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Birth of an actor
William Shatner is born in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Montreal, Quebec -
Schooling
Shatner is an alumnus of the Montreal Children's Theater and studies economics at the McGill University Faculty of Management where he was given a Doctorate of Letters -
Public Shows
After graduation, Shatner went into public Shakespearean performances in Stratford, ON. One of his roles was in Henry V. -
First Feature Role
Shatners first feature role was in the 1958 film The Brothers Karamazov, in which he played Alexei Karamazov. -
Star Trek
In 1966, Shatner was cast as captain James T. Kirk in the second pilot for the original show. After this, William was contracted to play Kirk for the Star Trek series which he did until 1969. -
Homelessness
After Star Trek was cancelled, Shatner was unable to find work for a very long time which caused him to lose his home and he had to live in a truck bed camper in the San Fernando Valley. This happened until small roles turned into higher paying jobs. -
Return of Kirk
After the cancellation, many people began setting up Star Trek conventions and Shatner would speak at many of these. After seeing the huge following Star Trek had, Paramount began production on a new movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in which Shatner came back to the role of captain Kirk. -
Kirk's Death
Shatner played the role of Kirk for the next six Star Trek movies, which ultimately ended with the death of Kirk in Star Trek Generations. -
Novels
After the Star Trek days, Shatner became a science fiction author with a very successful series published under his name, although it is believed Shatner had an un-credited co-writer write large chunks of these novels. -
Death of Nerine Shatner
On August 9, 1999 William came home only to find the body of his third wife Nerine Shatner at the bottom of his pool. Alcohol was found in her system, but the death was ruled as an accidental drowning.
