- William gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk, captain of the starship USS Enterprise, in the television series Star Trek from 1966 to 1969, Star Trek: The Animated Series and in seven of the subsequent Star Trek feature films.
- William has written a series of books chronicling his experiences playing Captain Kirk and being a part of Star Trek as well as several co-written novels set in the Star Trek universe.
- William has also authored a series of science fiction novels called TekWar that were adapted for television.
- William also played the title veteran police sergeant in T.J. Hooker from 1982 to 1986.
- William has since worked as a musician, bestselling author, producer, director, and celebrity pitchman.
- From 2004 to 2008, he starred as attorney Denny Crane on the television drama Boston Legal, for which he has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
- William's grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Austria, Poland, and Hungary, and William was raised in Conservative Judaism.
- William earned a Bachelor's degree in commerce from McGill University.
- In 1954, he was cast as Ranger Bob on the Canadian version of the Howdy Doody Show.
- Though his official movie debut was in the 1951 Canadian film entitled The Butler's Night Off, William's first feature role came in the 1958 MGM film The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner, in which he starred as the youngest of the Karamazov brothers.
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