Riding a horse has proven at times to be risky to William Shatner and in one circumstance, led to an erroneous assumption.

As reported by Telegraph.co.uk, Shatner didn't wear a slimming corset in early Star Trek movies as had been claimed. "Actually, I wasn't wearing a corset," he explained. "I had fallen off a horse and broken some ribs. I had to be strapped up and some kind soul told the tabloids I'd got so beefy that I needed a corset to get into Kirk's costume." Shatner pulled on his hair and added, "And no, it isn't a toupée".

This isn't the first time that a story about Shatner has turned out to be false. Back in February, Shatner had a horse fall on him, necessitating a hip replacement. Tabloid reports at the time claimed that during the surgery, he had heart problems that almost caused him to die on the table. Shatner firmly denied that saying, "I'm in absolutely perfect health. I've never felt better in my life. Somebody made up an absolutely foolish story."

In addition to his mishaps with horses, Shatner spoke about his youth. He claimed to have been shy when younger. "I would send myself Valentine cards," he revealed. "They were the only ones I received. One year, I sent myself six." But being shy didn't mean he was weak or would shy away from a schoolyard fight. Shatner's boyhood nickname was "Toughie".

Shatner was brought on to Star Trek to replace Jeffrey Hunter. There was instant rapport between himself and Leonard Nimoy who was already playing the half-Vulcan Spock. "It was all luck" said Shatner. "I look upon it as the miracle that changed my life."

To read more, head to the article located here.

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!