Last Thursday the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) — the organization behind the Emmy Awards — formally inducted William Shatner, along with four other individuals with legendary TV careers, into its Hall of Fame. And by his choice, Shatner's wife Elizabeth performed the induction honors for him.

Shatner — four-time Emmy nominee and two-time winner — joins the elite ranks of about 100 television personalities inducted since 1984 (it is not an annual ritual), such as Johnny Carson, Betty White, Rod Serling, Walter Cronkite, Walt Disney, the recently deceased Joseph Barbera, and the like. His selection was announced last June (related story).

The other four honorees in this 17th Hall of Fame ceremony were Tom Brokaw, NBC News correspondent; producer Leonard Goldberg (Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch, etc.); sitcom director/producer James Burrows (Cheers, Will & Grace, etc.) and talk show host Regis Philbin (who accepted by remote from New York).

Besides Elizabeth Shatner, the other presenters were Maria Shriver, NBC journalist and first lady of California (for Brokaw); Sumner Redstone, chairman of both Viacom Inc. and our parent company, CBS Corp. (for Goldberg); Grant Tinker, former head of NBC and co-founder of MTM Enterprises (for Burrows); and actress/producer Lucie Arnaz (for Philbin), who also hosted the ceremony, being the daughter of past Hall of Fame honorees Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Les Moonves, president/CEO of CBS, was also in attendance, along with many other members of the prestigious academy.

Shatner was the first inductee of the evening, held in the Crystal Ballroom of the famous Beverly Hills Hotel. In introducing Elizabeth Shatner, Arnaz described her accomplishments in horse training and in charity as well as the arts, and then said, "Her main priority, however, is the art of co-creating and enjoying life with the legendary William Shatner, and learning how to be the wife of an icon."

"Wow! I married an icon, and now a legend. Heh! Oh my," a nervous but poised Elizabeth exclaimed as she took the podium. "I'm so honored that my husband chose me to do this presentation in front of broadcasting's most experienced and influential people. When he asked me, I expressed my performance terror to him, and he said to me, 'Guess what? I got no sympathy!'" She admitted her "comfort zone" is only non-verbal communication and short verbal commands like "Whoa" and "Yah boy!"

But she pressed on with her husband's accolades: "You are my inspiration, and an inspiration to others. We witness you pushing past your own comfort zone with sheer physical stamina and a dialed-in mental focus that that takes you to work on numerous projects simultaneously. You set an example of constant determination towards excellence, always moving forward through the day with joy and excitement and extreme time-management skills." She talked about how his admirers "span different generations and different genres," and particularly called out "those loyal, dedicated original Star Trek fans" whose "support is never-ending, with many of them inspired to become respected innovators, inventors and scientists."

"Tonight, I am humbled and grateful to be here to present to you an award that celebrates your talent and your commitment to your versatile and lasting career," Elizabeth concluded. "Your daily enthusiasm and passion for entertaining is a gift you possess, and a gift that you share with us. On behalf of your friends and family and fans, we love you, and are so proud of you. And from all of your horsie friends, we send you a collective 'Yah boy!'"

At that point a video ran on the large screens paying tribute to Shatner's 50 years in television, from Studio One to Boston Legal and Show Me the Money (which, sadly, was cancelled by ABC the very next day!). A significant portion of that video was dedicated to Star Trek, including archival comments about Shatner from Gene Roddenberry.

Elizabeth then introduced her husband to the podium, and after saying his various thank-you's, Shatner reflected, "How do you get to the Hall of Fame, I would ask? Well, the answer is, take the 405, go east on the 101..."

"But the real answer, of course, is more extensive than that," he continued. "When I was six years of age, I was in a camp play, and I made the audience cry, and later that day my father gathered me in his arms and presented me to the audience, and the audience applauded. My father gave me his approbation, and the die was cast, I was an actor." At age 10 he performed for Canadian radio, and "they didn't ask me, how do you get to the Hall of Fame?" At 21 he was hired as an assistant manager at a theatre and then fired "for losing tickets and general incompetence," but stayed on as a member of the acting company. By his 30s he was working on Broadway and in live TV, and eventually Star Trek. "And who knew it would last that long? If I knew it'd last that long I'd have taken better care of myself. Or spoken up for residuals." That drew big laughter and applause from the industry crowd.

In his 50s Shatner was doing T.J. Hooker, contending with "all that jumping and running in the streets of L.A., with a partner who was afraid of birds... Did he know about the Hall of Fame? No! He was preoccupied with eggs!" Then by his 60s he hosted what he described as the "first reality show," Rescue 911, a program that "saved a lot of lives." But, "Not one of those grateful people said, 'Hey, think about the Hall of Fame.'" He's now in his 70s and of course, still going strong with Boston Legal, the Comedy Central Roast, etc.

Ruminating a bit further on all the radio dramas he did, plus books, movies and "broadcasting of all kind," Shatner concluded, "And then suddenly, somebody said, 'What about the Hall of Fame?' And then, I've asked: How do you get to the Hall of Fame? And I say: Take 70 years — and then the 405 and the 101... Thank you very much."

Afterwards Arnaz took the podium again and remarked, "Mr. Shatner, I am proud to say that my mother had a large part to play in the fact that Star Trek became the hit that it was." She related a story about her mother, Lucille Ball — while she was running Desilu Productions by herself — being approached by other studio bosses urging her to trim expenses. They said, "And the two most expensive shows are Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, [so] they have to go," Arnaz recalled. "She used to always listen to everything the dyed-print suits said. But she said, 'No, I like 'em!' And they said, 'They cost too much!' And she said, 'But I like 'em!' So they left them!"

Arnaz is particularly grateful for that decision to let Star Trek live, because years later her husband, Laurence Luckinbill, would get to play Spock's brother "Sybok" in the Shatner-directed "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." "You know, the guy who said, 'Let me take your pain.' I wish he could've said that while I was having his three kids!"

More coverage of the event can be found at the ATAS website, Emmys.org (listed below).