Interview: William Shatner
By: Rob Smittix
“To Boldly Go… to Ticonderoga”
RRX: All right, Mr. Shatner, we are in business. How are you?
WS: I’m well. I’m so glad to talk to you. Ticonderoga is a really extraordinary adventure for everybody. And the Town of Ticonderoga is responsible for all that. It’s a lovely and a beautiful story, really.
RRX: I was fascinated by it, and I was curious: when you walk in there, how does that make you feel? Does it just take you all the way back?
WS: Well, yes and no. James (Cawley) has certainly gone to great trouble and expense to make the sets. Well, let me just preface everything for your audience who doesn’t know. In Ticonderoga, there exists the exact replica of the Star Trek set that I worked on so many years ago. He’s also got some other things that are Star Trek, but who would have guessed that a young man in a small town in Upstate New York would have the courage and the chutzpah to call Hollywood and say, I’d like to be part of that and be invited to come to be part of the Star Trek thing. He worked in the wardrobe department, designing and sewing costumes, which led him to become acquainted with everybody at Star Trek. And… [he] got a hold of the blueprints for the set and came back to his hometown (Ticonderoga), got the town interested, and everybody contributed labor and built the set of Star Trek in Ticonderoga. And then, with his charm and talent, was able to feather that nest with people who had worked on Star Trek like myself, who came up and found audiences from all over the world coming to walk the sets, and in my case, hear me speak and talk at great lengths and have fun with them. It started out to be a yearly visit, and now it’s turned out to be a biyearly visit. I’ve come there in the wintertime, I’ve come there in the summertime for the last 6 or 7 years. So, I’m going to be there in the next few weeks, and I’m hoping your audience will come and enjoy themselves at the set with me there.
RRX: Well, we have a lot of Trekkies in our audience. Star Trek fans are the biggest fans in the world. I think they’re even greater fans than, like … the Buffalo Bills fans.
WS: (Laughs) Well… I think… because I lived in Toronto and visited Buffalo a lot, and nobody’s more passionate except maybe Star Trek fans than the Buffalo Fans.
RRX: That’s what I’m saying! But… you’ve always been so accommodating to fans with meet-and-greets, conventions, and things like that. What does the fan base really mean to you personally?
WS: Well… right now, there’s a book out there called “William Shatner… And You.” I interviewed 30… a lot of people, some being celebrities but many not celebrities, just fascinating people whose lives were changed by Star Trek. The book is… how those people’s lives were changed as a result of them being interested, fascinated… you know? Intrigued by Star Trek. And that’s what this fan base seems to be. Star Trek, to them, is more than just a show; it’s a possibility of the future, you know? We’ve seen one enormous transition, this last day. The world and America have gone through enormous transitions in these few years. A lot of technological things are happening that are science fiction in their description, cures for all kinds of diseases and the ability to travel to the moon and ultimately to Mars. But exploration in every area is going on… a ferment that is unlike anything else that’s ever happened in history. So here we are, and Star Trek is a part of that because it presumes that all this revolution that’s going on in every avenue of human life will be positive ultimately, and 400 years from now we will still exist and be productive.
RRX: You’re right. And a lot of science fiction now is definitely becoming actual science. I found it funny that the United States Space Force kind of ripped off the Star Trek logo.
WS: (Laughs) Yes, exactly.
RRX: But did you ever think… of all those times you’re in the TV or movie studio that one day you actually would have been able to go to space yourself?
WS: No, the whole thing is improbable. I mean… the Star Trek I was on lasted three years. It was moderately successful while it was on, and then it disappeared for six years. It went into what then became syndication. It may very well have begat syndication, and six years later it becomes a very popular show, and the studio decides to renew it in various forms. Who could have imagined? That kind of show and its weak reception would remain a phenomenon in show business.
RRX: That it certainly is. It’s timeless. It’ll be around here forever. I appreciate you taking the time here with me today. Is there anything that you’d like to say to fans out there?
WS: Well, as a result of yours and my conversation, the people listening will come to Ticonderoga to visit with me and see the sets and all the wonderful things that the town of Ticonderoga has done. I’ll be there November 13th through the 15th. Come and visit with me. What I do is like a Chautauqua. It’s a talk, and we sit around, discuss the future and the past, your interests, who’s there and why they’re there. It becomes a fascinating hour and a half of conversation. People have come back again and again because the talks are always different, because the people are different and I find them fascinating. I hope the people who are listening who come will find that as well.
RRX: Absolutely. One last thing… is eating cereal in your car the secret to longevity?
(Both Laugh)
WS: Somehow that picture got out there; it wasn’t supposed to. No, the secret to longevity is being interested in the world around you, and part of the world around you is Star Trek. So let me keep you young at heart and come and visit.
RRX: I appreciate your time, Mr. Shatner.
WS: Pleasure is mine. Take care. Thank you. Bye-bye.
RRX: You got it.
William Shatner Weekend
Friday 11/13/26 through Sunday 11/15/26
Star Trek Original Series Set Tour
112 Montcalm St, Ticonderoga, NY 12883
For Tickets Click HERE!
