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The Very First Image of William Shatner as Captain Kirk Signed Original Photograph (PSA Type I)
Presented is the very first image of William Shatner as Star Trek's Captain James T. Kirk. Star Trek is a television series, created by Gene Roddenberry, that made its debut on September 8, 1966, on NBC television. The show was created by Gene Roddenberry. He worked with Desilu Productions and created an initial pilot episode, called "The Cage." This was pre-William Shatner, and the captain of the spaceship was called Christopher Pike, and played by Jeffrey Hunter. This pilot episode was not accepted by NBC as a series prototype, and a second pilot episode was made, called "Where No Man Has Gone Before" with a largely new cast: This one featuring Shatner, playing a new captain, called James T. Kirk. Shatner was a Canadian actor who had appeared on stage and in movies and television in Canada, and he had portrayed Shakespearean characters on stage in Canada and in the United States. The revised cast included Leonard Nimoy reprising his role from the first pilot as Mister Spock, DeForest Kelley as Dr. "Bones" McCoy, James Doohan as Scott, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, and George Takei as Sulu. The offered Shatner photo was from the premiere Star Trek show, called "The Man Trap," which aired on September 8, 1966. The second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" actually was the third episode to air, being seen on Sept. 22, 1966. The original Star Trek series only ran for three seasons, 1966-69, and then it was cancelled. Shatner used his stage training as a Shakespearean actor to imbue the Captain Kirk character with a complex persona, and a many-layered portrayal. Despite its high-quality performances and themes of the series that actually reflected the problems of the real world of the 1960s, initially, Star Trek did not attract overwhelming numbers of viewers, but after its cancellation, it became a cult favorite in reruns and later the cast reunited for seven movies. The offered 7x9" black and white photo was issued one week after "The Man Trap" aired as the first Star Trek episode to be seen on television. The photo has been signed by William Shatner, using a blue marker. The photo does show some to-be-expected very slight darkening after 57 years, but overall, the photo is in excellent condition. The signed photo has been encapsulated and PSA certified as TYPE I AUTHENTIC and the Shatner signature has been PSA graded as MINT 9. Shatner is now in his 90s and still going strong. The 2-time Emmy winner and member of the Television Hall of Fame continues to act on stage and television. The signed photo is particularly memorable as the first photo of Shatner in the role that made him a star.
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