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"Scotty" Gets Walk of Fame Star
linuxwrangler writes "Actor James Doohan, aka Scotty on the original Star Trek series received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. This is expected to be Doohan's last public appearance as he suffers from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis as well as recently diagnosed Alzheimer's disease."
"Chris pointed to the missing middle finger on his father's hand. Jimmy lost it during World War II, when fighting along with Royal Canadian Army soldiers in Normandy on D-Day."
... One Last Time," is being billed as Jimmy Doohan's final "Star Trek" fan convention
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url:http://24hour.startribune.com/24hour/enterta in ment/story/1603990p-9256921c.html?
(SH) - After all these years, it's time for a confession.
Chris Doohan and Danny Bonaduce dented Sonny Bono's Porsche in the 1970s. Bono trusted the boys, best pals from Van Nuys, Calif., to move his prized car for him. With "Partridge Family" star Bonaduce behind the wheel and Doohan riding shotgun, they guided the sports car out of its safe parking space and went in the wrong direction. Oops.
But Doohan had much safer childhood adventures in outer space.
When he and his brother Monty visited their dad at work, their father would tell them to go play in the shuttlecraft.
"We played like we were spacemen," said Doohan, 45. "We were 7 years old. It was fun."
That's one of the perks when your father is "Scotty," of Star Trek fame.
James "Jimmy" Doohan, 84, played the beloved role of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, chief engineer for the starship Enterprise, on the original 1966 series and in subsequent big-screen movies.
When your dad's a "Star Trek" icon, growing up can be out-of-this-world fun.
In the late 1970s, Chris and Monty, his twin, got in uniform and joined dad on the deck of the USS Enterprise, where William Shatner, as Capt. James T. Kirk, warned everyone about the villainous craft V'Ger that was approaching. It was a big moment for the boys, one that wound up on the big screen in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."
In the television show, and in the "Trek" movies, the senior Doohan's Scotty character manned the transporter room - the words "Beam me up, Scotty" are forever burned into our public consciousness - and constantly worked miracles to keep the Enterprise running.
For Chris, the "miracle worker" nature of his dad's character has been a source of constant inspiration.
Next week, to pay his dad back for all of the love and inspiration he's provided over the years, Chris will present his famous father with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Doohan clan, along with a grandstand of fans, will beam there Tuesday for the star ceremony.
On Monday, the senior Doohan will greet fans inside the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, which has on display the bridge set from "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
These are among the happenings in what's likely to go down as one of the biggest and most bittersweet conventions in "Star Trek" fandom history.
"Beam Me Up Scotty
The tribute comes at a poignant time.
"Just a couple months ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's," Chris said.
So far the disease, still in its early stages, has only affected Jimmy's short-term memory.
"He's really doing well," Chris said. "We're more concerned with his Parkinson's disease and diabetes than the Alzheimer's."
Doohan was diagnosed with Parkinson's several years ago.
"He gets to say goodbye to the fans," Chris said. "My dad has always been moved by the fans. If someone comes up and asks him for an autograph, he signs. He never turns anyone down."
To get his dad a star on the Walk of Fame, Chris raised $15,000, the fee required by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He started a year ago and received donations from fans around the world, who gave everything from 50 cents to $500.
Chris keeps a sizeable collection of Scotty action figures and "Star Trek" memorabilia at his home, including a photo that shows Chris, Monty and Jimmy, all in their Starfleet uniforms for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."
Chris pointed to the missing middle finger on his father's hand. Jimmy lost it during World War II, when fighting along with Royal Canadian Army sold
You're not the only one. A university in Wisconsin's school of engineering awarded Doohan an honorary degree when they found out half their student body had been inspired into engineering by Scotty.
I gotta respect the man. Did you know he stormed the beaches at Normandy?
This is not my sandwich.
Seriously! I grew up admiring Scotty, and Star Trek in general. For the longest time, my resume stated my objective as making Star Trek a reality :)
Well, today I'm a quantum physicist and a computer scientist in AI, and I would say that of all things that have inspired me in life to pursue these goals, ST has affected me the most. I still remember those episodes where he used to get strange alien warp engines and contraptions and make them work.
It's sad that it went downhill later down the line, but as a child, it inspired me to pursue science in a way nothing else ever has, and ever will. Here's to Scotty!
Wil (clevernickname) did an awesome tribute to J. Doohan on his website (well, it's actually the text of the speech he gave at the con. where James Doohan last appeared on Sat., I think - go to wilwheaton.net for more.
that's what his last couple posts are about...the goodbye convention...definately worth checking out.
and he's right...how many engineers/pilots and geeks in general were inspired by this guy? -- I remember reading an early work with some bio material where James said he sat down and tried to figure out all the mechanics and theories behind how the Enterprise worked after the first season, just so he could answer fans questions more credibly and accurately.
"If you want the reputation as a miracle worker...always multiply your estimates by three!"
RB
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ah honey, we're all resplendent - Bill Mallonee
From the TNG episode "Relics":
Scotty: I may be a captain by rank, but... I've never wanted to be anything else but an engineer.
I get goosebumps everytime I see that episode. Thank you, Mr Doohan.
Tom
I recall watching something on TV with Mr. Doohan talking about a woman that he had met at a Star Trek convention. She apparently was having lots of problems in life, going through depression, had recently been through a divorce (IIRC), etc., and had fixated on Star Trek as a release (not sure in what sense, I saw this a while ago). I believe she had fixated on Mr. Doohan specifically.
Anyway, she met with Mr. Doohan and from what I recall was very emphatic about getting to know him -- I'm unsure if she was trying to treat him as Scotty or as the actor, but regardless the feeling I got from his description was that she was hanging onto the image of him from the show as she didn't have much else to hang on to. Pretty sad.
Mr. Doohan said that he talked with her for a long time and after they parted they kept in touch, seeing each other over a period of time (2 years?). He tried to support her, talk through her problems, tried to help steer her back on the right track, etc.
Then, he says, one day she just disappeared. He didn't hear anything from her for a few years and then suddenly she called him. She had landed a stable job, was working out of her problems and had a better grip on life. She thanked him for what he had done.
Nobody is perfect, I am sure Mr. Doohan has his bad side, but from watching this I got the overall impression that he is a very caring man. How many Hollywood stars would put up with an obsessed fan in the condition she was in?
Seeing him smiling in his wheelchair just pulls on my heart and makes me smile. I sincerely hope the rest of his years are peaceful and rewarding.
~Dalcius
Rome wasn't burnt in a day.
James Doohan and George Takei always struck me as the two members of the cast who seemed to handle the unlikely fame they received from Star Trek the best. Doohan always remembered that it was the fans that made everything possible.
I'll bet he inspired a great many of the older posters here in their formative years.
In the fascinating (and sometimes hilarious) documentary Trekkies Doohan relates the story of a suicidal Trek fan who confided in him. Doohan took it upon himself to nurse this poor soul back to health. He told the fan that he wanted to see them at the next convention. To his amazement, the fan was there and Doohan graciously met with them, allowing them to come backstage and the whole deal. Doohan tried it again and again the fan showed up at the next convention. They kept this up for a long time (I forget -- it might have been years) when suddenly the fan stopped coming. Doohan feared the worst had happened.
Years later Doohan was stunned when the fan showed up at a convention out of nowhere! The fan told Doohan that they had turned their life around, enrolled in school, and become ... an electrical engineer.
If you haven't seen this film you should definitely rent it. Watching Doohan come close to tears as he tells this story is worth the rental fee right there.
GMD
watch this
It's common to read something on this site that is intellectual. It's rare to see something that is emotional. A Hollywood Walk of Fame Star doesn't even begin to describe what an icon Scotty is, not just for trekkies, but for science. In decades to come, when quantum teleportation technology is developed more and more, it will undoubtedly be referred to as "beaming". And if ever the technology develops from transporting subatomic and atomic particles to the point that an entire person can be teleported, the news will be broken to the world with images of James Doohan operating a transporter. I bet he never thought that a simple casting audition would land him a place in history.
I feel sorry for him.
Exactly what i first thought when i saw this headline. And then i wondered, Why is this wonderful man advertised like this? Why couldn't the headline have been something that gives more credit to this man's career/life? Now everybody 'feels sorry' for him, and i seriously think he doesn't deserve that.