Scotty Got Beamed Up - R.I.P

[Lee]

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- James Doohan, who fielded the request ``Beam me up'' as the starship Enterprise's engineer Scotty in the ``Star Trek'' science-fiction television series and subsequent films, has died. He was 85.

Doohan died of pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease at his home in Redmond, Washington, this morning, the Associated Press reported, citing his agent Steve Stevens. His wife was with him, AP said. The actor also suffered from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis and used a wheelchair.

Doohan played Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ``Scotty'' Scott, the Enterprise's chief engineer, on ``Star Trek,'' which ran on NBC network from 1966-1969.

``Star Trek'' was canceled after 79 episodes, then gained legions of fans in reruns, spinning off 10 movies, five TV series and a burgeoning convention circuit. Doohan later made a guest appearance on the ``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' TV series (1987-1994), starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Doohan created the Klingon language introduced in the first Star Trek movie, 1979's ``Star Trek: The Motion Picture,'' according to the director's edition DVD of the film. His original sounds were expanded and used to translate William Shakespeare plays and the Bible.

Doohan made his last public appearance in August 2004 when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and blew kisses to a standing-room-only crowd at the two-day ``Beam Me Up, Scotty ... One More Time'' tribute and convention at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.

Trouble With Tribbles

James Montgomery Doohan was born on March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia. He became a captain of artillery in the Royal Canadian Army during World War II.

Doohan lost the middle finger of his right hand on June 6, 1944, or D-Day, when the Allied forces invaded France. The injury is visible in only two ``Star Trek'' episodes, ``The Trouble With Tribbles'' and ``Cats Paw,'' according to Internet Movie Database.

In 1946, Doohan won a two-year scholarship to drama teacher Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he trained alongside actors Tony Randall and Jackie Gleason. He served as Meisner's assistant for several years.

Doohan went on to appear on 4,000 radio shows and 400 live TV shows for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He acted in plays and films in the U.S. and Canada and guest-starred on TV shows including ``Bonanza'' and ``The Twilight Zone.''

He joined the cast of ``Star Trek'' after the first of two pilots. Doohan said in a 1994 interview with the Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that he auditioned with seven or eight different accents. ``Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry then asked him to choose his favorite accent and Doohan said, ``If you're looking for an engineer, I think he'd better be a Scotsman.''

`Can't Take It Anymore!'

Scotty, named after Doohan's grandfather, was a mechanical wizard who could fix dilithium crystals with safety pins and bail William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk out of scrapes. He would shout in a Scottish brogue, ``Captain, she can't take any more.''

Doohan also appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies, spanning from ``Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (1979) to ``Star Trek: Generations'' in 1994.

Doohan became a regular on the Star Trek convention circuit. Fans praised him for always signing autographs and chatting with fans about alternate universes. The ``Beam Me Up'' convention in August 2004 featured Scotty impersonation contests, Scotty trivia and a panel discussion on ``The Influence of Scotty on Society.''

Doohan said in a 1994 Boston Herald interview that he appeared at ``Star Trek'' events ``because I'm not getting other parts. I get a fabulous living just doing appearances.''

He also was a regular speaker at colleges and a spokesman for Royal Philips Electronics NV.

Survivors include his wife Wende, sons Eric and Thomas, daughter Sarah and four children, Larkin, Deirdre, Montgomery and Christopher, from his first marriage.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...KCdxY&refer=us

Such a shame, sounds like this guy went through a slew of health related issues and im sure he'll be remembered for centuries to come.

Regards,

Lee

[basschick]

rip james doohan

interesting to read he had alzheimers. not too long ago, we saw him at a live appearance, and he seemed pretty clear-headed to me. talked with people normally, was rational and articulate. he walked in and walked out under his own power. the alzheimers must have come pretty recently, or been minimal...

[Bec]

He was definately one of my favorite characters ... I'm sorry to read that he had so many health issues prior to his passing. RIP Scotty.

[DonMike]

Wow, what a shame. He was awesome. I had the fortune to meet the woman who "saved Star Trek". When the show was going to be cancelled in the second season she started a letter writing campaign to keep it on the air. She went to great lenghts to make sure all the letters were put together in such a way that Paramount would not be able to tell them apart from the regular business letters and therefore not dismissed as fan mail. If the show had not come back for a third season there would have been no movies, no next gen, no franchise. She had many stories to tell and my favorite was the time she asked Gene Rodenberry why there were not gay people on the Enterprise and he said "how do you know there aren't?".

RIP James, we'll miss ya.

[Bec]

She had many stories to tell and my favorite was the time she asked Gene Rodenberry why there were not gay people on the Enterprise and he said "how do you know there aren't?".

Oh honey ... she may of been in the Next Generation, but I was all set for hot steamy lesbian scenes for Denise Crosby's character, Lt. Tasha Yar. Totally bummed me out when they killed off the character. At least she had the kink to fuck around with an android! :devil: