William Shatner
Born March 22, 1931 (Age: 95)
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Biography
William Shatner, OC (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship Enterprise in the second pilot of the first Star Trek television series to his final appearance as Captain Kirk in the seventh Star Trek feature film, Star Trek Generations (1994). Shatner began his screen acting career in Canadian films and television productions before moving into guest-starring roles in various American television shows. He appeared as James Kirk in all the episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, 21 of the 22 episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series, and the first seven Star Trek movies. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences before, during and after his time in a Starfleet uniform. He has also co-written several novels set in the Star Trek universe and a series of science fiction novels, the TekWar sequence, that were adapted for television. Outside Star Trek, Shatner played the eponymous veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker (1982–1986), hosted the reality-based television series Rescue 911 (1989–1996), guest starred on the detective series Columbo, and acted in the comedy film Miss Congeniality (2000). After his last appearance as Captain Kirk, Shatner's television career has embraced comedy, drama and reality shows. In seasons 4 and 5 of the NBC series 3rd Rock from the Sun, he played the alien "Big Giant Head", to which the main characters reported. From 2004 until 2008, he starred as attorney Denny Crane in the final season of the legal show The Practice and in its spinoff Boston Legal, a role that earned him two Emmy Awards, one for his contribution to each series. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, he starred in both seasons of NBC's Better Late Than Never, a comical travel series in which a band of elderly celebrities toured East Asia and Europe. Aside from acting, Shatner has had a career as a recording artist, beginning in 1968 with his album The Transformed Man. His cover versions of songs are dramatic recitations of their lyrics rather than musical performances: the most notable are his versions of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", and Elton John's "Rocket Man". His most successful album was his third, Seeking Major Tom (2011), which includes covers of Pink Floyd's "Learning to Fly", David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". In 2021, Shatner flew into space aboard Blue Origin NS-18, a Blue Origin sub-orbital capsule. At age 90, he became the oldest person to fly in space and one of the first 600 to do so. Minutes after the flight, he described experiencing the overview effect.
William Shatner, OC (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship Enterprise in the second pilot of the first Star Trek television series to his final appearance as Captain Kirk in the seventh Star Trek feature film, Star Trek Generations (1994).
Shatner began his screen acting career in Canadian films and television productions before moving into guest-starring roles in various American television shows. He appeared as James Kirk in all the episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, 21 of the 22 episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series, and the first seven Star Trek movies. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences before, during and after his time in a Starfleet uniform. He has also co-written several novels set in the Star Trek universe and a series of science fiction novels, the TekWar sequence, that were adapted for television. Outside Star Trek, Shatner played the eponymous veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker (1982–1986), hosted the reality-based television series Rescue 911 (1989–1996), guest starred on the detective series Columbo, and acted in the comedy film Miss Congeniality (2000).
After his last appearance as Captain Kirk, Shatner's television career has embraced comedy, drama and reality shows. In seasons 4 and 5 of the NBC series 3rd Rock from the Sun, he played the alien "Big Giant Head", to which the main characters reported. From 2004 until 2008, he starred as attorney Denny Crane in the final season of the legal show The Practice and in its spinoff Boston Legal, a role that earned him two Emmy Awards, one for his contribution to each series. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, he starred in both seasons of NBC's Better Late Than Never, a comical travel series in which a band of elderly celebrities toured East Asia and Europe.
Aside from acting, Shatner has had a career as a recording artist, beginning in 1968 with his album The Transformed Man. His cover versions of songs are dramatic recitations of their lyrics rather than musical performances: the most notable are his versions of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", and Elton John's "Rocket Man". His most successful album was his third, Seeking Major Tom (2011), which includes covers of Pink Floyd's "Learning to Fly", David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
In 2021, Shatner flew into space aboard Blue Origin NS-18, a Blue Origin sub-orbital capsule. At age 90, he became the oldest person to fly in space and one of the first 600 to do so. Minutes after the flight, he described experiencing the overview effect.
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Filmography
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill
2024
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as Self
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Age: 93
Creators: The Past
2020
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as Lord Oghma
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Age: 89
Escape from Planet Earth
2013
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as General Shanker (voice)
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Age: 81
Horrorween
2012
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as Self
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Age: 81
Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories
2011
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as
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Age: 79
Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner
2011
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as
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Age: 79
Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man
2010
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as Self
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Age: 79
Fanboys
2009
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as Himself
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Age: 77
Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner
2006
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as Self
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Age: 75
Over the Hedge
2006
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as Ozzie (voice)
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Age: 75
The Wild
2006
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as Kazar (voice)
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Age: 75
40 Years of Star Trek
2006
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as Self
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Age: 74
No Image
Last Laugh '05
2005
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as Lucifer
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Age: 74
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
2005
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as Stan Fields
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Age: 73
Last Laugh '04
2004
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as Self
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Age: 73
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
2004
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as Dodgeball Chancellor
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Age: 73
The Rose Parade: A Pageant for the Ages
2004
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as Self
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Age: 72
Spplat Attack
2002
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as
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Age: 71
Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages
2002
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as Self
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Age: 71
Groom Lake
2002
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as John Gossner
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Age: 71
American Psycho II: All American Girl
2002
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as Starkman
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Age: 71
Showtime
2002
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as William Shatner
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Age: 70
Shoot or Be Shot!
2002
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as Harvey Wilkes
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Age: 70
Star Wars vs. Star Trek: The Rivalry Continues
2002
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as Self
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Age: 70
Festival in Cannes
2001
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as Self
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Age: 70
No Image
Whale Shark Hunters of the Philippines
2001
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as Self
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Age: 70
Osmosis Jones
2001
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as Mayor Phlegmming (voice)
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Age: 70
Miss Congeniality
2000
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as Stan Fields
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Age: 69
Atomic Journeys: Welcome to Ground Zero
2000
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as Narrator (Voice)
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Age: 69
Land of the Free
1998
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as Aidan Carvell
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Age: 67
Hollywood Ghost Stories
1998
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as Himself
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Age: 67
Free Enterprise
1998
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as Bill
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Age: 67
Trekkies
1997
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as Self
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Age: 66
Jefftowne
1997
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as Himself
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Age: 66
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
1996
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as Self
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Age: 65
The Prisoner of Zenda, Inc.
1996
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as Michael Gatewick
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Age: 65
Star Trek Story
1996
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 65
No Image
Corwin
1996
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as Self
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Age: 65
Dead Man's Island
1996
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as Chase Prescott
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Age: 64
William Shatner's Star Trek Memories
1996
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as Host
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Age: 64
Virtuosity
1995
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as Captain James T. Kirk (archive footage) (uncredited)
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Age: 64
No Image
Janek: The Silent Betrayal
1994
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as Bodosh
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Age: 63
Science Fiction: A Journey Into the Unknown
1994
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as
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Age: 63
Star Trek: Generations
1994
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as Captain James T. Kirk
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Age: 63
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
1994
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as Adam Harland (uncredited)
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Age: 63
No Image
UFO Cover-Up Live with Larry King
1994
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as Self
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Age: 62
Family of Strangers
1993
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as Earl
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Age: 61
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
1993
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as General Mortars
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Age: 61
The Twenty-Five Year Mission Tour
1992
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as Himself
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Age: 60
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
1991
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as Captain James T. Kirk
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Age: 60
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
1991
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as Self - Host
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Age: 60
Voices That Care
1991
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as Self - Choir Member
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Age: 59
Amazon: Land of the Flooded Forest
1990
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as Narrator
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Age: 58
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
1989
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as Captain James T. Kirk
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Age: 58
No Image
Hollywood on Horses
1989
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as Self
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Age: 57
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
1988
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as Self
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Age: 57
Broken Angel
1988
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as Chuck Coburn
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Age: 56
Seasons
1987
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as Narrator (voice)
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Age: 56
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987
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as Self
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Age: 56
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1986
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as Admiral James T. Kirk
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Age: 55
William Shatner's Mysteries of the Way We Feel
1986
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as Host
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Age: 55
T.J. Hooker: Blood Sport
1986
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as Sgt. T.J. Hooker
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Age: 55
Super Duper Bloopers
1986
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as Self
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Age: 54
North Beach and Rawhide
1985
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as Rawhide MacGregor
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Age: 54
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
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as Self
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Age: 53
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 53
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
1984
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as Admiral James T. Kirk
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Age: 53
Airplane II: The Sequel
1982
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as Cdr. Buck Murdock
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Age: 51
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
1982
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as Admiral James T. Kirk
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Age: 51
Visiting Hours
1982
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as Gary Baylor
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Age: 51
The Babysitter
1980
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as Dr. Jeff Benedict
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Age: 49
The Kidnapping of the President
1980
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as Jerry O'Connor
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Age: 49
Hypnosis and Beyond
1980
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as Himself
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Age: 48
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
1979
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as Admiral James T. Kirk
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Age: 48
The Crash of Flight 401
1978
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as Carl Tobias
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Age: 47
Land of No Return
1978
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as Curt Benell
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Age: 47
No Image
The Third Walker
1978
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as Munro Maclean
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Age: 46
Kingdom of the Spiders
1977
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as Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen
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Age: 46
The Star Trek Dream
1975
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as Self
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Age: 44
Impulse
1974
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as Matt Stone
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Age: 43
Big Bad Mama
1974
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as William J. Baxter
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Age: 43
Pray for the Wildcats
1974
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as Warren Summerfield
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Age: 42
Indict and Convict
1974
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as Sam Belden
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Age: 42
Pioneer Woman
1973
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as John Sergeant
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Age: 42
The Horror at 37,000 Feet
1973
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as Paul Kovalik
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Age: 41
Go Ask Alice
1973
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as Sam
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Age: 41
Incident on a Dark Street
1973
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as Deaver G. Wallace
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Age: 41
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1972
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as George Stapleton
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Age: 40
The People
1972
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as Dr. Curtis
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Age: 40
Shadow Game
1969
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as Peter Hoyt
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Age: 38
Star Trek: The Menagerie
1966
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as Captain James T. Kirk
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Age: 35
The Outrage
1964
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as Preacher
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Age: 33
Operation Bikini
1963
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as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
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Age: 32
The Intruder
1962
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as Adam Cramer
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Age: 31
Judgment at Nuremberg
1961
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as Harrison Byers
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Age: 30
The Explosive Generation
1961
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as Peter Gifford
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Age: 30
The Grim Reaper
1961
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as Paul Graves
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Age: 30
City Out of Time
1959
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as Narrator (voice)
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Age: 28
No Image
The Christmas Tree
1958
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as Philo
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Age: 27
A Town Has Turned to Dust
1958
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as Jerry Paul
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Age: 27
The Brothers Karamazov
1958
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as Alexi Karamazov
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Age: 26