Bill Maher Uncovers The Truth Behind William Shatner’s Most Famous ‘Star Trek’ Kiss
13.04.2024 - 03:51
/ deadline.com
When you have William Shatner, aka Captain James T. Kirk, on your show, you get to ask the Star Trek questions you’ve always wanted answered.
That’s what Bill Maher managed to do on Friday’s Real Time, as he probed one of pop culture’s most interesting moments — the interracial kiss between Captain Kirk and Lt. Uhura.
The moment caused some consternation in the upper reaches of the network before it happened. It was the 1960s, and many Southern TV stations would likely not approve.
But Shatner insisted on the kiss staying in the show. “If you had not insisted,” Maher said…, “It would not have gotten done,” Shatner admitted.
Maher also marveled how far Shatner fell from grace after the first run of Star Trek was canceled after three seasons. Shatner talked about watching the actual moon landing from a pasture while in his truck, his base of operations after a divorce and a lull in work.
How did you fall so fast? Maher asked. “With great precision,” Shatner joked, adding that it was just “circumstances of life.”
Of course, those days are gone for Shatner. He is the subject of the new documentary, You Can Call Me Bill, and the artist behind the upcoming digital album, So Fragile, So Blue, which he recorded live with the National Symphony Orchestra.
He’s also planning a trip to Antarctica, another of his efforts to explore and spotlight his efforts in climate change.
Of the latter, “There’s no way out except through technology,” Shatner said. “There’s a wave coming.” It’s one reason he may consider once again going into space, he said, as a way to “promulgate the idea that there’s so much going on by science and scientists to correct global warming.” He added, “There’s an element of hope I will cling to.”
Maher