Shatner's Guests

Gene Simmons

"If you're in a band you'll get more chicks than if you're a dentist."

Simmons was born Chaim Witz on August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel. He is best known as the frontman for the rock band KISS, made famous for the demonic face makeup they wore for all of their appearances, both on and off stage.

Henry Winkler

"All of the humiliation was for naught."

Actor. Born October 30, 1945, in New York City. An effervescent child, he loved performing and by the age of 14, Winkler decided to become an actor.

Jason Alexander

"My parents have taken everything and they've left, and they forgot me."

Actor, born Jason ("Jay") Scott Greenspan to Ruth and Alex on September 23,1959 in Newark, New Jersey; raised in Livingston, New Jersey. Although best known as the neurotic George Costanza in the hit TV sitcom,Seinfeld (1990-1998), Alexander has enjoyed an extensive and varied career on the Broadway stage and in films.

Jerry Springer

"Ninety-nine percent of what we are as human beings is a consequence of luck."

Journalist, talk show host, politician. Born Gerald Norman Springer on February 13, 1944, in London, England, in a tube station. His parents, Margo and Richard Springer, were Polish Jews who escaped to Germany during the Holocaust.

John Edward

"Milk expires, people do not."

Author, psychic. Born John Edward McGee, Jr. on October 19, 1969 in Glen Cove, New York. Raised Roman Catholic, John Edward worked as a phlebotomist and a ballroom dancing instructor before becoming a renowned psychic medium.

Larry Flynt

"Pornography to me is like a jar of peanut butter - you got to sell it."

Publisher, civil liberties advocate. Born Larry Claxton Flynt, on November 1, 1942, in the isolated Appalachian village of Lakeville, Kentucky. He was the eldest of three children born into a poverty-stricken family, where his life was a struggle from the start.

Mackenzie Phillips

"I will meet your judgement and distance with love and open arms when you come back."

Actress. Born Laura "Mackenzie" Phillips on November 10, 1959, in Alexandria, Virginia. Her parents, rock musician John Phillips and former ballerina Susan Adams, divorced when she was three and older brother Jeffrey was five. John immediately remarried Holly Michelle Gilliam, and they went on to form the hit folk/rock band the Mamas and Papas with Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty.

Meat Loaf

"I actually pulled her out of the casket."

Singer, songwriter, actor. Born Marvin Lee Aday on September 27, 1951 (some sources say 1947), in Dallas, Texas. One of the top selling solo artists in the history of rock music, Meat Loaf achieved his greatest success to date with the 1977 album, Bat Out of Hell. He had a difficult childhood, growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father. Some reports indicate that he gained his famous moniker, Meat Loaf, because of his large size. After his mother's death from cancer, Meat Loaf left Texas for Los Angeles in 1967.

Regis Philbin

"What is my talent!?"

Television personality, talk and game show host. Born Regis Francis Xavier Philbin, on August 25, 1933, in New York, New York. Part of an Irish-American catholic family, he was the eldest son of Frank and Florence Philbin, and grew up in the South Bronx. He was named Regis after Regis High School, a Jesuit boys school in Manhattan, and his father's alma mater.

Rush Limbaugh

"My childhood was spent in duress and silent protest."

Conservative talk-radio host and activist, born on January 12, 1951 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA. He worked as a disc jockey and sports publicist before beginning a radio program in San Diego, CA, at the end of the 1980s, blending political commentary and satire.

Tony Danza

"When you wake up on a respirator.. You look up, you see everybody crying, including the priest, you say "Man, I need a 2nd opinion."

Actor, director, producer. Born Anthony Iadanza on April 21, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York, as one of five siblings. Danza's father, Matty, was a sanitation worker. His mother, Anne, was an Italian immigrant who held a job as a bookkeeper. When Danza was 14, he and his family moved out of Brooklyn, instead relocating to the Long Island community of Malverne. Danza flourished academically and athletically on Long Island and, upon his 1969 graduation from high school, he attended the University of Dubuque on a wrestling scholarship.

Weird Al

"It is kind of weird synchronicity that we're doing this interview today. It's the 5 year anniversary of the death of my parents."

"Singer, musician, songwriter. Alfred Matthew Yankovic was born on October 23, 1959, in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California, and raised in the neighboring town of Lynwood.
An only child, he first took up the accordion at age seven when a salesman came around to solicit accordion or guitar lessons for a local music school. Yankovic claimed his parents were inspired by polka star Frank Yankovic (no relation) and chose the accordion"

Whoopi Goldberg

"I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to a hairdressing school. "

Born Caryn Elaine Johnson on November 13, 1949 (some sources say 1950 or 1955), in New York City. Goldberg and her younger brother Clyde were raised by their mother Emma in a housing project in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.