 
Regis Philbin: Two-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner for his role as the eccentric lawyer from, uh, law firm partner Denny Crane on ABC's hit drama "Boston Legal." Please welcome a man whose career has spanned over 50 years now, and he's still going strong. Here's William Shatner.
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( Cheers and applause )
Regis & Kelly welcome William Shatner
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Kelly Ripa: Hi.
Shatner: Nice to see you.
Regis: Look at you!
Kelly: I like your jacket.
Shatner: Thank you. Whoa, it's early in the morning for me.
Regis: Yes, I know. I know, for you.
Shatner: Little red eyes and things like that.
Kelly: Oh, well.
Regis: Two-time Emmy winner. And this week -- this week, ladies and gentlemen...
Kelly: It's such a nice thing.
Regis: This man, right here, this man passed a kidney stone.
Kelly: Congratulations.
Shatner: And I brought it with me.
( Pulls a rather large object from coat pocket )
Kelly: That's impressive.
Shatner: I knew you would be, and I...
Regis: For years we've had a debate here: Which is more painful, giving birth or passing a kidney stone?
Audience: Birth.
Regis: They have no idea what it's like to pass the kidney stone. How was it for you?
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( Shatner holds up his offspring )
"My wife said, it's a girl!"
Shatner: My wife said, "It's a girl!"
Regis: It was tough?
Shatner: It was painful. Oh, geez. I was doing a scene and I was feeling uncomfortable. And then I got on my knees, I... before going on, behind the set. And I did the scene. I broke out into a cold sweat.
Regis: Oh, sure.
Kelly: Oh, that's awful.
Shatner: The nurse said -- and then I finished the scene -- and the nurse said, "Maybe you should go to the hospital." And, I thought, I'm not going to any hospital. She said, "Maybe you better." I said, okay, I will. But, maybe we... "Take the ambulance." No, I won't take the ambulance. Maybe I will take the ambulance. So, I got in the ambulance and the siren goes off, and the producer tells me that -- he saw me off, waved goodbye, went up to his office, the phone rang, and it was a tabloid.
Kelly: No!
Shatner: That's the truth.
Kelly: No!
Shatner: Within 30 seconds of my leaving the studio.
Regis: Did they get the story straight?
Shatner: Well, I don't know. Gave birth to a child. I don't know.
Regis: See how painful these things are!
Kelly: Yes.
Shatner: Oh, it was unbelievable. And the purity of the pain. I mean, they had to give me morphine.
Kelly: (teasing) You're right, it's nothing like childbirth at all.
Shatner: Well, it was just unbelievable pain. And it made you kind of think about what pain is.
Regis: That's right.
Shatner: You know. What is pain and what is...
Regis: Pain is feeling lousy.
Shatner: It was awful. It was just awful.
Kelly: It's terrible to actually feel that way and have to go to work, and especially...
Shatner: You can't work.
Kelly: Especially the kind of work that you guys do.
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"I was there shaking with pain"
Shatner: Well, I was... I was... I was there shaking with pain.
Kelly: Right.
Shatner: You know. I'm sitting ... and I'm shaking, and the doc comes up, "Can I have your autograph?"
Regis: (laughs)
Shatner: And I'm "Give me some morphine!!"
Regis: Hey, how are things out at the horse ranch?
Shatner: Unbelievable.
Regis: Oh, my gosh.
Shatner: My wife won a world championship, very difficult to do. Impossible to do.
Regis: She's trained.
Shatner: No. This is... this is Lizzie right here.
Regis: All right. There you go.
Shatner: On "The Full Monty," a couple years ago.
Kelly: Oh, how beautiful.
( Regis shows another photo of Elizabeth on a horse )
Shatner: And this horse's name is "Boston Legal," and he won a world championship this year.
Kelly: Incredible.
Regis: That is a beautiful horse. Wow.
Kelly: That's something. It doesn't look real.
Shatner: That's the kind of riding I do, and my wife does. And we do Western Reining riding. We compete, we're competing this coming weekend in Los Angeles.
Regis: No kidding, you're competing in L.A.?
Shatner: Yeah.
Regis: Good for you. That's terrific. And your horse does all those... (gesticulates)
Shatner: Well, that, but in reining they slide to a stop, and they do all kinds of...
Regis: With you on top of it?
Shatner: Well, generally. (laughs)
Regis: Well, thank god you lost the kidney stone! We'll be back with Bill, in a minute.
( Applause )
( Commercial break: Interview continues below... )
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Regis: William Shatner. Now here's what I love about "Boston Legal": The day's work is over; you and [James] Spader get out there on that little veranda you have.
Kelly: It's my favorite!
Regis: Yeah. You're all dressed up, and you pour a couple of drinks...
Shatner: Cigar.
Regis: Cigar! Cigar, goes without saying.
Kelly: Feet up.
Regis: Feet up. And you guys kind of reflect about your lives...
Shatner: Yeah.
Regis: Who you are.
Shatner: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Regis: Where you've been.
Shatner: Yeah.
Regis: What you've done.
Shatner: Uh-huh. And 20 takes ... and different angles...
Regis: Don't - don't - don't ruin the illusion for me!
Shatner: No, I'm not going to ruin it. The 20th cigar...
Regis: (laughing) You're sick!
Shatner: You're sick. You're going, "If I have to smoke another cigar!"
Regis: Well, what are you really drinking there?
Shatner: Tea.
Regis: Tea.
Kelly: Tea!
Shatner: Which has caffeine and that's bad enough. You're over-caffeinated, and stimulated with the cigar, and you're thinking, (shaking) "This scene is never going to end!"
Regis: Now, you remember the old days, they used to yell up, "Beam me up, Scotty," whatever the hell it is? Beam me up?
Shatner: That does sound familiar, yes.
Regis: Yeah. What do they yell at you now?
Shatner: "Beam me up, Denny!"
Regis: Denny. I love that name ... Denny Crane. Oh, god, he's great.
Kelly: I think James Spader and Bill have this -- they're the greatest TV couple, I think, that we have. It's really terrific.
Shatner: He wants me, a lot.
Kelly: The chemistry... the chemistry is undeniable.
Shatner: He needs nurturing, and he suckles at my breast a lot.
Regis: I've been there, and it's pretty good! All right. Now here's a clip to prove exactly what he is saying. Here you two guys are, having what we call a tender moment.
Kelly: Aww...
Regis: "Boston Legal."
William Shatner as Denny Crane
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James Spader (left) as Alan Shore
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Alan Shore: Should we be married and sensible and go home to... do whatever men do at home?
Denny Crane: Well, I have nothing against marriage. I've done it five times. But here's the thing about wives: They don't let you play with your friends. I mean, I couldn't be standing outside here every night, on this balcony if -- I'll take a friend over a wife every time.
Shore: Shouldn't a wife be your best friend?
Crane: (silent scowl)
Shore: You know, Ralph Waldo Emerson said he reckoned a friend to be the masterpiece of nature. I'm not sure I truly understood that before I met you, Denny.
Crane: I'm not having sex with you.
( Laughter and applause )
Regis: What did he say?
Kelly: "I'm not having sex with you."
Regis: It's so conspiratorial, you know what I mean? You guys are whispering. Is there any reason for the whispering?
Shatner: So he can't hear me.
Regis: (laughs) You enjoying the show?
Shatner: Oh, it's a great -- it's a gas. It's full of humor, sex, and violence. Watch it Tuesday nights, on ABC at 10 o'clock.
Regis: (to audience) He said it! You got it! "Boston Legal."
( End of Shatner's segment. )
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Click to hear WILLIAM SHATNER with Regis & Kelly
Play time: 3 minutes and 39 seconds
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