"I thought was better for me to agree [to] play Kirk's death rather than let him dwindle," William Shatner told an audience at the 21st William S. Paley Television Festival.

Trek Nation Book Padd writer Jacqueline Bundy attended the event and reported at TrekWeb that Shatner had charmed his listeners: "Every yarn, every reminiscence was recounted with his own unique style and humor and the audience was spellbound."

Shatner discussed the entire history of his career at the Museum of Television and Radio event, held at the Director's Guild of America building in Los Angeles. Host Ron Simon introduced Shatner as "a vital presence on American television for over fifty years."

After viewing clips from Shatner's numerous television appearances, the audience was invited to ask the actor questions. Asked about whether it bothered him to be parodied, Shatner imitated comedian Kevin Pollack's Shatner impression and claimed with good humour that it wasn't him.

Shatner also said that he had deliberately underplayed Kirk in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, then concluded that he needed to play the character more grandly in subsequent films.

For anecdotes concerning Steve McQueen, Spencer Tracey and others, see the original article at TrekWeb.

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