Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ), first officer Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ), and chief medical officer Dr. Leonard McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ), in the 23rd century.

Initially, Filmation was only going to use the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and Majel Barrett.

" Exquisite chemistry " among Kelley, William Shatner, and Leonard Nimoy manifested itself in their performances as McCoy, Captain James T. Kirk and science officer Spock, respectively.

Captains: Robert April ( James Doohan, Gene Roddenberry ), Christopher Pike ( Jeffrey Hunter ), James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ), Willard Decker ( Stephen Collins ) ( refit ), Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) ( refit )

According to Shatner, early Star Trek reviews called his performance " wooden ", with most of the show's acting praise and media interest going to Nimoy.

Reportedly, Leonard Nimoy was asked to wear it and refused, so it was passed on to Shatner ; when he also refused, Nimoy reluctantly agreed to wear it.

Nimoy as Spock with William Shatner as Kirk, 1968.

Nimoy and William Shatner first worked together on an episode of The Man from U. N. C. L. E., " The Project Strigas Affair " ( 1964 ).

Their characters were from opposite sides of the Iron Curtain, though with his saturnine looks, Nimoy was predictably the villain, with Shatner playing a reluctant U. N. C. L. E.

William Shatner, in his 2008 book Up Till Now: The Autobiography, speaks about how later in their lives Nimoy tried to help Shatner's alcoholic wife.

However, Nimoy would express relief in later interviews and appearances that when he explained the concept to William Shatner, he understood it immediately, and Nimoy credits Shatner's reaction to the nerve pinch in the episode as what really sold it.

Shatner is only four days older than Nimoy.

According to Shatner, much of Star Treks acting praise and media interest went to Nimoy.

" Many of the openings featured non-celebrities, but some featured stars from TV shows, most of which broadcast over CBS, such as The Bob Newhart Show and One Day at a Time, as well as other characters with a connection to the network, including William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, dressed as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock ; characters from the Peanuts cartoons ; and Fred Rogers from Mister Rogers ' Neighborhood.

Kelley became good friends with Star Trek cast mates William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy from their first meeting in 1964.

Only Shatner and Nimoy were listed in the opening credits.

Despite the show's recognition of Kelley as one of its stars he was frustrated by the greater attention that Shatner received as its lead actor, and Nimoy received because of " Spockamania " among fans.

Meyer and Bennett divided the story between them and wrote different parts of the script, requiring approval from Nimoy, lead actor William Shatner and Paramount.

Nimoy chose Hicks after inviting her to lunch with Shatner and witnessing a chemistry between the two.

As William Shatner was unwilling to return, Nimoy and Bennett spent eight months considering a prequel concept by Ralph Winter about the characters at Starfleet Academy, before Shatner received a pay increase and signed on to star.

Nimoy and Shatner each received $ 2. 5 million for the film, less than their original demands, but the film cast's rising salaries caused Paramount to create a new television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation ( 1987 ), with less-expensive, unknown actors.

Once Nimoy, Bennett, and Meyer were happy, they showed the script to Shatner, who offered his own notes for another round of rewrites.

The stars were Julie Harris, Walter Matthau and William Shatner.

Beginning in the summer of 2004, and continuing throughout the fourth season, there were reports that William Shatner would reprise the role of James T. Kirk or perhaps an ancestor in the series, but an agreement could not be reached.

Other examples are My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss ( modeled after The Apprentice ), My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance, Hell Date ( modeled after Blind Date ), Superstar USA ( modeled after American Idol ), Space Cadets ( which convinced the hoax targets that they were being flown into space ), Punk'd ( involving celebrities in staged crises ), Invasion Iowa ( in which a town was convinced that William Shatner was filming a movie there ), and Reality Hell ( different target and premise every episode ).

Both Shatner and test audiences were dissatisfied that Kirk was fatally shot in the back in the original ending of Generations ; an addendum inserted while Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories memoir was being printed expresses his enthusiasm at being called back to film a rewritten ending.

" He formed a long-standing friendship with Shatner, who portrayed his commanding officer, saying of their relationship, " We were like brothers.

Nimoy and Shatner were nominated for best actor for their roles, and Catherine Hicks was nominated for best supporting actress.

Significant portions of the 1961 film The Intruder ( Directed by Roger Corman and starring William Shatner ) were filmed in East Prairie.

" Emotions ran high as the last shots of the cast were captured ; Shatner said, " By the time we finished the last scene, which extended longer than we expected, there was a sense of irritation.

When Kirk talked with his double directly, two separate takes of Shatner facing opposite directions were combined, with the camera motion carefully controlled so that the resulting image looked realistic.

One of the longer-running police dramas of the day, the series featured appearances by a number of actors, familiar and unfamiliar, among whom were Lynn Borden, Kim Darby, Antonio Fargas, Tiny Tim ( in the pilot TV-movie ), Randolph Mantooth, Cal Bellini, Sharon Gless, Dabbs Greer, Bernie Kopell, Frank Gorshin, Jess Walton, Pernell Roberts, Alan Oppenheimer, Dan Kemp, E. G. Marshall, Harrison Ford, John Schuck, Ingrid Pitt, Susan Saint James, Ivan Dixon, Harry Townes, Pat Hingle, Norman Alden, Anne Francis, David Carradine, Charo, Joseph Campanella, Bill Quinn, Bernard Fox, Tyler McVey, Robert Webber, Alan Hale, Jr., Marion Ross, Marcia Strassman, Susan Sullivan, Suzanne Pleshette, Bo Hopkins, James Hong, Jeanne Cooper, Paul Winfield, Harold Gould, James Farentino, Robert Reed, Bill Bixby, David Cassidy, David Hartman, Dana Elcar, Tina Louise, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Robert Karnes, Tyler MacDuff, Greg Mullavy, Rod Serling, Gene Raymond, Francine York, Peter Mark Richman, Jennifer Gan, Clu Gulager, Joel Grey, Van Williams, John Hoyt, Scott Glenn, William Windom, Joshua Bryant, Dorothy Malone, Robert Alda, Barbara Rush, Jack Kelly, Jason Wingreen, George Takei, George Wallace, John M. Pickard, Diana Muldaur, Jodie Foster, William Katt, Lee Grant, Steve Forrest, Susan Olsen, Michael Lerner, Edward Asner, Eddie Garrett, Darwin Joston, John Rubinstein, Jack Lord, Scott Marlowe, Norman Fell, Gavin MacLeod, Gary Collins, Johnny Seven, William Shatner, Bobby Darin, Martin Sheen, Cheryl Ladd, William Daniels, William Schallert, Burgess Meredith, Vic Tayback, Arch Johnson, James Drury, Ed Flanders, Bruce Lee and Ellen Corby ( Grandma Walton of TV fame ).

His film MirrorMask was nominated for the William Shatner Golden Groundhog Award for Best Underground Movie, the other nominated films were Green Street Hooligans, Nine Lives, Up for Grabs and Opie Gets Laid.

Numerous actors, sports figures and former real-life cops who were familiar to audiences in the 1960s and 1970s made appearances on the series, including Andrew Stevens, Danny Bonaduce, Ed Asner, Eve McVeagh, David Janssen, Claude Akins, Robert Stack, Mike Connors, Stuart Whitman, Lenore Kasdorf, David Cassidy, John Saxon, Kurt Russell, Cameron Mitchell, Martin Milner, Vince Edwards, Robert Forster, William Shatner, Dean Stockwell, Jan-Michael Vincent, Alex Cord, George Maharis, Wayne Maunder, Howard Duff, Chad Everett, Don Meredith, Steve Lawrence, Gabe Kaplan, Robert Goulet, Sylvester Stallone, Joseph Campanella, Michael Cole ( 2 episodes ), Joe Garagiola, Stephen Mcnally and Eddie Egan.

The title song " Lost in the Stars " enjoyed a measure of popular success, and versions of it were recorded by Anita O ' Day, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Generation Gap, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and many others.

Cast members ( rumored to be Kelley and Doohan ) were playing a practical joke on Shatner and deliberately aiming the prop Tribbles at his head, seeing if he could complete the scene without breaking character.

Lloyd Bridges and Jack Lord were considered, but William Shatner was finally cast as Pike's replacement, Captain James Kirk.

" The Star Trek Show " spoofed William Shatner and Bono and the inevitable demise of the red-shirted security officers beamed down to an alien planet, portrayed by Ben and Jeff's characters " Howie and Jordo ," two college-age underachievers that were constantly in trouble.

Spader, Bergen, and Shatner were each nominated for their respective roles.

According to Whitney, in the first season, only William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were guaranteed to appear in every episode.

* Parts of the fight between the Gorn captain and Captain Kirk were parodied in the Futurama episode " Where No Fan Has Gone Before ," pitting William Shatner against Leela ( Katey Sagal ).

In the sequel, we learn the fates of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley, who were transported to the Starship Enterprise.

In 1963, " Nightmare at 20, 000 feet ", a Twilight Zone episode, starring William Shatner, was an homage to the legend of gremlins, who were seen dismantling an airliner during flight.