William Shatner defends himself after missing Leonard Nimoy’s funeral

Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner
Late last week we heard the sad news that iconic actor Leonard Nimoy had passed away at 83 after a long battle with COPD. The world mourned the loss of a great actor and man who had become a part of so many of our childhoods. Tributes poured in from celebrities, from President Obama, and even from space.

After Nimoy passed, many people wondered how his longterm co-star and old friend, William Shatner, was doing. Shatner, 83, tweeted that he was “feeling awful” and that he would not be able to make it to Nimoy’s funeral on Sunday morning. Shatner had to honor a previous commitment to attend a charity event for The Red Cross in Florida on Saturday night. Yesterday Shatner spent time on Twitter interacting with fans and answering questions about Nimoy. He gave some touching answers. Then, when he got flack for missing Nimoy’s funeral, he sort-of admitted that he couldn’t afford the $30k it would have cost him to take an earlier, chartered flight back to LA. He got a bit defensive, but I can’t blame him, especially after the NY Daily News ran a cover story about him with the headline “Captain Jerk.” Here are some tweets from Shatner:

Shatner then answered fan questions and described what a loving, thoughtful friend Nimoy was and how he loved the arts and photography. You can see those tweets on his timeline and here are individual links to some. It was a fitting way to honor his late friend, and I thought Shatner explained himself well. He also said that his two daughters were attending Nimoy’s funeral.

Later Shatner got in a twitter war with radio talk show host Todd Schnitt, who asked him why he didn’t take a private jet to the funeral. Schnitt tweeted, after it was too late to have helped, that “if money is an issue for you, I would have paid for your flight.” Shatner retorted that he “must have missed your email about underwriting the arrangement and payment for this.” Then Schnitt wrote he would make a donation to the Red Cross instead, after which Shatner called him out for not donating the $30k a jet would have cost.

Ultimately Shatner landed in LA yesterday at around 11:30, two and a half hours after Nimoy’s service was held. The Daily News claims he could have either chartered a jet or flew out of Miami an hour south to catch a flight that would have landed him in LA at 9:45. I doubt it’s as easy to charter a private flight as the News makes it sound, and even the earlier flight would have made him significantly late.

Shatner is also 83 years old. He spent a lot of time on Twitter honoring his late friend’s memory, and he made the choice to also honor a charity commitment he had made. I’m sure that Nimoy would have understood.

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy

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Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner

photo credit: WENN.com

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98 Responses to “William Shatner defends himself after missing Leonard Nimoy’s funeral”

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  1. Snazzy says:

    I think it must have been hard for him to miss the funeral, and the reasons for him missing it are perfectly viable (IMHO). I am sure his friend would have appreciated the charity work he is doing. LLAP

    • Zapp Brannigan says:

      Agree no shade from me either. He was in a difficult position and people handle grief in very different ways. The important thing is be there for someone in life, though good and hard times.

    • pikny says:

      funerals suck.let shatner grieve in peace

      • Irishserra says:

        Agree 100%

        Even if he could afford the charter and even if he had chosen purposely not to attend the funeral, it’s no one else’s damned business. People grieve in their own way. The stupidity of Schmidt and the other trolls on Twitter is beyond incredible.

    • a cut above says:

      Pretty sure Leonard Nimoy would have understood 100%. This is such a non-story.

    • Duchess of Corolla says:

      +1

      I wish everyone would stop judging Shatner for this. It isn’t anyone’s business, really.

    • Sarah says:

      Agreed. I’m sure he wanted to be there.

    • Pandy says:

      I agree. He did have a charitable commitment to honour – I give him a pass. I’m sure he would have wanted to be there.

    • Grace says:

      I completely agree. And it was nice of him to share some Nimoy stories with twitter fans.

    • Samtha says:

      Agree. I can’t believe people are giving him grief about this.

    • joan says:

      His excuse was lame, BS, and implausible — that’s the problem.

      No one’s demanding he go to the funeral IF he gave a better excuse why he couldn’t go.

      • Ange says:

        Why does he have to give any excuse at all? They acted together on a TV snow and were friends outside of it, that’s it. The phenomenal lasting success of the show with its fan base still doesn’t give anyone else ownership over their relationship and how it’s conducted.

      • Lucinda says:

        And you have a right to judge why? People miss funerals all the time. Funerals they may have really wanted to go to but couldn’t for a variety of reasons. He was doing a charity event. He is 83, the same age as Nimoy. It isn’t like he is a spring chicken. The fact that people are even worked up about it is stupid.

  2. Louise says:

    Sorry Shatner was wrong. He knows it was wrong that’s why he was inviting people to tell him off and justifying himself. Sorry but I don’t agree. He will regret missing it.

    • Hudson Girl says:

      This whole thing is a horrible story. He is an actor who made the bulk of his money decades ago when TV wages weren’t what they are now. He does not have the kind of cash for a private jet.

      People who are upset know nothing about the type of man Leonard Nimoy was, and what his advice to 83 year old Shatner would have been.
      “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.”
      Shatner did the right thing to honor his commitment and followed proper etiquette by sending his 2 daughters to represent him at the funeral instead.

      • Eliottred says:

        Funerals suck. I don’t think Leonard Nimoy has any thoughts about him missing the funeral and I think most funerals are are not worth attending. Everyone can deal with loss the way that they want to. No one has the right to tell anyone that they should go to funeral or not go to a funeral it is a personal choice and people should be able to honor the family in whichever way that they decide to, instead of having to go to a funeral and making a show about it. Newsflash more people miss funerals than you think.. When someone dies, all we have left is the memory of their existence. The man is dealing with enough. Now he has to deal with a bunch of unruly fans trying to smash him it’s ridiculous leave him alone let him be his life is none of your business.

      • I Choose Me says:

        Well said. Bad enough Shatner has to deal with the loss of his friend, a man he knew better than anyone of us ever will, and now he has to deal with know it all asshats. Gorram, people can be so freaking judgmental sometimes it drives me crazy.

    • Allie says:

      Who are you to say that? Attending a funeral does not decide who is a decent person. He was there for the man while he was still living. That’s what counts. Let the man grieve privately. This country is so judgmental about the craziest things.

    • Josephine says:

      I disagree. Funerals are for the living, not the departed, and I seriously doubt that anyone from Nimoy’s family was offended or upset. The man missed for the right reasons, and judging someone who made a really tough call is just mean-spirited.

      Nimoy seems like exactly the type of man who would have advised Shatner to do the charitable event and raise money for the living.

      • PrincessMe says:

        “Funerals are for the living, not the departed…”

        Exactly what I was going to say. Even if he just decided not to go, that doesn’t make him a bad person. From what we know they were good friends (to each other), so I’m sure he’s grieving his friend in his own way.

    • Pinky says:

      Wow. Just…wow. Speechless.

    • Rachel says:

      I agree with everything everyone else has already posted as a response to you. I’ll also add that the man is EIGHTY THREE YEARS OLD. Granted, he seems pretty spry for his age, but you cannot expect an 83 year old man to spend the night at a fundraiser then catch a cross country red eye. All I can think about right now is someone giving my grandfather this kind of grief in this situation… I would go nuclear.

      • Malificent says:

        Exactly! My mom is a totally spry, bad-ass 81-year-old and I would never expect her to do a red-eye, cross-country flight, especially after attending a ball the night before.

        Shatner wasn’t able to attend the service, but his daughters attended to represent the family. And he is obviously happy to share his love and respect for his friend in other ways. He should not have to explain or apologize.

      • Lucinda says:

        Yes! He is the same age as Nimoy. No one thinks it weird that Nimoy died at 83. Why do people think it disrespectful that Shatner, also 83, didn’t do a red-eye after honoring his commitment to a charity.

    • MC2 says:

      +1 to all the comments in response to this post. I also don’t think grieving for someone is only a 2 hour funeral- Shatner flew in as soon as he could & probably met up with the family, friends, etc. This is just such an odd thing to wag your finger at someone for. People who care or judge that Shatner did not make it to the funeral are the odd birds.

    • Sammi says:

      Oh Louise, knock it off. If Shatner HAD gone to the funeral you would be complaining about how rude it was that he cancelled his appearance at the charity event.

    • Sugar says:

      No, he’s not wrong. He had a commitment to a charity; imagine the crap he’d have gotten if he ditched the Red Cross. He’s also not obligated to spend 30k to make a ceremony. That’s just absurd.

      The time to honor a friend is when he’s alive, but which it appears he did. This is a non-story.

    • ol cranky says:

      Sorry but Shatner was not at all in the wrong. Jews bury our dead very quickly after death – we mourn after the funeral as opposed to having a viewing and pre-funeral things prior to the day of burial. We had to delay my mom’s funeral a couple of days so my brother could come in from the other side of the country but we did this for an immediate relative; some of my mom’s close friends couldn’t make it to town in time for the funeral and we made it clear that they should not feel a need to rearrange their schedule/cut things short just to come to the funeral. Not everyone can make a funeral I am sure that Shatner will (or already has) been to wherever Nimoy’s family is sitting shiva

  3. delphi says:

    I swear…*sigh* The NYDN turns my stomach.

    • Macey says:

      same here. I was just skimming that Todds twitter feed and its obvious he’s milking this story for his own publicity stunt. Now he’s going on with “the real story behind Shatner” blah blah blah just to hype the story even further. Someone mentioned on there he’s trying to be the next Stern or something by calling out celebs. I never heard of the guy but its obvious this is the most publicity he’s even received so im sure he’s gonna milk it. Doubt he has any connections to Nimoy at all.

  4. Tig says:

    People can be so vile. Here’s a news flash-many elderly people pass on funerals- who can blame them? Shatner by all accounts was a loyal friend during Nimoy’s life- that’s what counts.

  5. Crocuta says:

    Leonard Nemoy is, sadly, dead. He won’t be hurt by Shatner not attending. The people the charity is for are alive. It’s more honorable to attend a charity event than cancel it for a funeral, no matter how much it broke Shatner’s heart. I hope he won’t be too hard on himself, nor should other people be.

  6. Emma - the JP Lover says:

    I saw a wonderful 90-minute panel with the two of them in 2009 (they could have gone on the road as a comedy act!). It was obvious how very close they were and that the affection between them was genuine. Leonard Nimoy knew last week that he was near the end of his life. There’s no doubt in my mind that the two friends talked and it was probably decided that Shatner, who is also 83-years-old, would not attend his friend’s funeral. First of all–and who are the media kidding–all of the attention would have been on William Shatner.

    I saw a photo of Mr. Shatner and his wife at the airport on Florida. His eyes were small and it was obvious he’d been crying. I respect his right to grief his friend in private. I think it’s cruel and sad how the media is going after him.

    • Snazzy says:

      We all deal with death differently and this must have been so hard for him – I’ll bet he really suffered at the charity event as well. I am with you – the treatment of Shatner in all of this is mean-spirited and cruel.

  7. GiGi says:

    I don’t even understand the flack he’s getting for this. He was across the country at a charity function – who would expect him to somehow get back in time just for a funeral? So bizarre.

    • FKA Pri says:

      Me either. Plus, he’s 83. I think people should give it a rest. That he had him in his memory is more than enough.

  8. Macey says:

    People need to mind their own business. Everyone mourns differently and he was trying to honor a charity obligation. Funerals are for the living, not the deceased. besides that, not everyone is comfortable with funerals. they mourn and remember in their own way and there isnt anything wrong with that. I personally would rather remember them the way were vs seeing them in a casket. for some reason every time I go to a funeral my last memory becomes the person in the casket rather than my happy memories with them. I’d honestly rather skip the funeral too just to preserve my last memories.

    • Josephine says:

      I agree, except that attending a funeral can be really important for the living left behind. I am of the age where my friends’ parents are dying, and so many are touched when I attend the funeral. It means something to those remaining. It means a lot, so it may be worth trying to go. That being said, I agree with Shatner in this situation.

    • Christin says:

      Macey, I agree with you. My father recently passed away unexpectedly, and we chose to have a simple, small, private graveside service. Dad and I felt the same way — that you need to reach out and do for the living. Where I live, the tradition is to do a two or three hour visitation prior to the funeral, even though most of my friends describe them as punishing to go through.

      My father’s closest friends are in their 70s and 80s, and no matter how well some of them can get around, there was no point in them being expected to be present at the graveside. It was a cold, windy day and a couple of the guys in their 80s opted to avoid that type of weather. They were great friends to my Dad during his life, and that’s what matters. That is why I give Shatner a break on this.

  9. Lilacflowers says:

    The only opinions that matter on this are those of Nimoy’s family, not those of the NYDN or Todd Schnitt, whoever he is. I suspect Shatner has extended his condolences to the family and that they know the reasons why Shatner wasn’t there and are probably fine with them. Additionally, Nimoy was Jewish. Is the family sitting Shiva, which goes beyond the actual funeral? Has Shatner visited or will he visit? That’s what matters. Shatner should be left alone to grieve for his friend with their families and mutual friends.

  10. Mrs. Wellen Melon says:

    If it was key that Shatner attend, the funeral should have been scheduled to accommodate his commitments.

    That’s how it works in my family. Key people are consulted on dates. That the Nimoy family held the funeral when it did says to me that they understood Shatner would not be there and that was okay, they understood.

    • Renee says:

      I’m not disagreeing with you but isn’t Leonard Nimoy Jewish? I believe that it is customary for funerals to be scheduled closely after deaths.

      The other thing is, I seem to recall Shatner having some money issues??? I could be wrong. But even though he is rich if he is 83 it’s likely that he is on a reduced income and $30 000 for one flight is a considerable amount of money. He needs to make peace with his own decisions and not worry about what the rest of the world thinks.

      • Mia4S says:

        Exactly, Nimoy was Jewish. The family likely followed the 24 hour (ish) burial custom and will now be sitting Shiva which is when visitors (like Mr. Shatner) can be of real support and comfort. Shiva is seven days I believe? (Sorry, I’m raised catholic, my knowledge is limited).

      • H says:

        That’s correct. Leonard’s parents were orthodox Jews and it is custom to be buried 24 hours after death. However, since Leonard died Friday right before Sabbath, he couldn’t be buried Saturday, (Jewish custom of not burying the dead on Saturday), so funeral was early Sunday. Now, people forget Shatner is also Jewish, so I agree with above poster, that I bet Shatner is going to sit shiva with family.

        I’m only half Jewish, So unless Leonard’s family is following another custom, Mr. Shatner can now go and grieve with them. Which is why I think him missing the funeral isn’t as a big a deal as the media is making. I’d rather sit shiva with family and friends.

  11. Mia4S says:

    That NYDN page is gross as are the people critisising. To quote Shatner from long ago: “get a life”. Shatner wasn’t there for his funeral? He was there for his life, which is what matters and is more than any of us were. Also it appears the press was so busy going after Shatner, the funeral was held without press or fan intrusion. There. Story done. Move on.

  12. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    He clearly DOES regret missing it, but he chose to honor a previous commitment to a charity. Funerals are for the living. Sometimes you can’t get to one, especially at his age and everybody doesn’t have an extra 30,000 dollars for a chartered jet. Why are people so quick to judge things they really know nothing about?

  13. **sighs** says:

    Ugh. Leave the man alone. I’m sure he’s grieving enough without people giving him $hit for doing charity work. What is wrong with people?

    • Guesto says:

      ^ This. Really, the lows that some people are prepared to descend to for a bit of attention seriously depress me.

  14. smee says:

    Everyone is making this into more than it is – a funeral is just a one-hour service. What really matters is the actual relationship you had with that person when they were alive.

  15. Jen43 says:

    What a crap show. The man is in mourning. He is 83 years old. Leave him alone.

  16. Boxy Lady says:

    I was amazed this weekend that so many thought it was okay to try to bully an 83 year old man into taking a cross country red-eye flight.

  17. insomniac says:

    Oh, this made me mad. By all accounts, Leonard Nimoy was a very kind, gracious man — so let’s honor his memory by viciously attacking one of his closest friends. Seriously, people? I’ve heard Shatner can be a real ass, but I agree that he did nothing wrong here.

    • MC2 says:

      That’s a great point! I don’t think Nimoy would be okay with all this & it’s disrespectful to him. Let’s honor him- not find a reason to sling crap around.

  18. Brittney B says:

    I would have missed my own grandmother’s funeral if her husband and son hadn’t bought my ticket. And my employer stepped up big time with time off, too.

    Last-minute flight arrangements are so expensive, even when it’s *not* a private jet… and work commitments don’t disappear because of tragedies. He couldn’t have foreseen this, so I think the people criticizing him simply don’t understand that fame =/= endless wealth.

  19. Jayna says:

    No judgment at all. They chose to have the funeral early morning. He is in his ’80s and was in another state until late Saturday.

    I thought he honored his friend in life and upon his death on answering his twitter questions about Leonard Nimoy and praising the human being and friend he was. His daughters went. Someone his age doesn’t need all of this stress from strangers. If he strokes out or has a heart attack over this, will online bullies be happy then? He can’t even grieve and feel the sadness because he’s having to defend himself, which takes away from the loss. That’s the real story. Leonard Nimony died. I feel bad for Shatner having to deal with this kind of crap.

    My father once told me how hard it is when your friends and family, your age, die. He said it just becomes more and more every year and is very depressing and sad as you enter that phase of your life. This is a big hit emotionally to William Shatner. I’ve seen them in interviews together and you could feel and see their affection and respect for one another, and now the shared memories they have together spanning decades and stories to reminisce about and friendship is gone for Shatner. He’s lost a longtime friend. Have some compassion, instead of judgment.

    • H says:

      THIS. There was a picture on my Facebook feed of the of Star Trek crew sitting around a table, it was: Bones, Spock, Kirk and Scotty. The next picture was of Shatner sitting alone at the same table.

      It broke my heart to think most of the cast is dead now. (I’m not counting Uhura, Sulu and Chekov characters as its been well known for years that they do not like Shatner, but the leads of the show are now dead and gone, and basically Shatner is last one standing.)

      My father has been the same way in the last few years. All his contemporaris have died and he has a much more fatalistic view on life. So I think people giving crap to Bill Shatner need to remember he’s 83 years old and knock it off.

  20. InvaderTak says:

    Maybe he didn’t want to attend because of the press. Maybe he really couldn’t make it. Maybe he has health problems that we don’t know about that would have made it difficult to travel cross country on short notice. Maybe there is bad blood between him and others that would be there and he didn’t go because his presence would have created drama. There are any number of reasons none of which are our business. Let the man alone. He is obviously grieving. Maybe Leonard would have wanted him to focus on charity.

    • OhDear says:

      Seriously. Maybe he can’t handle seeing his friend being buried just yet. And it seems like he can still offer condolences while the family sits shiva, so I don’t see the problem here.

  21. Delta Juliet says:

    I am just becoming more and more discouraged with how people treat each other. What a bunch of a-holes to make him feel bad for missing something I am sure he already feels bad for. It amazes me how so many people have the answers for everything these days.

    And lets’ remember, he was at a charity event. To raise money. For people in need. It’s not like he was wasting his cash on hookers and cards in Vegas for Pete’s sake.
    .

  22. Jewbitch says:

    Shatner is also Jewish.

    • Renee says:

      And Canadian!!! Don’t forget that (I’m Canadian too).

      I didn’t know that he was also Jewish.

      • bettyrose says:

        It’s a critical line from the Hannukah song: “You don’t need Deck the Halls or Jingle Bell Rock/You can spin the dreidel with Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock!” (I don’t think he’d disapprove of light-heartedness in his memory).

      • Renee says:

        I am not conversant with the Hanukah song 🙁

        And I agree that Mr. Nimoy would approve of the lightheartedness.

      • Lady D says:

        It’s an Adam Sandler song. You should check it out. It’s actually one of the few genuinely funny things Sandler has done.

  23. vauvert says:

    So vile to attack a 83 year old man who just lost a friend and who spent his weekend donating his time for charity. This kind of vicious witch hunt to create dirt out of nothing and cause grief to everyone – Shattner, Nimoy’s family, their fans…. Just despicable. Whether Shattner did not attend because it was a mental, emotional, physical or financial struggle for him to do so, it is no one’s business but his own. Someone needs to shut up that tabloid clown.

  24. bettyrose says:

    No judgement. He’s in his 80s and probably can’t just hop a red eye. Plus I’m sure Nimoy wouldn’t have wanted him to miss his commitment. Shatner did the right thing.

    But I laid down $700 (not 30k) last minute to take a red eye cross country for a funeral.

    • Jayna says:

      Leonard Nimoy’s funeral was at 9 a.m. There would be no flight to get him there in time, which I think somebody online, a reporter, confirmed. He arrived in LA at 11:30 a.m. , which means he flew out at around 6:40 a.m. from West Palm Beach.

      • bettyrose says:

        No a red eye means leaving the night before, usually around midnight (I.e. going straight from an evening event to the airport). That probably wasn’t an option given his age but I wouldn’t want anyone else to miss an important events because they think the flight costs 30k.

      • bettyrose says:

        I truly mean no judgement here. Shatner will have ample time to pay his respects, but we’re all going to face this scenario at some point (I did not that long ago), so it’s a valid discussion of what the different options are.

  25. Murphy says:

    Seriously, its not like he was out banging hookers, he had a legitimate and honorable comittment.

    • Xazi says:

      +1
      Leave the man alone to grieve and respect his decision to honour his Red Cross commitment.
      The radio host cited above was openly trolling Twitter for attention and new followers. He’s the jerk.

  26. eribra says:

    I’ve worked 20+ years in retirement homes- and been around for a lot of end of life discussions. Most of them say their closest friends are either dead or not able to come due to finances or distance or health. They recognize those difficulties for themselves and their loved ones. Were they here for you in life- yesterday or 60 years ago? Seems like Shatner was there for Nimoy in life and vice versa. That’s what matters.

  27. PennyLane says:

    Surprised nobody has brought up the religious factor.

    In both the Jewish and Muslim religious traditions, you bury the body within 24-48 hours (basically as quickly as possible), and then have a days-long ceremony afterwards where people who couldn’t make the funeral in time can still participate in honoring that person’s memory. [Random knowledge alert: I know about all this because a) I grew up in a Jewish town and b) 20 years ago my sister married a wonderful man who is Muslim. His Mom passed away last year and my sister was very involved in the funeral arrangements.]

    After the burial, there is a days-long gathering where people sit around and talk about the person and tell stories, share happy memories, remembrances, etc. In Judaism it is called sitting shivah; I am not sure what the Muslim version is called, but I know it lasts three days.

    Basically in these religions missing the actual funeral is NOT nearly as big of a deal as it is in Christianity because of the quick burial. It is understood that not everyone will be able to attend the burial because it happens so fast, and a work-around has been set up where people still can arrive a day or two late and still participate in honoring and remembering that person’s life.

    Also? I saw a photo of Shatner taken a few hours after Nimoy’s death was announced, and the guy had clearly been crying. His eyes were all puffy and red, and he looked really upset and sad. He’d just lost his friend of 50 years. Maybe we could cut the guy some slack?

    • lunchcoma says:

      Yeah, this is one of those situations where there’s far more religious and cultural diversity among Americans than people realize. I’d be surprised if Nimoy’s family thought this was a big deal.

    • Duchess of Corolla says:

      Another +1

  28. Deb says:

    It sickens me how many people are judging Shatner for this. He had valid reasons for missing the funeral and I am sure he is absolutely devastated to have missed it. To say such awful things about an 83 year old man who missed the funeral due to doing prescheduled charity work while he is obviously grieving one of his dearest friends is reprehensible.
    I don’t think Shatner has a lot of money, not that it’s any of our business. I think most of his money is tied up in his and his wife’s horses; he is always tweeting about the horse events they are in. 30K is a lot of money, and I would think at 83 it wouldn’t be as easy to travel as the naysayers think.
    I think Nimoy would be touched at his friend’s words and prayers and would understand his obligations to the charity event. He would probably be saddened by this shade towards his old friend.

    • Duchess of Corolla says:

      +1

      It is no one’s business to judge someone for this. I think it is just sad that people are attacking an 83 year-old man when he didn’t even do anything wrong. Let Shatner grieve in peace…he just lost his friend!

  29. Michelle says:

    This entire thing is no one’s business. It never should’ve come to this point, and the neckbeard assholes who feel so fondly about “Spock,” not even Nimoy himself, that they think they can bully Shatner into feeling like a bad person should shut up and mind their own business.

  30. Eliottred says:

    Funerals suck. Leave him alone and let him be. I’m sure that he is sad about losing his friend. All we have in the end is memories of the life that we have lost. What he does for the family no one will see. It is a personal thing funerals are for show. Most people go to funerals for show. And don’t give a damn about the person that is being buried. That is just atrocious. Let William Shatner grieve in his own way. I’m sure he is sick about how people are smashing him with their comments.

  31. lunchcoma says:

    Shatner doesn’t have a great personal reputation, and I think it’s being held against him here – and that in this case, it’s unfair. He’s in his 80s. Travel and irregular hours are more difficult for a person then, no matter how many luxuries they can afford.

    Both men are Jewish and are familiar with funerals being held very shortly after death and with distant friends and relatives not always being able to attend them. I’m sure Shatner will be paying his respects to the family this week.

  32. funcakes says:

    William had a news conference about not being invited to George takei s wedding when it is well known that they are not on unfriendly terms. This is unfortunately no different. Bill needs attention. I’m sure he’s grieving, but he’s a ham just the same.

  33. Christin says:

    This type of judgmental nonsense is an example of why I personally think a private funeral is the way to go.

    All it takes is one jerk known or (as in this case) unknown to the family and close friends to stir the pot of judging who showed up, who was most upset, was the service good or bad, etc. To have the media and complete outsiders being so judgy is just added stress and grief to the FAMILY as they find the attention diverted from their loved one.

  34. Jezz says:

    I will personally fight anyone who says something sh*tty about Shatner. We are running out of Star Trek originals and I won’t have anyone f***ing with the ones we have left.

  35. RobN says:

    People seem to forget that he’s about to turn 84 years old. They make it seem that it would be perfectly reasonable to expect your grandpa to entertain hundreds of people late into the evening in Florida and then fly, private or not, 3000 miles to attend a 9:00 a.m. funeral.

    He’s old. He’s a pretty feisty old guy, but still old. Big events take a lot out of the elderly and yet people seem to think he should be acting as if he’s 40.

    It’s also nobody’s business, which a lot of people seem to forget, too.

  36. Flower says:

    Nimoy would not have cared in the least. No matter which way you slice it, funerals are for the living not the dead, I can’t tell you haw many times I’ve felt obliged to go to a funeral and found it full of people who barely knew the deceased and were just there to be seen. I’m with Shatner honouring the dead is not about who turns up at their funeral.

  37. Feeshalori says:

    So now the Daily News is lambasting Shatner for arriving after the funeral, admonishing that he should have applied warp drive. I suppose they would have been happy if an 83-year-old man dropped dead from a heart attack or stroke to rush to the funeral to satisfy his critics.

    Just shameful.

  38. CH2 says:

    I’m not going to comment about funeral etiquette because there are a lot of harsh things being said about going/not going etc… It’s kind of a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation.

    However, I find it distasteful that there are people using someone’s death to bash that dead person’s friend. I’m sure he would have wanted that way?!?!

  39. Ashtau says:

    Thank gawd that the general public isn’t interested in how I choose to grieve for my friends. Nice job, Joe Public, of taking an already horrible situation and making someone feel even more awful about it. Shame.

  40. holly hobby says:

    This is such a non-issue. He doesn’t need to explain to us why he can’t make it. I don’t know why people are giving him a hard time. He made that commitment to a charity. Life happens and he chose to keep that commitment to a worthy cause.

    Like everyone says, he’s getting up there in age maybe he doesn’t feel like going to funerals at this point. I know my father doesn’t enjoy watching all his friends die off one by one. It’s freaking depressing.