Beloved Star Trek actor William Shatner, 94, to undergo surgery after horse riding accident
TV and movie stalwart William Shatner has revealed he will undergo surgery following a terrifying accident.
Shatner, 94, who rose to fame in the 1960s when he played Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek television series, made the revelation while accepting an award during the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films' Saturn Awards earlier this week.
Shatner, who is still working despite being a nonagenarian, revealed he needed to undergo surgery this week to treat a shoulder injury he suffered when he fell from a horse.
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Shatner is undergoing surgery after a horse-riding accident. WireImage
Shatner, who went into space in 2021 during the first space flight by Jeff Bezos company Blue Origin, is a keen equestrian who has ridden, bred and exhibited horses for much of his life.
He continued to compete well into his 80s, and even won a world championship at 88.
Shatner was at the Saturn Awards to accept a Hall of Fame award on behalf of the Star Trek franchise when he revealed the mishap.
After telling the media he felt "old, tired and kind of hurt", he revealed he recently "came off" one of his horses.
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Shatner with the Saturn Award he received this week. Getty
"I ride the horses that can compete in equine skills, which is fast down and ends on a sliding stop," he said.
"And the horse that I owned, I came off.
"She had a habit of going too far, like six inches to the side. And I'm riding it. And I'm ready. And she goes..."
Shatner, who often performed his own stunts, said he used his knowledge to lessen the impact of the fall, however, still came out of it worse for wear.
"I'm not a young stuntman anymore. I started to roll, but hit the dirt with my shoulder. So I wrecked my shoulder," he said, before adding he would undergo a "new type of shoulder operation called a reverse something or other" this week.
Shatner was born in Montreal, Canada, on March 22, 1931, and appeared in his first movie in 1951 while at college.
Five years later he made his Broadway debut but after struggling to find work, he ended up on the popular children's TV show, The Howdy Doody Show.
He worked steadily for the next decade but failed to crack the big time until he landed the role in Star Trek, which originally ran from 1966 to 1969.
He later appeared in the 1970s animated TV series and struggled to get other roles after becoming typecast.
It was only years after the show ended that Star Trek became a sensation.
Shatner finally cast his Star Trek character aside when he appeared in the 80s TV show T. J. Hooker as a veteran Los Angeles police sergeant.
Shatner with the Golden Globe he won in 2005 for his role in Boston Legal. Getty images
He won a new generation of fans when he appeared in the 2000 Sandra Bullock film, Miss Congeniality, and its 2005 sequel, which led to other film roles and a turn in the TV drama, The Practice, and its spinoff, Boston Legal.
He won both a Golden Globe and Emmy for his portrayal of Danny Crane.
Shatner continues to work and is a regular guest at Comic-con events.
Shatner went into space in the first Blue Origin flight. AP
His latest mishap comes six months after he was rushed to hospital following a medical emergency he later put down to 'over-indulging', causing a blood sugar problem.
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