He's Dead, Jim

Scotty has been beamed up:

James Doohan, Actor Who Played Scotty on 'Star Trek,' Dies at 85: "James Doohan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 3, 1920. He was the youngest of four children, and his father, Mr. Doohan wrote in his memoir, 'Beam Me Up, Scotty' (Pocket Books, 1996), was an abusive alcoholic. Mr. Doohan served in the Canadian Army during World War II and was struck by six bullets on D-Day. One bullet blew off his right middle finger, an injury he would later conceal from the 'Star Trek' cameras.

When Mr. Doohan, then a character actor with extensive radio experience, tried out for the role of Montgomery Scott, the ship's engineer, with Gene Roddenberry, the creator of 'Star Trek,' he read the lines with various accents, including French and German. 'They both decided an engineer has got to be a Scotsman,' Mr. Stevens said."

We never learned to like the later Star Treks, but the original will always have a special place in our heart. Thanks, Scotty, and may you find intelligent life up there.

This page is from the original Don't Let Me Stop You blog. We have moved to a new site: Visit DLMSY on WordPress.

Return to main page of Don't Let Me Stop You