William Shatner Signs Copies Of His New Book “Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man”
Relatives of “Star Trek” hero Leonard Nimoy are fuming over William Shatner’s new book — which paints the co-stars as bosom buddies when, in fact, they feuded for decades. Shatner’s memoir, “Leonard: My Fifty-Year Relationship with a Remarkable Man,” traces his time with the late Nimoy, claiming they loved each other. “Leonard Nimoy was my best friend,” gushed Shatner!
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On the set of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
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Nimoy died at age 83 on Feb. 23, 2015, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and isn’t around to tell his side of the tale. But a Nimoy family insider called Shatner’s take illogical “hogwash.”
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“Shamefully, he’s trying to make a quick buck off of Leonard’s memory,” insisted the insider. “And if he felt he had to distort the truth for his own image and to do damage control, then he’s really never ever been a true friend of Leonard’s.”
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In the book, Shatner, 84, claims the stars began feuding after Leonard declined to appear in a documentary William was filming about the captains of the USS Enterprise.
Portrait of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
“I thought he was kidding; it was such a small thing,” wrote Shatner. “But then a cameraman filmed him speaking at a convention without his permission, and he got angry. Essentially, he stopped speaking to me. It made no sense.”
FILM ‘STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY’
Shatner even admits that his “pal” BANNED the former Captain Kirk from visiting his deathbed! “The truth is, they hated each other,” spilled a spy, adding that Shatner first became jealous of Nimoy when the beloved “Star Trek” character Spock became an instant fan favorite in the 1960s.
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The source said Nimoy accused Shatner of stealing his lines AND the bicycle he used around the studio lot, adding: “The antagonism lasted through four decades.”
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“It was very painful for me,” Shatner wrote of Nimoy's passing. But a close friend of the dead star warned: “Any tears he professed to have shed over his passing were of the crocodile variety!”