William Shatner’s “medical emergency” earlier in the week didn’t stop the Star Trek icon from attending the FanX Salt Lake Comic & Pop Culture Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28. As it turns out, though, the Beehive State is a place Shatner has boldly gone to many times before, and he delighted those on hand at his panel with hilarious stories from his travels to Salt Lake City, which is affectionately known as The Crossroads of the West. Shatner said (per the Deseret News):
“I probably enjoyed skiing more than anything else in sports. I played football and that kind of thing, but skiing was my skill. So, I just would come here and be so happy to be in Salt Lake City […] So, I am spring skiing, when I fall, and I face-plant and I can’t breathe. I can’t get up because I am no longer the strong man I once was — I was no longer Captain Kirk. That was the last time I skied, but Salt Lake City is one of the great places in the world. I come here as often as I can to those mountains.”
Fortunately, a pair of alert skiers also enjoying the outdoors saw Shatner fall and rushed to aid him. Shatner also told those attending FanX another story, which turned out to be a cautionary tale when it comes to buying extravagant luxury items. Shatner recalled bumping into a gentleman he'd never met while visiting a Salt Lake City art gallery — a stranger who claimed to have an original work by the renowned 17th century painter and printmaker, Rembrandt. Shatner asked the man, ‘How do I know it’s real?’ The stranger replied by saying:
"Well, I’m selling it. It’s real."
Shatner warned the guy that he intended to check the sketch’s authenticity and then paid him with a check for the so-called priceless work of art. Fast forward to Star Trek’s own Captain Kirk showing his artistic find to the art department at USC in Los Angeles. The head promptly chuckled in the actor’s face. Shatner asked him, “What are you laughing at?” The Southern California alum quickly replied: "This is the worst imitation of a Rembrandt I’ve ever seen."
“I called up the guy [from Salt Lake City] and said, ‘Will you tear up the check?’” Shatner continued telling the story to the amusement of those at FanX. “[Laughter] So, Salt Lake City is in my mind!” Don’t worry, Trekkies. Mr. Shatner isn’t hurting financially. Forget the money he made over the course of his illustrious acting career, which spans back all the way back to the early 1950s. No, according to the FanX website, the beloved Star Trek icon was getting $145 for photo ops and $120 for his autograph over the weekend.
Be sure to visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages for more Star Trek content.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!