{"id":8432,"date":"2026-07-17T08:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T03:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=8432"},"modified":"2026-07-17T08:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T03:06:10","slug":"william-shatner-95-reveals-surprising-new-career-move-after-slamming-death-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=8432","title":{"rendered":"William Shatner, 95, reveals surprising new career move after slamming death reports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F07%2F134632847.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>William Shatner\u2019s new heavy metal band just booked a major new gig.<\/p>\n<p>The actor, 95, will be performing at this year\u2019s Riot Fest, the music festival <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Da262KxkuXL\/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter years of writing letters\u2026 Riot Fest 2026: Now with 100% more [William Shatner], with his heavy metal band The *uckers,\u201d the post reads alongside an image of Shatner playfully sticking his tongue out and making a horns sign with his right hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAppearing Sunday. Tickets on sale now,\u201d the post concluded, referencing the 95-year-old\u2019s forthcoming performance with his band on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Chicago\u2019s Douglass Park.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI decided that you\u2019re such big fans of mine, that I\u2019m going to debut my heavy metal record at Riot Fest,\u201d Shatner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/Da39VawAiIo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said in an Instagram Reel<\/a> shared by the festival. \u201cI hope that you\u2019re there \u2014 and I hope I\u2019m there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The show will mark The *uckers first live performance. Page Six has reached out to a rep for the actor. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>William Shatner, pictured above in an Instagram upload, will perform at Riot Fest, the organization announced on Thursday.  <span class=\"credit\">Riot Fest\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The \u201cStar Trek\u201d star, pictured above in March, will perform for the first time with his heavy metal band, The *uckers. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The \u201cStar Trek\u201d icon\u2019s upcoming appearance at the festival follows an appearance by John Stamos alongside the Beach Boys at last year\u2019s Riot Fest. <\/p>\n<p>Riot Fest followed up the announcement by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Da3dP5SEiCB\/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sharing the actor\u2019s outrageous rider<\/a>, which included a request to \u201crename a boat\u201d in his honor so he \u201ccan captain a ship again,\u201d \u201cFire breathers. Many of them,\u201d a \u201cclassic Chicago food item\u201d to be named after him, and that his golf cart should be \u201creplaced by a DeLorean.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other cheeky demands included \u201cfour feet of Polish sausage,\u201d a single pair of white tube socks and a pair of white underwear, and for his dressing room to be themed \u201cShatner\u2019s Shag Shack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fans on Instagram were delighted by the announcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStamos in 25, Shatner in 26\u2026Johnny Depp and Hollywood Vampires in 27?\u201d one person suggested in the comments thread, while another joked, \u201cWilliam and his team said I could have free 3 day passes.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Another post from Riot Fest revealed Shatner\u2019s rider full of eccentric requests, as seen above. <span class=\"credit\">Riot Fest\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Shatner, shown here in March, is expected to perform at Riot Fest on Sept. 20 at Chicago\u2019s Douglass Park. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Page Six Daily\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A third gushed, \u201cI\u2019ve never been more excited about a thing I never knew existed \ud83e\udd2f,\u201d while a fourth chimed in, \u201cHe can definitely come sit with us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A fifth summed it up by remarking, \u201cThis is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The news comes three months after Shatner publicly <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/04\/02\/celebrity-news\/william-shatner-slams-claims-hes-dying-of-cancer\/\">slammed a Facebook group<\/a> for claiming he was dying of cancer, alongside AI images of him in a hospital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a page on Facebook that is using AI to create horrible fake news stories about me,\u201d he wrote while calling out \u201cThe Beanstalk Functions Group\u201d for creating \u201cstories that say I have stage 4 brain cancer, was in some kind of fight with Erika Kirk and that I\u2019m dying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued in the April 2 post, \u201cAll their stories are monetized. Most of the stories use an AI image of me.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The news comes after Shatner, seen above in 2025, slammed a social media group for alleging he was dying of cancer.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>\u201cNone of these stories are true,\u201d the acting legend wrote via Facebook in April.  <span class=\"credit\">Riot Fest\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The former \u201cRescue 911\u2033 host claimed that despite a request to move the content, Facebook would \u201cnot remove the page.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also said he\u2019d been in contact with the group\u2019s \u201cCEO\u201d via X, where he\u2019d publicly requested they remove it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money,\u201d the actor wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He concluded, \u201cIf you see a bizarre story about me; unless you see it posted on one of my verified accounts take it with a grain of salt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shatner isn\u2019t the first actor to pivot to a career in music this year, as record label Decca Classics announced last week that Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, 88, will <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/07\/10\/celebrity-news\/anthony-hopkins-88-announces-career-change-after-legendary-acting-career\/\">launch his career as a classical music composer<\/a> with the August release of his album \u201cLife is a Dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>William Shatner\u2019s new heavy metal band just booked a major new gig. The actor, 95, will be performing at this year\u2019s Riot Fest, the music festival announced Thursday. \u201cAfter years of writing letters\u2026 Riot Fest 2026: Now with 100% more [William Shatner], with his heavy metal band The *uckers,\u201d the post reads alongside an image&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/134632847.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}