William Shatner has recalled how auctioning his kidney stone helped fund a home for a family of five. Speaking on Dropping Names with Brent and Jonny, the Star Trek actor revisited the unusual 2006 fundraiser.
He said a Canadian gambling company auctioned the stone for $75,000, with the money supporting Habitat for Humanity.
But the stone wasn’t the only contribution. His Boston Legal colleagues added another $25,000, bringing the total donation to $100,000.
William Shatner’s kidney stone helped fund a family home
William said the combined funds went towards a home in Louisiana through the housing charity.
At the time of his last check, a family of five was living there.
He told the podcast: “We gave Habitat for Humanity $100,000 to make a home for a family.”
The donation brought together the proceeds from the unusual auction and money raised by his fellow actors.
William was starring in Boston Legal when the kidney stone incident happened in 2006. The legal drama ran from 2004 to 2008.
Its cast also included James Spader, Lake Bell and Julie Bowen, alongside William.
How William Shatner’s kidney stone reached auction
Before the fundraising came a medical procedure. William recalled having the stone removed, with no expectation that a buyer would subsequently want it.
Describing that moment, he said: “I have a kidney stone, and the guy takes it out, here it is, a little black pellet. Thank God it’s gone.”
A week later, he received a phone call from the Canadian gambling company.
In William’s telling, the business wanted publicity because restrictions prevented it from advertising.
The caller’s proposal was to buy the stone. However, William initially believed it had already been thrown away.
He went back to his doctor to ask whether it was still available. The doctor handed it over, allowing William to pass it to the company for auction.
Separately, CBS News reported in 2006 that William had initially sold the stone to the company for $25,000.
That contemporary figure concerns the initial sale, rather than the later auction described in his podcast account.
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