Up Till Now is the latest in a long line of autobiographies by William Shatner, but this one is focused on more of Bill Shatners’ life than just his Star Trek days. As with any good biography there is a feeling of destiny about William Shatner’s bio. He was an Actor from an early age and he was a star on Broadway and in Radio before he lowered his standards and took a job in that fad Television.
When he was young everyone kept telling him this is the role that would make him a Star, but none of them guessed that a silly sci fi show would be his ticket to immortality. Even William Shatner didn’t think all that much about Star Trek-until he was recognized everywhere he went as Captain Kirk. Then there were all those movies and Star Trek Conventions.
Up Till Now is a fun book, but it is kind of odd to hear William Shatner talk about how seriously he takes his art. Or how seriously he used to take his art. He also doesn’t think much about that whole Pause Acting thing. As far as William Shatner is concerned he is just acting.
The audio book of Up Till Now is read by William Shatner and it is kind of fun to hear him talk about his life and times. It should come as no surprise that Shatner takes this opportunity to plug his many books, DVDs, collectibles, and odds and ends available at the WilliamShatner.com Store.
I spent about five minutes with William Shatner one time, The Wife won a costume contest and the grand prize was dinner with William Shatner. He was nice enough, but clearly had other things he would rather be doing. It was a job and he just wanted to get it over with.
William Shatner is all about the job and getting it over with. He talks about how he has worked as a musician, producer, director, and celebrity pitchman, and how he played Captain Kirk on Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven Star Trek films. He rattles off a long list of every conceivable way that an actor can make money and then says-and that’s where I draw the line.
The stories about William Shatner’s wives were new to me, while a number of the other stories were at least a little bit familiar. He seems to be really proud of his odd musical endeavors and credits them for making him a wealthy man in the latter parts of his career. His advice is to take every opportunity you can, as you never know where it will lead.
He said that he wasn’t fond of Star Trek The Motion Picture and that he made a few mistakes with Star Trek V. But Star Trek is only a small part of this book. Up Till Now is William Shatner trying to prove that he isn’t an asshole. He even calls in a talk radio show when the host says that William Shatner is an asshole to disagree with him.
I think in the end that William Shatner isn’t an asshole, but he often plays one on TV.
Up Till Now is a good book.
