William Shatner has enjoyed an impressive and long-standing career in front of the camera, showcasing his impressive comedic talents and becoming instantly recognizable to multiple generations of cult television fans as the iconic Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise.
Born in Côte Saint-Luc, Montréal, Québec, Canada, to Anne (Garmaise) and Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer, William's father was a Jewish emigrant from Bukovina in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while his maternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews.