'Celebrate life' William Shatner explains his absence from Leonard Nimoy's funeral
HE KICKED off his career alongside late Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek but William Shatner didn't attend his friend's funeral.
William Shatner has explained his absence from Leonard Nimoy's funeral
The 83-year-old actor was pictured at a charity event in Palm Beach rather than at the funeral, taking place in Los Angeles.
Speaking to Inside Edition, William defended his decision saying he was taking steps to celebrate life rather than death.
He said: "My understanding is mourn the dead but celebrate life. I chose to celebrate life by going to the Red Cross gathering in Palm Beach, raised a lot of money for the Red Cross.
The star said he was celebrating life and raising money for charity
He and late actor Leonard were life-long friends
"In that ceremony, in that time, I asked over a thousand people to remember Leonard Nimoy and Maury Hurley, another wonderful writer and another dear friend of mine who died this week."
William added: "And to take a moment to remember them, but also remember them by doing good deeds. And those good deeds will be remembered long after any other kind of memorial."
The actor, who played Captain James T. Kirk alongside Leonard in Star Trek, was one of the first to leave a tribute after his death last week.
He tweeted to fans: "I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humour [sic], his talent, and his capacity to love."
Flowers have been left on Leonard's Hollywood Walk of Fame star
The pair were extremely close friends and even once had an American TV show, The $10,000 Pyramid, re-made into a Kirk vs. Spock special in the 1970s.
Leonard remained a loyal friend and was best man at William's wedding to his current spouse Elizabeth in 2001.
William was unable to return the compliment by acting as chief mourner at Nimoy’s funeral because he couldn’t make it back west in time from a charity event in Florida.