Saturday, August 20, 2011

Long Live William Shatner


I follow several comedians via Twitter, and one of my favorites is Patton Oswalt. The other day, he Tweeted the following:

"Don Rickles is only 5 years older than William Shatner. SORRY FOR BLOWING YOUR MIND."

I chuckled to myself, then headed straight over to IMDB to confirm. Rickles was born 5/08/1926, and Shatner was born 3/22/1931. That's actually about six weeks shy of 5 years!

In season one's "Long Live Walter Jameson," aging professor Sam Kittridge laments how he has grown old while his best friend, Walter Jameson, well... hasn't. Jameson's response? "It happens that way sometimes." Spoiler alert: Jameson is immortal.


Both Rickles and Shatner appeared on The Twilight Zone in 1961, so we can easily compare them. First, here's Rickles in "Mr. Dingle, the Strong":

Rickles is 35 here. His thinning hairline suggests a man somewhat older, but... okay, 35. Meanwhile, here's Shatner, age 30, in "Nick of Time":

Good God. He could pass for 20, easy.

Flash forward 50 years. Here's Rickles today:


And here's Shatner today:


"It happens that way sometimes," indeed. Could Shatner outlive us all?





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