This is one of the best and weirdest celebrity meetings I ever had. Shatner was at Big Apple Con selling an autograph photo-op package for $75. The money went to some horse charity that helped poor inner city kids learn about stuff. I don’t really know much about the charity but it was to help kids and that’s and good thing. So anyway, I can’t justify dropping $75 on an autograph for anyone, even Buffy peeps. I know it’s Shatner and it’s for charity but I just can’t spend that kind of money.
Shatner is boxed off so the public cannot see him. It’s isolated but you know he’s there. The line was short so I asked the people selling the autographs if I could just say hello. Apparently no one ever thought to charge people to say hello to a celebrity before. So since there wasn’t a price for it they had a bit of a debate and they said I could jump on the line.
I get up to him and he’s got this deep raspy voice, he might have been sick. I went to shake his hand but he’d only do a fist pound, which is totally fine, handshaking is way dirty. I wanted to say something to him but I didn’t want to talk about Star Trek because he’s heard it a million times and Boston Legal had been off the air for a few years. He was pushing this new interview show Raw Nerve that I would watch. So I started talking about how I liked the show and then added some colorful conversation about how the seating arrangement freaks me out (because it did) and he replies in all his Shatner glory “We’ll we did it that way to freak you out!” Motherfucking awesome!!!! Best response Shatner could say. I thanked him and left. Entire experience with him was less that 40 seconds but will stay with me for a lifetime.
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| Shatner interviewing his best friend, older Zachary Quinto. |
Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
