William Shatner Misses Leonard Nimoy's Funeral; Conducts Post-Funeral 'Wake' with Fans for Spock via Twitter
William Shatner, 83, said he was unable to attend Leonard Nimoy's funeral in Los Angeles Sunday as he was then still in Florida for a Red Cross charity event at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. He said he won't be able to make the return trip back in time for the service for his late friend. For that, the New York Daily News called him 'Captain Jerk' at its front-page.
Shatner, sharing an image of the tabloid's cover via Twitter, invited his 2.1 million followers to "discuss it," also tweeting: "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." A few did, but most joined him in a tribute to the late Mr. Spock via the social media.
Nimoy, also 83, was found dead Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. Under Jewish tradition, he should be buried within 24 hours. But, since Saturday is a Sabbath, he was instead buried early Sunday. On Saturday, Shatner tweeted: "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."; "I feel really awful. Here I am doing charity work and one of my dearest friends is being buried."; "So my daughters Melanie and Lisabeth are attending Leonard's service."; and "So maybe tomorrow we come tomorrow here and celebrate his life." On why he can't physically make it back in time, Shatner also clarified: "One of the other misconceptions seems to be that folks think flights to LAX occur all night long."
Shatner spent the time waiting for when he can actually be back in Los Angeles engaging his fans and followers on Twitter in a tribute of sorts for the late Mr. Spock. Asked what he thought the former Mr. Spock's final message from beyond would have been for the Trekkies, he replied: "Don't smoke." Nimoy died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which he blamed on his years of smoking. Asked what life lessons they learned from each other, he replied: "I learned to be more serious, I think he learned to be less."
To a fan who wanted to know if he had any regrets about his relationship with Nimoy, Shatner answered, "That it couldn't have lasted a lot longer." Asked which of the original Star Trek movies was Nimoy's favorite, he replied, "I would imagine the one he directed." Actually, Nimoy directed two -Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984 and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986. Asked if the late actor ever squirrelled away any of the show's props, he said: "His ear tips; maybe a belt buckle."