William Shatner was on TV.
James T. Kirk . Kirk first appears in Star Trek : The Original Series and has been portrayed in numerous films , books , comics , webisodes , and video games . Kirk , played by William Shatner , first appears in the broadcast pilot episode , `` The Man Trap '' , originally broadcast on September 8 , 1966 . Star Trek . The first television series , simply called Star Trek and now referred to as The Original Series , debuted in 1966 and aired for three seasons on the television network NBC . T. J. Hooker is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant . William Shatner . In his seven decades of television , Shatner became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T. Kirk , Captain of the USS Enterprise , in the Star Trek franchise .