AaronM can we talk?

Posted by: BillShatner on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 02:32 PM
ha
Of all the people I've encountered of late, Denny Crane seems one of the most fascinating. Is he brilliant or blundering, brave or crass, a lethal legal mind or simply lucky? Since I had a few minutes in between takes on the "Boston Legal" set the other day, I decided to use the opportunity to find out. I approached Denny and asked him if he'd be interested in doing a "Mind Meld" type interview with me. This was the result:

WS: I hear you?ve been busy lately, Denny.

DC: Me? What about you? I heard you're doing an album.

WS: I've got some wonderful music I put together over some months.

DC: You CAN concentrate!

WS: Oh, yeah. If it's meaningful I can focus, stay alert.

DC: I wish I could do that.

WS: You can, Denny. You just don't try.

DC: So what's the album about?

WS: Death, truth, life.

DC: That's a bit heavy.

WS: What, no sense of humor, Denny?

DC: What's funny about death?

WS: What else?

DC: I prefer to stay in the moment, relax, not work so hard.

WS: You tell me not to work so hard? You're on every case in the show.

DC: Well, it IS my show. I am, after all, Denny Crane.

WS: Do you remember your briefs?

DC: No, I pay people to do that.

WS: What DO you remember?

DC: I can remember phone numbers and addresses.

WS: So, you CAN remember.

DC: Yes. I can remember my secretary's number, my bookie's number, and I know the address of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

WS: You, a veteran?

DC: I don't remember.

Nerine and William had met in 1994, on the set of Kung Fu - The Legend Continues. Tell me it wasn't doomed from the start. They were married in November of 1997, with Leonard Nimoy as best man. Their wedding was postponed because Nerine had been busted for drunk driving.

It sounds like their marriage was turbulent, at best. A month before their first anniversary, William filed for divorce, and asked the judge not to award alimony. After that, Nerine checked into the Betty Ford Clinic. She didn't respond to the lawsuit - and it went no further. They had reconciled in recent months.

Alcohol continued to plague the relationship.

On May 31st, Nerine checked in to detox at St. John's Health Center, in Santa Monica. She was in room 482. It sounds like she had been on a marathon drinking session over Memorial Day. Shatner gave her an ultimatum. Give it up, or give us up.

He allegedly demanded a divorce from his troubled wife, the night before she drowned.

The story I've managed to glean from the papers is that Shatner arrived at their Studio City home around 10:15 p.m. on Monday August 9th, 1999. He and his wife lived on Berry Drive, at number 3674. He found Nerine naked and motionless at the bottom of their swimming pool. He freaks and calls 911. Here's the transcript:

"Oh my God!" Shatner yells to the dispatcher.

"What's your problem there, sir?" the dispatcher replies.

Shatner: "My wife's at the bottom of the pool!"

Dispatcher: "OK, did you get her out of the pool yet, sir?"

Shatner: "No, not yet."

Dispatcher: "I want you to take her out of the pool right now."

Shatner: She's at the very deep end! --(He mumbles something unintelligible.)" (My wig?)

Dispatcher: "Ok sir. If you can, grab something and get her out of the pool. Sir. Sir. Right away, get your wife out of the pool."

Shatner: "Ok."

Dispatcher: "Don't hang up the phone. (Shatner hangs up.) Hello?"

Shatner later reported to the police that he jumped into the sky blue mosaic tiled pool, and pulled his wife up on the deck, but was unable to revive her. He was criticized later for not immediately getting her out of the pool, but calling 911 instead. Since he hosted the popular television show Rescue 911 for many years, people expected more from him. My guess is that he was paid to read a script in front of a camera - he didn't need to pay attention to what the show was about. That's my guess.

At 10:30pm, paramedics arrived at the house. They found Mrs. Shatner on the side of the pool. They attempted to resuscitate her, but were unsuccessful. She was 40 years old.

Friends and relatives were shocked, especially because Nerine was a strong swimmer.

The next day, Shatner held a press conference in his driveway. "My beautiful wife is dead. She meant everything to me. Her laughter, her tears and her joy will remain with me the rest of my life."

My pappy said, 'Son, you're gonna drive me t' drinkin' ...
If you don't quit drivin' that - Hot ... Rod ... Lincoln!'

Well, you've heard the story of the hot rod race,
When the Ford and the Mercury were settin' the pace.
That story's true I'm here to say,
Cause I was a'drivin' that Model A.

It's got a Lincoln motor and it's really souped up;
That Model A body makes it look like a pup.
It's got 12 cylinders and uses them all;
And an overdrive that just won't stall.

It's got a 4-barrel carb and dual exhausts,
4:11 gears that really get lost -
Safety tubes and I'm not scared,
The brakes are good and the tires are fair.

We left San Pedro late one night;
The moon and the stars were shinin' bright.
We were drivin' up Grapevine Hill,
Passin' cars like they were standin' still.

Then, all of a sudden, in the wink of an eye,
a Cadillac sedan passed us by.
The remark was made, "That's the car for me."
But, by then, the taillights wuz all you could see.

Well, the fellers ribbed me for bein' behind,
So I started to make that Lincoln unwind.
Took my foot off the gas and, man alive,
I shoved it down into overdrive.

Well, I wound it up to 110;
Twisted the speedometer cable right off the end.
Had my foot glued right to the floor;
I said, "That's all there is - there ain't no more.

Now the fellas thought I'd lost all sense;
The telephone poles looked like a picket fence.
They said, "Slow down, I see spots."
The lines on the road just looked like dots.

Went around a corner and passed a truck;
I crossed my fingers just for luck -
The fenders clickin' the guard rail post;
The guy beside me was white as a ghost.

Smoke was rollin' outta the back
When I started to gain on that Cadillac
I knew I could catch him and hoped I could pass
But when I did I'd be short on gas.

There were flames comin' from out of the side;
You could feel the tension; man, what a ride.
I said, "Look out, boys, I've got a license to fly"
And the Cadillac pulled over and let me by.

All of a sudden a rod started knockin';
Down in the depths she started a rockin'.
I looked in the mirror and a red light was blinkin';
The cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln.

Well they arrested me and put me in jail.
I called my pop to make my bail.
He said, 'Son, you're gonna drive me t' drinkin',
If you don't quit drivin' that - Hot ... Rod ... Lincoln!'