William Shatner: Why I didn't attend Leonard Nimoy's funeral
William Shatner took to Twitter to explain why he couldn't attend Leonard Nimoy's funeral on Sunday in Los Angeles.
He first posted a couple of tweets explaining the reason behind his absence, but after The New York Daily News dubbed the "Star Trek" actor "Captain Jerk" on its front page Sunday, Shatner used the social media platform to defend himself and his choice not to go.
Shatner, 83, said he had a prior commitment and went on to pay tribute to his friend in a series of tweets:
I am currently in FL as I agreed to appear at the Red Cross Ball tonight. Leonard's funeral is tomorrow. I can't make it back in time.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015
I feel really awful. Here I am doing charity work and one of my dearest friends is being buried.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015
So let's spend some time tomorrow celebrating Leonard's life and remembering the man.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015
Until tomorrow! #LLAP
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015
“@NYDailyNews: An early look at tomorrow's front page. http://t.co/ZDjADxLW48 pic.twitter.com/ijdwAwDw14” I want to share this. Let's discuss it
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
So my daughters Melanie and Lisabeth are attending Leonard's services.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
I chose to honor a commitment I made months ago to appear at a charitable fundraiser. A lot of money was raised. So here I am; tell me off.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
Shatner later asked his followers to share their memories of Nimoy, who died Friday of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at age 83.
Shatner used the #LeonardNimoy hashtag to remember his friend and "Star Trek" co-star, noting in a touching tribute, "Leonard and I seemed to be bound by fate to be friends. We were born 4 days apart. He was tall, lanky and sometimes a bit too serious. We worked together previous to Star Trek, first impressions: nice guy, a real professional, took the job/role seriously."
He said, Nimoy was "intelligent, insightful, just a precious gem of a man," adding, "He took the role of Spock very seriously and I would try and get him to crack a smile while in his persona. It was hard to do." Through that, he says, "I learned to be more serious [and] I think he learned to be less."
When asked if Shatner had any regrets about the friendship," he responded, "That it couldn't have lasted a lot longer."