Star Trek history: William Shatner earns star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (1983)
William Shatner receives his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983
ON THIS DAY, May 19th, back in 1983, William Shatner was granted a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Shatner, best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek, was starring in T.J. Hooker at the time he was honored with the 1,762nd star on the Walk. Embedded in the sidewalk for several blocks in Hollywood, California, the Walk of Fame celebrates the achievements of entertainment industry greats.
600 people attended Shatner’s dedication ceremony, including Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy gave a speech on the day, in which he praised his friend as “a wonderful man and a great actor” before reminiscing about the terrible jokes Shatner liked to play on him. Shatner himself spoke as well, saying, “This is my small ticket to the stars. All of the other accolades are so ephemeral one never has anything that’s truly concrete and this is the one exception.” To clarify, the stars are technically made of terrazzo and brass, but we can forgive Mr. Shatner the pun, since he’s been cemented in our hearts for many years.
T is the Managing Editor for Daily Star Trek News and a contributing writer for Sherlock Holmes Magazine and a Shakespeare nerd. He may have been the last professional Stage Manager to work with Leonard Nimoy, has worked Off-Broadway and regionally, and is the union Stage Manager for Legacy Theatre, where he is currently working with Julie Andrews. after which he’ll be working on Richard III at Elm Shakespeare Company.
