# Was William Shatner asked to shave his chest for Star Trek? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409 "2011-10-03T04:43:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/1 "2011-10-03T04:43:56Z")
I don’t know what on Earth (or Ceti Alpha Two) caused this to drop into my brain, but I suddenly find myself wondering if William Shatner really had no chest hair or whether '60s TV did not allow it. Can anyone advise? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/2 "2011-10-03T04:51:39Z")
I do not know if he shaved but there was no ban against chest hair in the 60’s, just look at Spock’s glorious fur coat. [![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lottbvf9tP1qj7gpko1_500.jpg) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lottbvf9tP1qj7gpko1_500.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/3 "2011-10-03T04:58:04Z")
I know he struggled to keep his weight down. He always started each season pretty fit and by seasons end the weight started showing. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/4 "2011-10-03T06:22:43Z")
No, they had makeup people to do that for him, ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/5 "2011-10-03T06:33:22Z")
If it was shaved, there would be stubble. Probably waxed. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/6 "2011-10-04T04:30:09Z")
You can ask him right here: [Ask William Shatner Whatever You’d Like](http://interviews.slashdot.org/story/11/10/03/1616200/ask-william-shatner-whatever-youd-like) ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/7 "2011-10-05T16:45:38Z")
I seem to recall from some interviews that aired on the Sci-Fi channel right after they picked up the original series that there was hair removal; someone involved with the show thought that Captain Kirk shouldn’t be hairy. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-william-shatner-asked-to-shave-his-chest-for-star-trek/598409/8 "2011-10-05T17:05:38Z")
My recollection from a book about Star Trek that I read long ago (well before TNG was even thought of) is that yes, they made Shatner shave his chest so that (more or less) he wouldn’t be too sexy for TV. Since Spock was an alien and therefore couldn’t be considered sexy (or so the network censors thought), Nimoy wasn’t required to do so. Which resulted in that bizarre scene with a bald-and-shiny-chested Kirk and a furry Vulcan. I always thought that was so weird looking, which is why the story stuck in my mind.