according to William Shatner Leonard Nimoy was one of the best friends he
ever had however in the Years leading up to Nimoy's death the two weren't on speaking
terms Leonard passed away in 2015 and William didn't even make it to the funeral join facts
first as we explore how letter Nimoy's death left William Shatner full of regret
here's old Star Trek actor William Shatner has experienced a great deal over his life
he recently made a successful trip into space thanks to Jeff bezos's blue origin but despite
that there are a few things that have left quite as profound an impact as his longtime friendship
with Leonard Nimoy Nimoy was Williams co-star on the original Star Trek series at first they
were Rivals because their two characters were always competing for audience attention but
over the course of the show's production they became great friends William's friendship with
the late Nimoy remains one of his favorite things to talk about according to William he
didn't know what true friendship was until he developed his unlikely bond with Leonard over
the years Shatner says he's made numerous great friends on various sets of films and TV series
but none have had the same longevity and impact that his friendship with Leonard did despite
the fact that they were apparently the best of friends they appear to have had a significant
falling out during the final years of Nimoy's life a according to William he was at first
unsure why his longtime friend had blocked him out of his life but he later realized
that Leonard was upset over William filming him without his consent for a made-for-television
documentary in 2011 Shatner released a made-for-tv documentary called the captains it revolved around
all the different captains that had been featured on the various Star Trek series
why did Leonard hold a grudge apparently Shatner filmed longtime friend Nimoy without
his permission this then offended him so much he never talked to Shatner again Leonard seemed angry
once he realized he was being filmed but William claims he initially thought his old friend was
just joking when he later realized Leonard had truly been offended by the incident to the point
where he no longer wanted to be his friend he was in shock although Shatner and Nimoy weren't
on speaking terms towards the end of Nimoy's life they were friends for many years upon Leonard's
passing William wrote a book dedicated to his late friend many found the release of the book to be
opportunistic especially considering that William and Leonard hadn't spoken in around five years
but Shatner certainly had plenty of interesting experiences that were worth sharing regardless
of how their friendship ended Shatner and Nimoy were born mere days apart though they didn't meet
for the first time until working together on an episode of The Man from Uncle this aired in 1964
the next year Nimoy was cast in a pilot for a show created by Gene Roddenberry Star Trek those who
know their television history will know that the pilot episode of Star Trek didn't feature Shatner
in fact the pilot didn't feature any of the series main cast members outside of Nimoy the pilot had
been a failure and the show was retooled to appeal more to audiences and the majority of the cast of
The Pilot was replaced Nimoy was the only one carried over from Star Trek's pilot Legend has
it that Shatner secured his role on the series after suggesting to Roddenberry that the pilot
had too serious of a tone Shatner believed he could add some smiles to the science fiction
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Leonard Nimoy with Star Trek's biggest star despite the original pilot for Star Trek being the
most expensive that had ever been produced at that point the executives hated it so at that point few
could have predicted what a major phenomenon Star Trek would become Nimoy played Spock who
was a human alien hybrid when seeking out actors to play the character Roddenberry allegedly put
out an ad for performers who looked like Abraham Lincoln when it came time to bring the character
of Spock to life on screen Leonard Nimoy took a good deal of influence from the hit 1950s sci-fi
film The Day the Earth Stood Still in that film a benevolent alien comes to Earth to warn of an
impending nuclear apocalypse when one combines the influences of Abe Lincoln and The Day the Earth
Stood Still it's easy to see where Nimoy was going with his character the last strange influence he
had was Harry Belafonte according to Leonard he had seen the calypso singer in concert and been
in awe of how much he could convey with minimal movement Leonard claimed him he kept very still
and that audiences cheered whenever he raised his hand Nimoy also put a good deal of his own
personal consideration into his portrayal Spock had a significant internal conflict due to his
Origins as a human alien hybrid the alien side of Spock always wanted to be logical and calculating
which came in contrast to the odd characters more emotional Human Side the emotional side was kept
in check more often than not by Spock's alien brain audiences grew to love Spock though it was
Shatner who played the captain it was Spock who proved the audience's favorite William allegedly
grew jealous when Leonard started to get more fan mail than him the two became Rivals but this
rivalry didn't last foreign got back at Leonard according to William Shatner there was a time
when he and Nimoy were eating lunch and John Wayne approached them Wayne recognized Leonard
Nimoy but didn't know who William was things like this added to William's professional jealousy
before the two became friends William would play pranks on Leonard to get back at the more popular
performer many of these pranks apparently saw William hide the bicycle which led to Leonard
driving his car on the lot and locking his bicycle inside it though Shatner and Nimoy were initially
at odds they went on to develop a very close Bond they found they had more common interests than
they realized it seems the moment when Leonard first won Williams respect was when the former
figure walked off the set after getting into a dispute with Gene Roddenberry Leonard had asked
Gene for permission to leave the set early to go to a promotional event Gene gave Leonard the okay
on the condition that he give him 20 percent of whatever fee he would get for attending Leonard
said no but left anyways Shatner thought Leonard standing his ground was pretty cool and the two
became buds after that eventually the two were negotiating their contracts together to ensure
they were both being treated as good as possible by the studio after Star Trek ended William and
Leonard grew closer as a result of attending conventions together over the ensuing decades
William and Leonard remained great friends for decades in the 1990s Shatner's wife was having
some issues with alcohol Nimoy was a recovering alcoholic and offered his services to help her
get through the issue sadly he wasn't able to help William's wife overcome it Noreen Kidd
was William's third wife and the two married in 97 in 1999 she drowned in a pool as a result of
alcoholism Leonard had failed at saving William's wife but he was still there for the actor in the
wake of the tragedy William claims Leonard helped him out a great deal as he came to
terms with the tragic incident after Nimoy's death in 2015 Shatner had become so estranged
from his late long time friend that he didn't attend the funeral this comes in spite of the
fact that years before they had considered each other the best of friends William desperately
tried to get in touch with Leonard in his final days but Leonard wasn't having it now it's time
to hear from you did you know that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were best friends but that they
didn't speak for years leading up to Nimoy's death let us know in the comments section below