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The famous Michael Myers mask has an unexpected connection Star Trek. The original prop started out as a Captain Kirk costume mask!
Michael is one of the most iconic and recognizable horror icons out there and a significant part of that is due to his eerie white mask that was first used in 1978. Halloween film.
How did Captain Kirk become Michael Myers?
There have long been rumors that the mask it was based on William Shatnerforward from his time playing James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, starting with the original 1966 series. In particular, it was rumored to be “Captain Kirk’s death mask,” according to the official Star Trek website.
This was confirmed by Rick Sternbachdesigner and designer on several key Star Trek features. He revealed through a Facebook post that he was hired as a photographer Halloween 2 in 1981 and noticed that they had a mask left over from the first Halloween in the supply kit and didn’t know where to get more.
He continued, “It looked like we were going to have to go look at some of the toy stores and such, but I noticed wording molded into the neck area. It had a model number, and ‘Don Post Studios.’ I called, read the model number, and the word came back ‘We have a Captain Kirk mask.’ I asked if we could buy several of them, and was told ‘We’ll give you a box, just give us credit.’ With that, I turned the official business over to the higher levels. Sweep with majesty.”
What did William Shatner say about it?
Back in 2021, William I did an interview with the YouTube channel Jake’s Takes (via The Hollywood Reporter), where he revealed that he thought the whole mask was a joke after seeing it in a photo, noting that he didn’t see John CarpenterClassic 1978 movie.
“I recognized it as the death mask they made for me,” William explained. “They made a mask of my face Star Trek out of clay so I didn’t have to be available for the prosthetics they had to put on my face to look old or evil or whatever they were making me look like. So somewhere along the line, someone got that mask and made a mask of it [the holiday] Halloween.”
Why did the filmmakers choose against that?
The choice of that mask was discussed in the third season of the Netflix series The movies we made off the guest Tommy Lee Wallacethe production designer and editor for Halloweenhe revealed that he found it at a magic shop on Hollywood Boulevard.
“Up on the shelves were these full face masks of Richard Nixonand down at the end was Mr. Spock. And right next to him was this pale face Captain Kirk,” Tommy divided.
Michael almost wore a different mask
He also said he bought Emmett Kelly clown mask along with the Church mask, but they didn’t think about the Emmett one was scary enough. Instead, they took the Church’s mask and made cosmetic changes such as removing the eyes and sideburns and enlarging the eye socket. They also darkened their hair a few colors and painted their entire face white.
Posted in: William Shatner Halloween Horror Movies
