Raven Wolf Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Updated: 01:25 PM EDT 'Star Trek' Star James Doohan Dies By BOB THOMAS, AP Getty ImagesJames Doohan will always be known for his role of Scotty on 'Star Trek.' Jump Below: · Remembering Scotty More Coverage: · Read Doohan's Filmography Hear Scotty in 'Star Trek': 'It Won't Hold for Long' 'Please Respond' More News Conversations: Talk About It: Post Thoughts LOS ANGELES (July 20) - James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series and motion pictures who responded to the command "Beam me up, Scotty," died early Wednesday. He was 85. Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. at his Redmond, Wash., home with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, he said. The Canadian-born Doohan was enjoying a busy career as a character actor when he auditioned for a role as an engineer in a new space adventure on NBC in 1966. A master of dialects from his early years in radio, he tried seven different accents. "The producers asked me which one I preferred," Doohan recalled 30 years later. "I believed the Scot voice was the most commanding. So I told them, 'If this character is going to be an engineer, you'd better make him a Scotsman."' The series, which starred William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as the enigmatic Mr. Spock, attracted an enthusiastic following of science fiction fans, especially among teenagers and children, but not enough ratings power. NBC canceled it after three seasons. When the series ended in 1969, Doohan found himself typecast as Montgomery Scott, the canny engineer with a burr in his voice. In 1973, he complained to his dentist, who advised him: "Jimmy, you're going to be Scotty long after you're dead. If I were you, I'd go with the flow." "I took his advice," said Doohan, "and since then everything's been just lovely." "Star Trek" continued in syndicated TV both in the United States and abroad, and its following grew larger and more dedicated. In his later years, Doohan attended 40 "Trekkie" gatherings around the country and lectured at colleges. The huge success of George Lucas's "Star Wars" in 1977 prompted Paramount Pictures, which had produced "Star Trek" for TV, to plan a movie based on the series. The studio brought back the TV cast and hired a topflight director, Robert Wise. "Star Trek - The Motion Picture" was successful enough to spawn five sequels. The powerfully built Doohan, a veteran of D-Day in Normandy, spoke frankly in 1998 about his employer, Paramount, and his TV commander: "I started out in the series at basic minimum- plus 10 percent for my agent. That was added a little bit in the second year. When we finally got to our third year, Paramount told us we'd get second-year pay! That's how much they loved us." Scotty Remembered He accused Shatner of hogging the camera, adding: "I like Captain Kirk, but I sure don't like Bill. He's so insecure that all he can think about is himself." James Montgomery Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, B.C., youngest of four children of William Doohan, a pharmacist, veterinarian and dentist, and his wife Sarah. As he wrote in his autobiography, "Beam Me Up, Scotty," his father was a drunk who made life miserable for his wife and children. At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. "The sea was rough," he recalled. "We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans." The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on the screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case. After the war Doohan on a whim enrolled in a drama class in Toronto. He showed promise and won a two-year scholarship to New York's famed Neighborhood Playhouse, where fellow students included Leslie Nielsen, Tony Randall and Richard Boone. His commanding presence and booming voice brought him work as a character actor in films and television, both in Canada and the U.S. Oddly, his only other TV series besides "Star Trek" was another space adventure, "Space Command," in 1953. Doohan's first marriage to Judy Doohan produced four children. He had two children by his second marriage to Anita Yagel. Both marriages ended in divorce. In 1974 he married Wende Braunberger, and their children were Eric, Thomas and Sarah, who was born in 2000, when Doohan was 80. In a 1998 interview, Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line "Beam me up, Scotty." "I'm not tired of it at all," he replied. "Good gracious, it's been said to me for just about 31 years. It's been said to me at 70 miles an hour across four lanes on the freeway. I hear it from just about everybody. It's been fun." Funeral arrangements were incomplete. 07/20/05 11:54 EDT Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. Article from AOL news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Copper1234 Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 It is quite sad, From what I saw of Doohan as a person and public personality he handled it with dignity and grace. He at leaset was rewarded with a long life , and having just being diagnosed with BOTH Alzheimers and Parkinsons its a blessing he didnt have to suffer after his 85 year of life. ..dont mean to be too dark.. :( Copper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voidprime Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 It is sad to see him die. May he go to frontiers he hasn't visited where no one has gone before. "Don't tug on that, you never know what it might be attached to. "- Buckaroo Banzai "There are no answers- only choices." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Burnout Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 this is pretty sad news :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elders (Admins) The Old Man Posted July 21, 2005 Elders (Admins) Share Posted July 21, 2005 This is really sad news. Good luck James, wherever you are. Thank you for not contributing to the spread of fake or inaccurate content, speculation or false information especially in relation to current worldwide health events. Need help? For technical related issues, please use our Support Forum. To report spam or inappropriate content, please use the Report option which flags all community Elders and autohides the content if multiple reports are received before site staff can respond directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkabout Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 maybe he's with Deforest Kelly discussing the good and bad 'points' about vulcans.. .. seriously.. I always loved his character and he will be sorely missed from conventions. you can pick your friends... you can pick your nose .... but you can NEVER pick your friend's nose !! MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Wolf Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 Yeah... I bet he and "Bones" are havin' a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elders (Admins) The Old Man Posted July 23, 2005 Elders (Admins) Share Posted July 23, 2005 Why, you green blooded...! Both of them will remain loved for a long time in the hearts of their family, friends and fans. Now if only they could have talked some sense into William Shatner who is determined to kill off any respect anyone ever had for him by doing those damn Kellog's adverts... Thank you for not contributing to the spread of fake or inaccurate content, speculation or false information especially in relation to current worldwide health events. Need help? For technical related issues, please use our Support Forum. To report spam or inappropriate content, please use the Report option which flags all community Elders and autohides the content if multiple reports are received before site staff can respond directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkabout Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Haven't seen the 'Kellogg' ones ... but they can't be any worse than his internet travel company[ Priceline] ... now those are truely annoying [ at least he doesn't try to sing anymore] you can pick your friends... you can pick your nose .... but you can NEVER pick your friend's nose !! MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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