How William Shatner Almost Died While Shooting Gunsmoke

The "Gunsmoke" episode "Quaker Girl" (December 10, 1966) opens with Thaddeus (Roger Ewing, one of the last living "Gunsmoke" cast members) apprehending a dangerous criminal named Fred Bateman, played by none other than the legendary William Shatner. 

Shatner was about to blow up in popularity thanks to "Star Trek," which debuted only a few months prior, so his appearance on "Gunsmoke" likely made him feel ubiquitous across the medium (In 2025, Shatner is still talking about playing Captain Kirk). On "Gunsmoke," Fred Bateman is an arrogant, violent character who knows no deputy will kill him because the price on his head is too high. He has a few fight scenes with Ewing right at the star of "Quaker Girl." The episode will take Thad and Bateman into a nearby Quaker village, where Bateman lies about being the deputy, claiming that Thad is his prisoner. Will the Quakers figure it out? 

Shatner played Bateman as a rough-and-tumble heavy, a devious jerk willing to throw a punch and too arrogant to admit defeat. It's a good performance. By the end of the episode, though, Bateman will be apprehended and brought to justice. In "Gunsmoke," the good guys typically won. 

But Shatner didn't necessarily have a good time with it. The actor was once interviewed by PBS's "Pioneers of Video" series, and he admitted that one of his co-stars got a little too physical. Shatner couldn't remember the actor exactly — or he simply didn't want to call him out — but it seems that Shatner was actually strangled for a moment during one of the "Gunsmoke" fight sequences. Luckily, everyone was okay at the end, but Shatner did recall fearing for his life. 

In the PBS interview, Shatner talked about facing off against some character actor whose name he claims to never have learned. What he recalled was the actor's "crazy eyes." That craziness extended into his performance, as Shatner continued, "He would act crazy! I mean, he would perform crazy!" Shatner kind of mis-remembered the scene, however, as he recalled playing a heroic role, when clearly he played a villain. He said: 

"There was a crazy guy, a guy who played crazies. [...] He's got crazy eyes. He's big! A big guy with crazy eyes! [...] I was standing in front of him in one scene, when I felt his ... And he hadn't done this in the master, but in my closeup [...] he grabbed a hold of my throat and started to throttle me. Like, he was standing behind me. And I'm supposed to be the hero or something, I don't want to succumb, or turn around and say 'Stop that!' [...] I think some of my judo training came in handy. I don't remember, but I like to think I stomped on his foot, hit him with my elbow, and grabbed him."

It should also be noted that grabbing and throwing an opponent is indeed part of judo, but stomping and elbowing are not. That would have been pure Shatner. 

Although Shatner himself would have to confirm this, the character actor in question might have been Timothy Carey, a 6'4" actor known for playing "crazies," and he played a gunslinger named Charles Buster Rilla in "Quaker Girl." He also had written, directed, and starred in the 1968 cult film "The World's Greatest Sinner," and he starred in "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (which /Film loves). If anyone took a fight scene a little too far, it was likely him.