Getty Leonard Nimoy, John Cho, William Shatner , Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood and Scott Hamilton attend the 19th Annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show in 2009.
William Shatner‘s annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show auction is underway, and the annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show is set to take place on Saturday, May 28, 2022. As always, according to the Hollywood Charity Horse Show mission statement, the monies raised from the auction and Horse Show will support local and national children’s and veterans’ charities. Shatner, the iconic star of “Star Trek: The Original Series,” “The Twilight Zone,” “T.J. Hooker, “Rescue 911,” and “Boston Legal,” who made history in 2021 when, at the age of 90, he became the oldest living person to fly into space, has supported the Hollywood Charity Horse Show for 32 years.
Among the items up for auction is a bottle of James T. Kirk Straight Bourbon Whiskey that was featured as a prop on “Star Trek: Picard” and will be signed by Shatner; two original ”Star Trek: The Motion Picture” concept art drawings by Ron Croci; the colorful dinner jacket that Shatner wore during his performance with Ben Folds at the Kennedy Center on April 29, 2022, signed by Shatner; a “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” mini one-sheet poster autographed by Shatner; and assorted books, action figures, photographs, and even a “Star Trek: The Original Series” lunch box signed by Shatner, and more. Most interesting of all is a black-and-white illustration titled “None But the Daring” by the artist Ted Kollias. The unique piece features an image of Lucille Ball — who gave “Star Trek: The Original Series” the green light not once but twice, paving the way for Shatner to play Kirk in the second pilot — signed by both Shatner and Kollias. It measures 9×12 inches.
Shatner’s Tweet about His Charity Auction
My Hollywood Charity Horse Show Charity Auction is now live! Go Bid and find a treasure or two all while helping children and veterans. t.co/I3A8BLss0E
The Hollywood Charity Horse Show 2022 will be held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California. This year, Shatner himself will be the headliner for what is being billed as An Evening with William Shatner, which will offer “stories, questions and answers, and fun, all benefiting” the charity. Individual tickets are priced at $400, and tables of 10 are available for $4000. Single dinner tickets include entry, dinner, a table photo opportunity with Shatner, and also a signed item. This year’s charity recipients, according to the event’s site, are A Place Called Home, AHEAD with Horses, Blind Children’s Center, Caterina’s Club, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, CRE Outreach, Dream Catcher of L.A., E.L.S.A., Friendly House LA, Friends & Helpers, Hollenbeck Police Activities League, Painted Turtle Gang Camp Foundation, Pets for Vets, Saddles for Soldiers, Village Family Services, Wright Foundation for Pediatric Ophthalmology, and Strabismus.
“We’ve raised several million dollars for charity,” Shatner told StarTrek.com in 2014, the year that Wynonna Judd served as the star performer. Other headliners have included Brad Paisley, Ben Folds, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, and Neal McCoy. In 2009, at the 19th annual event, Shatner was joined by several “Star Trek (2009)” stars and filmmakers, among them Leonard Nimoy, John Cho, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Clifton Collins Jr., J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman. “We usually raise between $300,000 and $400,000 a year and I’ve been doing it for (more than) 30 years, so it’s the millions of dollars that we’ve raised. If people go to www.horseshow.org, they can contribute $1 or $5 or $10 even if they can’t come to the show. Every penny goes to the charities. We have a private donor who takes care of the expenses. So every dollar goes straight to children and veterans.”
‘Star Trek (2009)’ Cast & Crew at a Hollywood Charity Horse Show
GettyThe ‘Star Trek (2009)’ cast and filmmakers at a Hollywood Charity Horse Show
According to the Hollywood Charity Horse Show website, it was in the late 1980s that Shatner first watched an exhibition by children who had such severe physical challenges that some of them could not hold their head up, yet there they were going through intricate exercises on the back of a horse. “The program was sponsored by AHEAD with Horses, a therapeutic riding group for handicapped children,” the About page explains. “When the exhibition was over, Shatner sat, deeply affected by what he had seen. ‘You can’t watch these kids without knowing you have to help, somehow.’ And so, in March of 1990 came the birth of the first Hollywood Charity Horse Show. Soon, other charities in need of help were added, small, grass-root charities doing big-time jobs.”