After Dinner Speakers: William Shatner, Eve Pollard, Barbra Streisand

His duty was to go where no man had gone before --- he was Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and he is Canadian actor William Shatner. Although he his often viewed as an American television icon, Will Shatner in fact hails from Montreal, Quebec. Born on March 22, 1931, he attended Verdun high school and then moved on to McGill University where he studied commerce. In 1956 he moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. Shatner made a name for himself on American television, appearing on a myriad of shows. Some were successful while others weren't; however, those that were successes scored big. The first series was the short lived: For the People. The next year saw him appear on a unique new series named Star Trek, which lasted for three years, from 1966 to 1969. At the time the series was deemed a failure and Shatner moved on. He gave Star Trek another try in 1973, this time as a voice on the animated series, but the show survived only one year. Shatner left Star Trek behind and moved on to other exploits. The Barbary Coast was the next television show in line for Will but the program only lasted from 1975 to 1976. In 1979, Shatner once more turned to Star Trek, this time in the form of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Shortly afterwards he got the starring role on T.J. Hooker, a cop drama from which he achieved great fame. At the same time the Star Trek films were gaining great momentum in the theatres.