Claude Kirk could be hysterically funny and fearlessly bold, and he championed the environment, education, and diversity long before those issues were fashionable.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Claude Kirk was probably the most charismatic person I ever met.
My model for Kirk was Horatio Hornblower from the C.S. Forester sea stories. Shatner was open-minded about science fiction and a marvelous choice.
Captain Kirk has been a source of pleasure and income for a long time.
And I enjoyed the celebrity and the creativity that was involved in Star Trek.
I like Thomas Jefferson, though he intimidated me. I thought he would have been very tough to be around. I don't know if he had such a sense of humor.
The funniest thing is not who influenced me positively, but who influenced me negatively. I had such an aversion to what Busby Berkeley did; in my early formative years, I thought it was terrible. Now, I think it's wonderful. But then, I wanted to do anything but what Busby Berkeley did.
All in all, Kirk's character is something I am very proud of.
One of my favorite things about 'Star Trek' wasn't just the overt banter but the humor in that show about the relationships between the main characters and their reactions to the situations they would face; there was a lot of comedy in that show without ever breaking its reality.
I always loved Sid Caesar and all the people on his program.
Martin Lawrence is one of my comedic heroes, and he's a genius.