William Shatner Is Officially the Oldest Contestant in ‘The Masked Singer’ History
You’re never too old for a spot on The Masked Singer. William Shatner learned this with his appearance in the season 8 premiere, where he was unmasked after performing as Knight. Find out how old William Shatner is below and learn more about his role on The Masked Singer Season 8. Plus, see who previously held the record as the franchise’s oldest contestant.
How old is William Shatner?
Shatner was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on March 22, 1931. He’s 91 years old in 2022. The actor’s career began in the early 1950s, but he’s most known for playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek franchise starting in 1966. At the time, he was around 35 years old. Shatner is also no stranger to singing, as he has recorded dramatic covers of songs like Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
Last year, William Shatner’s age made him the oldest person to fly into space. Shortly after his 90th birthday, Shatner said it felt “terrifying” to get older because he feared the idea of death. He’s also just not a fan of the number 90.
“It’s a disgusting number,” he said on CBC Radio Q. “I mean, I don’t like 90. When I heard that 90 was coming up, I thought, ‘What the heck is that?’ I remember 90 way back when I was in Canada and I thought, ’90! People don’t live till 90.’ And here I am.”
William Shatner was revealed as the Knight on ‘The Masked Singer’
William Shatner took to The Masked Singer stage on Sept. 21 dressed as a knight riding a golden goose. He sang (or, he recited in his signature spoken word style) Fred Astaire’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Some of Knight’s clues included George Lucas and “reaching stardom,” which led Jenny McCarthy to guess Shatner correctly. He was one of three contestants eliminated in The Masked Singer Season 8’s new King or Queen format.
“Oh, was that fun!” he said after his unmasking.
Shatner is now the oldest contestant to ever perform on The Masked Singer in any country. In an exit interview with TVLine, the Star Trek star shared why he agreed to join the show after all this time.
“I found that The Masked Singer’s such a popular show that it seemed to be a good way of getting to talk to you, for example, not only about the show and how much fun it was, but also many of the things that I’m doing,” Shatner said. He listed some of his current projects, including his History Channel series The UnXplained, an upcoming book, a watch design, and some documentaries.
“So there’s a lot of things I’m doing that I thought doing The Masked Singer and its popularity and how much everybody enjoys watching it would be a good way of helping get the word out,” Shatner added.
As for what the actor will take away from his Masked Singer experience, he said:
“Bruises, skin that I’ve left, some adhesions that I never had before. A sore toe. A finger I can’t lift. I’m taking away a lot of that stuff. I’m using a cart.”
The oldest contestant in ‘The Masked Singer’ history was previously a German actor and comedian
So, who was the oldest Masked Singer contestant before Shatner? The previous record-holder appeared on The Masked Singer Germany Season 2 in 2020 as Chamäleon (a.k.a Chameleon). Dieter Hallervorden, an actor and comedian, was 84 years old at the time he was unmasked. Now, will anyone take the title from Shatner in future seasons?
New episodes of The Masked Singer air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
