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Actor sells kidney stone
18/01/2006 08:12 - (SA)
Los Angeles - An online casino has a piece of captain Kirk.
Actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25 000, with the money going to a housing charity, it was announced on Tuesday.
Shatner reached agreement on Monday to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com.
"This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?" he said.
GoldenPalace.com is noted for its collection of oddities, which includes a partially eaten cheese sandwich said to contain the image of the Virgin Mary.
"This is a bold new addition to our fleet," GoldenPalace.com chief executive officer Richard Rowe said.
The money will go to Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the needy.
"This would be the first Habitat for Humanity house built out of stone," joked Darren Julien, president of Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions, which handled the sale.
'It could become a diamond'
Shatner, who played captain James T Kirk on the original Star Trek TV series and won the Emmy for his role as a ethically challenged lawyer Denny Crane on Boston Legal, passed the stone last fall.
The deal includes the surgical stint and string used to permit passage of the stone, which Shatner said was so large "you'd want to wear it on your finger".
"If you subjected it to extreme heat, it might turn out to be a diamond," he said.
Shatner said the idea of selling the stone came up after Boston Legal raised $20 000 for Habitat for Humanity. With the money for the stone, Shatner said there is about enough funding to build half a house.
GoldenPalace.com originally offered $15 000 for the stone but Shatner turned it down, noting that his Star Trek tunics have commanded more than $100 000. His counteroffer was accepted.
- AP
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South Africa
