I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe that anyone who has seen William Shatner, David Hasselhoff and Adam West in action could deny some pretty big similarities in their acting styles. They all have the ability to deliver even the most absurdly inane lines with total conviction and sincerity. All three share the same halting and dramatic style of speech with unpredictable pauses and stressed words. They embrace their characters completely; without holding back and with total commitment-and that’s commendable. AND all three are cultural icons in their own right. I kind of have a fantasy about the three of them. Not THAT kind of a fantasy! But I can’t help but want to somehow link them together in a made up history, likening them to that famous trio of teacher/pupils: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Like maybe, Adam West (Socrates) took on William Shatner (Plato) as a pupil teaching him his intense, dramatic delivery with conviction and odd…word…pauses. Then Shatner took on the Hoff (Aristotle) and this style evolved and became softer and more natural, but never lost the intensity…of. its. origins.. Call me a dork, but it’s kind of a fantasy of mine.

(While we’re on the subject of fantasies, if Michael Knight and one of his lady friends were getting it on in his car K.I.T.T., would that be considered a ménage a trois?)

Let’s hear a little about them and then compare facts, shall we?

I’ve included a Venn diagram and graph at the end of this post for easy assimilation of information.

The Backstories:

William Shatner

First of all, he’s Canadian?! I totally missed this somehow. He was born in 1931 (he’s 81 years old!) in Quebec. He was classically trained as a Shakespearean actor and performed many roles at the Stratford Festival before getting hired as Ranger Bob in the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. He was cast in a number of supporting film roles and guest starred in many well-known TV shows including Gunsmoke, The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone.

He’s best known for:

Star Trek 1966-1969

T.J. Hooker 1982-1986

The Priceline Negotiator

Did you know?

He is fluent in French.

He has written several “Star Trek” novels

The mask Michael Myers wears in the original Halloween movie was a William Shatner mask bought at a costume shop and painted white

He and costar Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura, shared the first interracial kiss on US television

David Hasselhoff

He was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952 (and looks pretty damn good for 60!). Starting at the age of seven, he took acting, dancing and singing lessons and loved being onstage. He landed a role on the soap opera, The Young and The Restless before his big break in Knight Rider.

He’s best known for:

Knight Rider 1982-1986

Baywatch (and subsequent spin-offs) 1989-2001

America’s Got Talent 2006-2009

Did you know?

The Guinness Book of World Records lists him as “The Most Watched TV Star in the World”

He was considered for the role for Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back

He was Germany’s “Most Popular and Best Selling Artist of the Year” in 1989 and was invited to perform ‘Freedom’ on the Berlin Wall New Year’s Eve that same year

He has a charity called “Race For Life” that works with handicapped/terminally ill children in America and he spends a lot of time visiting sick children in hospitals all over the world

Adam West

He was born in 1928 in Washington (holy old person, Batman!). His first big breakthrough: he was hired as a sidekick on a Hawaiian children’s show featuring a chimp and eventually took over as host.

West guest starred in several different TV series before being cast as Batman (it ran from 1966-1968). In 1970, West turned down the chance to play James Bond in Diamonds are Forever saying he felt the character should only be played by a British actor-what a loss!

He guest starred on many TV shows such as a Laverne & Shirley, Bewitched, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, King of Queens and has worked with many well-known actors including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and The Three Stooges.

He’s best known for:

Batman 1966-1968

Recent voice over work on The Family Guy

Did you know?

Had his dentist put a little black Batman logo onto one of his molars

He founded a military television station where he worked as a disc jockey

He has a bachelor’s degree in Literature and a minor in Psychology

He was the childhood TV hero of Conan O’Brien, Drew Carey, Bill Maher, Ross Shafer, Howard Stern, and Matt Groening

Hubba, Hubba

Chart of: Albums Recorded, Number of Years Their First Hit Show Ran and Number of Wives

Let’s see how they compare side by side

Best use of a Venn Diagram EVER

Let’s take what we’ve learned about them and compare/contrast. . .

What are these three up to now? Here are the official websites:

http://www.williamshatner.com/

http://www.davidhasselhoff.com/

http://www.adamwest.com/