wisdom, please don't expect to be my friend. I was there. I've been there for almost half a century. You're talking about my family.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

It's his personal choice. Most folks wouldn't choose it that way charity or no charity. I don't agree with chastising and berating him. He's a great actor who's had one helluva career. He's always shown respect for Leonard and vice versa, I think. But, I'm not a real trekkie, so I don't keep up with how many buttons were on their shirt on episode 37.

[2ndMessiah 184]

He lived long and prospered....