Rock-It Man

In the hallowed halls of awesomeness, there are three immovable, unchangeable statues dedicated to the patron saints of awesome. The three are, of course: Snake Plissken, the bad-ass ex-criminal from "Escape of New York" fame who influenced yet still surpasses all modern day bad-asses who dare to attempt to touch our hearts; Han Solo, the boyish and clever rouge who is the coolest guy not just on Earth, but in the whole fucking galaxy; and the last is William Shatner, the most awesome rouge of all who was the first and best captain of the Starship Enterprise.

The first two need no further introduction; let's take a moment and look at how baller Shatner is.

I don't know if you're familiar with it, but after Star Trek, William Shatner proceeded to embark on a "serious" acting career, often performing Shakespearean monologues on cassette tapes and records. He would also redo modern day songs in spoken word format in some of the most brilliant acting ever recorded on film; Al Pacino, Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper would do well to take some lessons from this man. 

Well, in case you don't believe me, check out this AMAZING clip of Shatner singing Elton John's "Rocket Man", which is the perfect epitome of his spoken song/Shakespearean era. He is in perfect form here - a tiger ready to pounce. His silky voice perfectly floats above the cacophonous din with sinewy ease. The special effects are amazing as well, boasting some of the most awe-inspiring effects that even George Lucas would salivate with jealousy.

And thus, without further ado, William Shatner sings "Rocket Man"... (by the way, Family Guy also parodied this, in case you thought that this looked familiar.)

Even though this is hilarious in its awfulness, I do give props to William Shatner for taking this whole "bad acting thing" in stride and then using it, like a Kung-Fu master, to his advantage, making a career out of it much in the same vein as Adam West. 

So, here's to you, Shatner! Enjoy your place in the hall of awesome. You deserve it.