Tag Archives: Shatner

My Weekly Spock: Gimme a Head with Hair…

Mr. Nimoy sure has certainly been blessed with excellent follicles all his life– (Is that the sound of Shatner envy?  ;-)) Who could forget the Spock’s silky black hair or Paris’ luscious waves? Here’s some of Mr. Nimoy’s greatest hair hits:

The Daily Scrapbook 5/1/13 (Jan1979) Star Trek Winding Down and a showing at the Library!

Here’s today’s flashback: From January 1979, an article about the Trek movie winding down, and some interesting takes from the stars — I love De Kelley, who was just enjoying the show, much more laid back about being a part of the whole thing.  Says De:

…I’m not as ambitious as Bill and Leonard…I had a good career before Star Trek, playing mostly heavies, and I’m content to take it easy.  After all, I’ve been around a while.

(Kelley was 58 at the time of this article, bless him.) Also, a note about Nimoy’s next project “Seizure” and another boffo ad for Invasion of the Body Snatchers, And for all those nerds without dates there’s also was a showing of” The The Trouble with Tribbles” at a local branch of the Library. (Mind you, this was the era before Netflix, and Trekkies had to get their fixes anywhere they could!)V2-030 copy V2-031 copy

The Daily Scrapbook 4/18/13 (From 1978)Trek Tidbits and a question from Michael Jackson?

A few more tidbits from around the pre-release of ST:TMP. That dramatic photo  of Bill as Captain Kirk got a lot a circulation, even backward (as it was in this post).  Nimoy says he’s more like Spock in ’78 than ’68, and a fan question from a movie magazine to Rona Barrett, gossip columnist to the stars, concerned that the new Trek may not live up to the old.  Rona reassures the reader that everything’s just rosy and encourages him to read the Trek feature in that magazine.  By the way, the questioner’s name is Michael Jackson (could it be THE Michael Jackson?).  Jackson did live in Encino, CA at the time, and was indeed a Star Trek fan, as you can hear here. (around 4:00)  (I’ll post the article Rona refers to tomorrow)V2-020

The Daily Scrapbook 12/3/12 – From 1978, TV Star Parade article

Here’s today’s flashback:  From the TV Star Parade, an article from February 1978, an article touting the new Star Trek TV series (we all know now this version never happened, which I suspect was a small blessing!  Note how the mask of Kirk next to Roddenberry is similar (if not the same one) used by ‘Jason’ in those silly slasher movies.

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Wideo Wednesday — 9/12-16/ 1977, Leonard and Bill on the $20,000 Pyramid!

Here’s some videos of the famous week of appearances by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy on Dick Clark’s $20,000 Pyramid in 1977!  (I’m guessing the Pyramid amount doubled for inflation!)

As I mentioned in today’s Daily Scrapbook, Nimoy was a great player and had played this several times, Bill was…well, Bill, and he famously throws a chair at one point! I’m very grateful to the videographer  Hondo, who resuscitated these. The quality isn’t great, but they’re still enjoyable!

Warning, Shatner wears some eye-scarring 70’s qiana shirts!  Nimoy is ever cool, of course 😉 The first clip begins with a flashback of Nimoy hugging an ecstatic contestant 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aylSQF3GBnE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQkfcqZDSVQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8OCvqylrGE

The Daily Scrapbook 11/7/12 -Why Barbary Coast Failed and Nimoy & Shat on $20,000 Pyramid

An analysis about why Shatner’s 70’s show The Barbary Coast  failed –probably because it was an awful show? (It basically was a 70’s version of The Wild Wild West, with Shatner in the Artemis Gordon-style role)  Also a mention of that British import Space 1999, and TV listings of Nimoy’s movie The Alpha Caper, and the crazy week when William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy appeared opposite each other on Dick Clark’s $20,ooo Pyramid! Those appearances were pretty funny; at one point they pitted Shatner against himself at the pyramid, and amazingly, he LOST!  I remember he was sitting there giving clues to an empty chair and Clark had to yell out something like “Switch seats, you dope!”

Why did Shatner and Nimoy do this? I’m guessing they needed the money, but it looks like they really enjoyed it -(Nimoy played to win and was especially good!) See the link to these episodes in today’s Wideo Wednesday – (the quality isn’t great but it’s a miracle that someone saved these!)  Thank you Hondo!

The Daily Scrapbook 10/22/12

Here’s today’s flashback:  From April o f1977.  Movie magazines were getting wise to the renewed Trek phenomenon that was everywhere and actively sought related news that would make good copy (I suppose they couldn’t resist a girl in a chain-mail bikini too)  I was just happy to have a pin-up of Nimoy, even if it was in that silly Tholian Web spacesuit (I bet those six costumes broke the production bank that week!) They were much more sophisticated than the shower curtain get-ups from The Naked Time!)  Love the pensive podium picture too.

The Daily Scrapbook 10/18/12 Jimmy Doohan comes to town!

Here’s today’s flashback:  From March of 1977, James Doohan appeared locally at Binghamton University (then known as Harpur College, SUNY Binghamton) and amazingly, I did not go to this show!  (at least I don’t remember going!) Maybe seeing him at the NYC convention was enough?   This is a charming interview, and Jimmy is  humble and happy with his life.  He says that people wouldn’t want him to spout Shakespeare, but I think he would have been great in Macbeth or The Taming of the Shrew!  Great guy, well missed. 😦

And more questions, this time wondering if Bill Shatner liked that newfangled english Sci-Fi show –Space 1999?  (Anyone here watch that? it was fun)

The Daily Scrapbook 10/17/12 More Questions and a Quiz

Here’s today’s flashback -sorry it’s late – I had to sub today, and just remembered that I hadn’t posted a daily here!    Today we see more Q&A about a possible Trek movie, questions wondering if Nimoy and The Shat were rivals, a mention of Gene Roddenberry’s Specter ( I still haven’t seen that) and a quiz from another middle school weekly, seeing if you can recall everything in the picture of the Enterprise being tossed like a salad.

The Daily Scrapbook 10/12/12 Programs and Postcards

Here’s today’s flashback:  The 70’s were a busy time for Star Trek people, actors and producers alike.   Here’s a bunch of TV Guide listings for non-Trek projects — The Trek people kept their families fed in the drought between cancellation and the first movie.  Nimoy was the most active, in Catlow with Yul Brynner, (small but sexy role as ‘Miller’,) TV movie The Missing Are Deadly, (which I don’t remember at all) and his popularity was booming so quickly he even got his own interview special in 1976 on PBS, The Man who Played Spock with Bill Varney.  I remember Mom letting me stay up to watch this, it was on at 10, and I recall Varney at one point asking Nimoy to give him a ‘mind-meld’, and Nimoy fondly obliged.   Shatner’s movie, The Tenth Level was a fine  psychological thriller about how far one would go to inflict pain on a stranger.  Both Shatner and Nimoy would appear on Dick Clark’s “The 10,000 Pyramid” Then there were the two movies Gene Roddenberry made, the (unfortunately) failed TV Pilot, Genesis II, and its sequel Planet Earth.  Looking back on it, Genesis was the better of the two, and a great adventure story. Of course, fans were still wondering when Star Trek would be revived (see question), and finally below, my sister Kathy (I had 5) went to California in ’76 and saw the new Star Trek wax figures at the Movieland Wax Museum — see her  postcard-oh I envied her!

Back on Monday with more memories! Let me know what you think!