Shatner: Celebrate Life
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William Shatner defended his decision to fulfill his commitment to the Red Cross this weekend, which meant he missed Leonard Nimoy‘s funeral on Sunday morning.
Reporters caught up with Shatner at his home after he returned to Los Angeles.
“My understanding is ‘mourn the dead, but celebrate life,'” said Shatner. “I chose to celebrate life by going to Red Cross gathering in Palm Beach; raised a lot of money for the Red Cross.”
Howard Stern defended Shatner. “You’re going to criticize a guy who held up his commitment to the Red Cross? And then we’re going to judge how much he loved Leonard Nimoy?”
At the Red Cross event, Shatner, after asking for a moment of silence, told the assembled group that “I lost a friend of mine, Leonard Nimoy. He’ll never be forgotten.”
“I asked over a thousand people to remember Leonard Nimoy,” said Shatner. “Take a moment to remember then, but also remember them by doing good deeds. And good deeds will be remembered long after any other kind of memorial.”
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Why Shatner is getting any flack for this is beyond me. For crying out loud everyone is acting like he was sitting at home wearing sweatpants and just decided not to go. I think the many years of Shatner maybe having a reputation for being a bit of an arrogant a$$ is being used against him but I don’t think it’s fair. Bottom line is he would have been there if he didn’t have a prior commitment.
I’m not much of a Shatner fan, but I do agree with you completely. At first, I was stunned, but I understand. Everyone deals with loss in a different way. I’ve known people who insisted on having no memorial service when they die, and people who refused to attend services for close friends, even family members. I have never questioned them, for we all mourn in our own fashion. Criticism of Mr. Shatner is unfair.
Even if he’d opted to stay home in his sweatpants, no one would be in a position to judge him for that either. Most of the rest of the world lost a figure from their television screens last week. Shatner lost a close personal friend and colleague of half a century. How he needs to deal with that is entirely his business.
Leave the man alone for crying out loud. Did anyone even think that it might be too hard to Bill to go to his best friends funeral after the pain he’s seen in his life? He’s already buried a wife and now this. Get a life losers
I think we all need to understand the burial was held in line with Jewish custom, arising from a land where bodies in pre-technological times did not keep well. Most others dying on Friday would not be buried Sunday morning a.m. For example, Robin Williams died on a Monday. I believe he was buried the following weekend.
I truly admire Leonard Nimoy for adhering to the traditions of his fathers. Myself, personally, I wish a few more days had elapsed before the service, so as to keep the focus on him–the initial reaction, the lull in the middle, then, the apotheosis that cements him in our hearts.
OK, so the New York post headline ” Captain Jerk” may have been a little harsh and mean spiritied by really…
After exhausting excuse after excuse, why he would not be able to attend the funeral, Shatner finally admonishes his critics with the fact that commericial flights don’t fly into LA througout the entire night.
Look all the famed Captain Kirk would have had to do was to post via his communicator a tweet requesting an uber-style personal jet trip to LA and I bet a 100 or more, Star Trek nursed, now billionaire, treakies would have obliged him at the ready. and at no charge.
Phil Ghee
3/3/2015
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Right.
Let’s hypothesize that a close friend of yours dies. Should I be telling you how to mourn? Should you local newspaper? Should hordes of screaming fanboys dictate to you how you mourn your friend?
The only ones in a position to say that Shatner is not honoring Leonard Nimoy properly, Since Leonard himself is not talking much anymore, are the members of Leonard Nimoy’s family.
Beyond that, all I can say is, look at what the man has done to remember his friend, remember Leonard Nimoy in your own way, and show a little compassion.
Gods’ tits, let the man mourn in his own way.
I have to wonder if maybe William Shatner doesn’t handle death all that well. I can understand this. I was well into my thirties before I could go to a funeral, or an open-casket memorial. That doesn’t mean I didn’t care deeply about the people I’d lost. I’d rather skip the funeral or go to the memorial gathering, or wake, or sit shivah.
I’ve always wondered why Shatner was absent at James Doohan’s final public farewell. I have to wonder if he just wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
Just a thought.
Scarily enough, I agree with Stern. The media is whoring itself for headlines.
He’s only getting flack because the media like’s to run with a negative story. How terrible might a person be who claims to be a great friend but doesn’t even attend his friends funeral? That’s their angle and why they run with it. People are more likely to click on that trashy link rather than a link stating simply that he misses his friend. RIP Leonard Nimoy and RIP real and actual news. All that’s left are tabloids.
Exactly! It amazes me what some people are bold enough to say to a grieving man behind the cover of the internet or in print. They would never go up to him in person and tell him he was dealing with loss wrong. It’s incredibly insensitive.
He can use as many “excuses” as he wants if that’s his choice. None of us knew either William Shatner or Leaonard Nimoy personally so it’s not our business to tell him how he should be handling the loss of his friend.
he helped LIFE,he helped the Red Cross,,i am sure that Leonard would have appreciate that he prefer life too death!
William you did the right thing
Continue to be involved in Human activity like the RedCross
Safe journey Leonard
Gef
Eastern Quebec
Agreed on all counts, everyone. Let the man be. It’s bullshit stories like this which give the media the horrible rep it’s had for years. He was at a charity event, for God’s sake. He was raising money for a good cause. Leonard would have approved.
Has George Takei, well-known for disliking Shatner, weighed in on this?
Yet another great loss today…Harve Bennett is gone now, too. 🙁
Truly, one of the greatest losses to the Star Trek universe.