The events and actions that we see on the big screen do not always reflect the real world. Even in a franchise as driven by technology and social ideas as Star Trek, the personal lives of those who lived those stories were often quite different. Such was the case of real-life Kirk and Spock, William Shatner and the late Leonard Nimoy, as Shatner recently piped up in his new book, Live Long and..., and talked about how he was barred from attending Nimoy's funeral. In his memoir, Shatner wrote:
It was made clear to me that I was not welcome at his funeral. That was painful. I had an easy excuse. My closest friend was Leonard Nimoy. We were born four days apart and raised in Orthodox Jewish homes. We shared so much throughout our careers. I loved Leonard, and he used to refer to me as his brother. Yet at the end of his life and for reasons I still don't know, he was not my friend. I would call him and he wouldn't answer the phone or return any messages. He died and I didn't feel welcome at his funeral.
It sounds like there were undoubtedly good times between William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy over the years. The two were close in the earlier years of their respective careers, and they bonded over much of their shared childhood and cultural experiences. However, for reasons that remain unclear to William Shatner, they grew apart in the later years of Leonard Nimoy's life-- and Shatner was told that he was not allowed to attend the funeral of his longtime co-star and former friend.
Of course, for longtime fans of the Star Trek franchise, William Shatner's recent excerpt from his book (via Trek Movie) arguably lends an even deeper resonance to his scenes with Leonard Nimoy in the classic Star Trek series and movies. In particular, it adds another profound layer to the death of Spock in The Wrath of Khan. You can check out that scene, below.
It's undoubtedly a sad story, but we will have to wait and see what else comes up in the Star Trek world. Until we learn more about the future of the Star Trek franchise on the big and small screens, you can head over to our movie premiere guide to read up on all of the films that are on the docket for 2018.
