International Talk Like William Shatner Day Has Come And Gone, But Its Spirit Lives On Inside Us

Canadian voice actor/comedian/impressionist Maurice LaMarche didn’t give us much advance notice in declaring March 22 to be "International Talk Like William Shatner Day," but his instructional video will help us get ready for the... next... InternationaltalklikeWilliam... Shatner Day.

You know, when I first heard LaMarche and others doing their Shatner impressions in cartoons, I didn’t know where they were getting the "pause" gimmick. That’s because I just hadn’t noticed it much on Star Trek, though now I notice it whenever he does it. (It got more out of control as the series went on, as vocal tics often do.) And I recall his inflections being pretty normal when he voiced Kirk on the Filmation Star Trek cartoon. He’s by no means the only actor who pauses in weird spots, but it’s associated with him because it’s become the voice impersonator’s shorthand for Shatner, something to identify the impression even if the voice itself isn’t dead-on.