Up Till Now, by the Has Been

When you're not feeling well, you can't read just any book.  I don't know about you, but I reach for things which have at least the potential to make me laugh.

So, on the way back from the doctor, we swung briefly through Barnes and Noble, where I was drawn straight to WHY WE SUCK by Dr. Denis Leary.   Problem with that book? It was too funny, which sent me into excruciating pain whenever I laughed.

So today, while browsing through the stack at Audible.com, I came across the latest autobiography of William Shatner, Up Till Now: The Autobiography, read by the author.  I'm a Shatner fan from way back, from the syndicated Star Trek episodes I absorbed as a kid to the rerun of those Twilight Zone and Outer Limits episodes he made memorable, and bought multiple copies of his album - vinyl - Captain of the Starship, which was part dramatic reading, part personal monolog, part Star Trek mini-convention - all the way to his current tour de force as the Mad Cow-addled Denny Crane on Boston Legal and his surprisingly excellent and moving biographical album Has Been, which he initially offered for free - in QuickTime audio format - on his new website in the late 1990s.

I'd read several of his earlier books, but this one seemed different.  It was more self-revealing, from his early childhood, his introduction to acting, his long-standing struggles with his marriages and his ability to translate accolades into a steady paycheck.  He also delves into what may be the darkest moment of his life: finding his third wife, Noreen, at the bottom of the pool, dead.

There is much to laugh with in this (abridged) audiobook, but I was also brought to tears on multiple occasions as he relates the loss and struggle he endured on this and other occasions: the death of his father, the final lap with a beloved show horse, his efforts to court his now-fourth wife.  And he points out that those moments which are frequently seen as the worst and most mockable in the history of entertainment ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Rocket Man") later giving him new opportunities, not just in the Priceline commercials but in his new record deal for Has Been.

Needless to say, it was six hours or so of sitting down in a comfy chair on a balcony, smoking cigars, swilling scotch, and sorting out the meaning and the whimsy and the value of life.  Though my swill was DayQuil, my stogie was an inhaler, and the balcony was only in my fevered imagination.

This guy wasn't too fond of the book, but in the comments a surprising number rose to Shatner's defense.  I know his reputation.  The list of fans and even "lesser" celebrities who have been dissed by the man is long and distinguished.  Me, I've been in the same room with him but have never approached - I've appreciated the distance that lets him entertain me however he chooses, and which keeps me free of disappointment.  My fandom is not a gateway to friendship, and I've never thought otherwise.  The running gag on the spoken book is Shatner repeatedly plugging merchandise and his own website.  I see my relationship with the man in the same way - a transaction, beneficial to us both.  I buy his stuff, he keeps entertaining me.  His eccentricities entertain me as much as his most serious work - and let it not be forgotten, in his earlier years Shatner was considered a brilliant young actor - and I'm fine with leaving it at that.  He doesn't have to call me up and invite me to his balcony for me to value him.

Because he already has.  Thank you, Bill Shatner, for comforting me on a miserable sickday, for the measly price of one Audible credit.  As always, you give good value.