O Holy Day

Just learned this morning via Mark Evanier's indispensible blog that today, Sunday, March 22, is the First International Talk Like William Shatner Day, chosen because this is in fact Mr. Shatner's birthday. To kick off the festivities I give you our holy hymnal, a lesson in How to Talk Shat presented by Maurice LaMarche.



Mr. LaMarche is one of the leading voice artists in the cartoon business. I'd consider him a towering giant if all he had done was the voice of Brain in "Pinky and the Brain," but he's done much more.

This video has a couple of references I wouldn't expect everyone to get. Near the end of his Shatner lesson, Mr. LaMarche launches into a parody of an actual audio recording of Shatner tearing into an unlucky commercial director who had the gall to direct him. And at the end of the video, Mr. LaMarche similarly riffs on a tape of Orson Welles objecting to the script of a frozen pea commercial. It's funnier if you know that, but still pretty entertaining if you don't.



P.S.: Here's the Orson Welles peas spot, worth a listen. Even though it's not International Talk Like Orson Welles Day. Yet.


P.P.S.: And here's an episode of "Pinky and the Brain" created entirely as an in-joke to give Mr. LaMarche a chance to make fun of the Orson Welles pea spot. There wasn't one viewer in ten thousand who got the joke, but I'll bet the actors and animators laughed themselves sick when they made it.




Apologies to Mr. Shatner for letting Mr. Welles co-opt his big day.

Now I'm . . . off . . . tomakemybreakfast (sharp inhale).