Man who sold his beard to make Shatner's toupee finally speaks.

In the 1960s, Star Trek star William Shatner noticed that he was getting a little thin on top. As the above (very rare) photo of Shatner sans toupee shows, male pattern baldness had afflicted Shatner at a fairly young age.

In the photograph, Shatner along with his first wife are seen studying a man's beard - the unknown man was never heard from again - until now. "Under the terms of the deal, I would give Shatner my beard so that he could turn it into a rug. I was to stay quiet about the trade for 45 years. I was paid very handsomely." That deadline has now finally passed and Mort Schneider is finally free to talk. "Frankly it is a huge relief to finally get this off my chest. Back in the early Sixties, people around me were suddenly asking what had happened to my beard, and I had to stay quiet. It cost me a lot of friends and later my first marriage. I don't know if I would make such a deal again," Schneider told Newsifact. Mr Shatner's office declined to comment on the allegations.