Hollywood fans were left worried this week after William Shatner, the beloved actor who brought Captain James T. Kirk to life on Star Trek, was rushed to the hospital. The 94-year-old icon experienced a sudden health scare at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday afternoon, according to TMZ.
Reports say Shatner had an issue with his blood sugar levels. Realizing something was wrong, he personally called for emergency medical help. An ambulance from the Los Angeles Fire Department was dispatched to his home as a precaution. He was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, where sources told TMZ he’s “doing good” and “resting comfortably.”
The Boston Legal actor’s representatives haven’t yet commented on the situation.
Shatner has been remarkably open about his health in recent years. Earlier this year, he revealed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, an advanced form of skin cancer that can spread quickly. What started as a lump under his right ear turned out to be much more serious than his first doctor suggested.
“It was melanoma, stage 4,” Shatner told Healio in March. “I said, ‘Stage 4?’ And someone in the room said, ‘Sorry.’ I said, ‘What are you sorry about?’ It was like, ‘Better pack your things.’ That person who said ‘sorry,’ that was very sad, like you are going to die. And I was. They said if this [treatment] they used did not work, I had about 5 months.”
Thankfully, surgery and an aggressive immunotherapy regimen worked. Shatner says he’s now cancer-free and credits the treatment with saving his life.
This isn’t the first time his health has been challenged by his legendary career. Shatner has long dealt with permanent tinnitus, a condition that causes ringing in the ears, after standing too close to a special effects explosion while filming the 1967 Star Trek episode “Arena.”
Despite it all, Shatner hasn’t slowed down. At 90, he made headlines around the world when he blasted off into space on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket in 2021. The trip, he said, was a “profound experience” that connected him to “the magic of the connection of all life on Earth.”
Now at 94, Shatner is still planning big adventures. Just earlier this month, he announced he’ll be traveling to the Galapagos Islands in November for a “Space 2 Sea” convention. The event will feature speakers including astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and former NASA astronaut Dr. Kathryn Sullivan.
For now, fans can breathe a little easier knowing the Hollywood legend is recovering comfortably. Still, the hospital scare is another reminder of just how much Shatner has been through — and how determined he remains to keep moving forward.
