William Shatner leads Stampede parade from back seat

Screaming fans wildly approved of WilliamShatners latest role: grand marshal of the Calgary Stampede parade.

About 250,000 people lined Calgarys downtown streets for Friday's procession; some woke up early just to catch a glimpse of the Star Trek icon.

"We barely slept. We were so excited," admitted RaeThorogood, aShatner fan.

Even before the procession began, fans were yelling for the 83-year-old actor, who is best-known for playingCaptain James T. Kirk of the USSEnterprise.

But there were no starships in this parade.

The Montreal-born actor waved to fans from a classic baby blue convertible.

Traditionally, the grand marshal travels the parade route on horseback,but Shatner said it wouldn't be prudent to mount up this time.

Despite smiling happily at his wifes side, the funnymantold reporters he was most looking forward to the parade being over.