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Shatner Back In LA After Nimoy Funeral No-Show

William Shatner has been photographed arriving back at Los Angeles airport just hours after his Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy's funeral which he was unable to attend.

On Sunday the New York Daily News dubbed the actor, who played Captain Kirk in the cult sci-fi series, as "Captain Jerk" for his no-show.

Nimoy died on Friday aged 83.

Shatner said on Saturday he could not make the service because he already had plans to appear at a Red Cross ball in Florida.

"I feel really awful," the 83-year-old tweeted. "Here I am doing charity work and one of my dearest friends is being buried."

Shatner shared the image of the Daily News' front page on Twitter and invited people to "discuss it".

He tweeted: "I chose to honor a commitment I made months ago to appear at a charitable fundraiser. A lot of money was raised. So here I am; tell me off."

As Twitter users urged him to catch a late-night flight to the West Coast, the actor added: "One of the other misconceptions seems to be that folks think flights to LAX occur all night long."

He added that his daughters Melanie and Lisabeth would be paying their respects at the service.

Shatner also shared fond memories of Nimoy, who played pointy-eared half-Vulcan Mr Spock in the show.

The details of Sunday's service were kept under wraps after the publicity-seeking Westboro Baptist Church threatened to picket the ceremony.

Shatner led tributes to Nimoy on Friday , saying he had loved his co-star "like a brother".

Nimoy was beloved for his portrayal of the Starship Enterprise second-in-command to Shatner's Kirk.