Beem me up Scotty

[stkelly52]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/0....ap/index.html
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- 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. (1330 GMT) at his Redmond, Washington, 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."

[Fonzie]

[WSUCougar]

Sorry to see him go.

[Raiders Army]

Maybe not a great actor, but a great character actor for sure. May he rest in peace.

[Blade]

Damn...that is sad news.

[Vince]

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by stkelly52

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."

This is something I loved Doohan and many of the other Star Trek actors for. If more actors would live this way, they would be much happier.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

If only Bones were around to have saved him...

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by BigJohn&TheLions

If only Bones were around to have saved him...

He's dead, John.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm not trying to make a joke here, but I honestly thought that this guy had died years ago.

[Fonzie]

I didn't know this about him:

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 screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

Damn!

[Chas in Cinti]

I could of swore they said he was missing a finger from a gardening accident on that Trekkies documentary back in the late 90s... eh well...

Bon Voyage Scotty...

Regards,
Chas

[RendeR]

Its realy sad when such amazingly caring and creative people pass away. You will be missed James.

[WrongWay]

I liked him, because he seemed to be the only TOS actor to have fun with his fans. The others I always got the feeling that they thought they were doing you some kind of HUGE favor.

[WSUCougar]

From CNN.com:

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- He made his name in Hollywood beaming his colleagues back to the safety of the Enterprise on "Star Trek." Now, actor James Doohan's family is hoping to beam him up to the "final frontier" that Doohan's character "Scotty" loved so dearly.

The actor, who died Wednesday at age 85, had told relatives he wanted his ashes blasted into outer space, as was done for "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.

"He'll be there with his buddy, which is wonderful," said Doohan's agent and longtime friend, Steve Stevens.

Doohan died at his home in Redmond, Wash., with his wife of 31 years, Wende, at his side. He had retired from public events last year, not long after announcing he had Alzheimer's disease.

Houston-based Space Services Inc., which specializes in space memorials, plans to send a few grams of Doohan's ashes aboard a rocket later this year. The remains, which will be sealed in an aluminum capsule, will eventually burn up when they re-enter Earth's atmosphere.

It should be a fitting finale for an actor who, as the Starship Enterprise's frazzled chief engineer saved the Enterprise almost every week from blowing up, burning up or being overrun by renegade aliens when the warp drive, the phasers, the shields, the power cells or some other futuristic collection of doohickies failed.

As the man who commanded the Enterprise's particle beam transporter, Doohan's character also inspired the phrase, "Beam me up, Scotty." Capt. Kirk and other members of the Enterprise crew never really issued the order quite that way, however, until the fourth "Star Trek" film when Kirk said, "Scotty, beam me up."

A master of dialects from his early years in radio, the Canadian-born Doohan experimented with seven different accents for the hard-pressed engineer.

"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."'

Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, the youngest of four children of William Doohan, a pharmacist, veterinarian and dentist, and his wife, Sarah. He wrote in his autobiography, "Beam Me Up, Scotty," that his father was a drunk who made life miserable for his wife and children.

At 19, he escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, where he became a lieutenant in the artillery and was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day.

After the war, Doohan enrolled in a drama class in Toronto on a whim. 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 steady work as a character actor in films and television in Canada and the United States. Then came "Star Trek" and fans forever screaming "Beam me up, Scotty."

"Good gracious, it's been said to me for just about 31 years," he said in an 1998 interview. "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."

Married three times, Doohan was the father of nine children.

"A long and storied career is over," William Shatner, who played Kirk, said Wednesday.

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by CNN.com

"A long and storied career is over," William Shatner, who played Kirk, said Wednesday.

I realize that the two of them weren't good friends, but is that the best Bill can do?

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Fonzie

I realize that the two of them weren't good friends, but is that the best Bill can do?

I think all the hair implants have impeded his ability to craft very long sentences.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by story

Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

Joe Camel says "See, kids, smoking can save your life"

SI