Over the years, many movie and TV stars have been dirt bike riders, some of them casual and others really into the sport. What follows are great photos from the past of some of the folks who were real enthusiasts:

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Robert Redford gives Michael J. Pollard a playful hug during the filming of the film "Little Fauss and Big Halsy." Redford played the fast person on a Yamaha and Pollard was his goofy sidekick and all-around poor schlub fall guy. Much of the racing footage was shot at local Southern California tracks, like Bay Mare and Indian Dunes.

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Another Little Fauss photo: Remember the days of hands-on-helmet starts? Check out the fork braces on the bikes, and think about the fact that there are 650 Triumphs on the starting line running against Yamaha 250 DT1s. Guess the tech guys never thought about that! The film was a Paramount picture and can still be seen on cable, often late at night right after the Charlie Chan movies. It’s worth watching if you have enough beer on hand. (top)

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The late, great Steve McQueen shown competing in a desert race aboard a Triumph Metisse. Typically, Steve signed up at the last minute and got a pie-plate number. He was fast enough to earn a single-digit District 37 number, but never campaigned on a regular basis. Later on, Steve raced CZs, Huskys and then a Honda 250 Elsinore in motocross. He was at his best in Grand Prix events. (Photo 3)

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When the Star Trek television series was running, William Shatner was a real motorcycle fan. In fact, he was the celebrity host at the 1971 Suzuki new model preview. "Captain Kirk" mixed his riding up between street and dirt, but liked to go trail riding more than anything else.

However, every once in a while, those nasty Klingons must have booby-trapped the trail, as witnessed by this photo. The bike is a Yamaha street sport twin fitted with trials tires and sort of stripped for off-road use.

Displaying a sense of humor at an awkward moment, Shatner wrote "I take a back seat to no one!" on the photo.

According to witnesses, Shatner got back up and started riding again, bruised butt and all. Beam me up, Scotty!

From his start in the Star Trek TV series, Shatner went on to work in other television shows, and then hit it big time with the Star Trek movies. An author of over a dozen sci-fi books, Shatner retains his interests in motorcycles, but does not ride much anymore. In this action photo, Captain Kirk goes where others have gone before. Ouch!

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Actor Keenan Wynn astride his stock-framed Triumph. "Trick" parts included a hand built flat metal front fender, rear overlay sprocket, Jackpiner side pipes, Flanders wide bars and a section of perforated screen on the pipe ends to quiet things down a bit. The "?" front number plate showed that Keenan was a fun trail rider, and not a serious racer.

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George C. Scott takes a break after putting in some miles on a Honda 350 Scrambler. The bike was completely stock, right down to the shock springs and wretched Honda waffle grips.