Captain Kirk meets his father ... sort of

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It’s a funny old universe, isn’t it? Take this Priceline commercial from a while back. That’s William Shatner at the wheel, of course, but what about the guy in the back? Well, that’s Robert Pine, who you may remember as the sergeant on ‘CHiPs’ and from a zillion other roles through the years. Robert Pine’s son is ... Chris Pine. Yes, that’s right, the new Captain Kirk. Here’s a little story Chris told me over lunch at a Greek restaurant a few weeks ago:

‘William Shatner and I have never met. I wrote him a letter in the beginning, when I first got the role, and we were going to go out to lunch, which never happened. And we need to get together sooner than later. Absolutely. And I’m looking forward to it. Here’s a funny thing: My father, strangely and oddly enough, about two weeks after I got the part, he had a Priceline commercial. The first thing he said when he met him was he walked into the makeup trailer put his hand out and said, ‘Hello son.’ Of course Shatner had no idea what he was talking about. But he appreciated it after it was explained to him. In the commercial Shatner plays a chauffeur and my dad is the rich guy in the back. It’s just so weird for me, you know? What are the chances of that?’

-- Geoff Boucher

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