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Star Trek's Scotty Dies at 85
darkworm writes "James Doohan, better known to Trekkies everywhere as Scotty, has died at the age of 85. James was suffering from both Parkinsons and Alzheimer's and died earlier today at his home"
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It's fitting that he passed away on the anniversary of the Apollo landings.
I had breakfast with Jimmy Doohan once. This was years before I was a famous geek, so I doubt he remembered it long. But I remember him -- a very warm, human, unassuming person. He had the quiet self-confidence of a man who's seen it all, done most of it, lived an upright life, and has nothing left to prove to anybody. The contrast with the brittle personalities and huge fragile egos of some other Trek stars I've met was very noticeable.
I'll miss you, Jimmy.
>>esr>>
What would be ironic is if the actors who played the "red shirts" on the old series actually outlived all the principle actors. I wonder if any of the "expendable ensigns" have passed on?
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
"TK-421, why aren't you at your post?"
Damn right. Not only did he expertly play the character that hooked many a kid on the idea of science and engineering, but was also a decorated war veteran and a genuine class act. He was always warm and receptive to his fans and a beloved fixture of the convention circuit.
This is an important point. Doohan really gave so much back to the community. 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
James Doohan was troubled by his typecasting in the years following ST:TOS cancellation, until his dentist told him: 'you're going to be scotty the rest of your life whether you like it or not'. After that Doohan says he just went with it and became a much happier person, and admitted that life had treated him very well.
Another tidbit...as like most good soldiers (David Niven comes to mind) he underplayed his WWII experience very much, when talking about it in public usually talked about how scared he was etc. He was at the Juno Beach landings on D-Day and took 6 bullets (including the loss of one of his fingers).
I never met him, but people I know who did claim he was probably the most charming, down-to-earth media personality they ever met. Old-school gentleman, with a great sense of humour and humilty. This can be contrasted slightly with Canada's OTHER contribution to Star Trek, William (Farking) Shanter...
John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
This wasn't just for the cameras. I was at a convention in Atlanta, Georgia back in my hard-core Trekkie days (I've mellowed out a bit...). Being a broke teenager, I could only afford a one-day pass, and they didn't schedule any autograph sessions for that day. During his Q&A session, I asked him if my buddy and I could have autographs since we wouldn't be able to see him during the other two days.
He said of course we could, he didn't realize that they were selling one-day passes and thought everyone there would be there for two more days. Right there in the Q&A, he said that anyone who wouldn't have another chance to see him on one of the other two days could meet him in the hallway after the Q&A and get autographs.
After the Q&A, he stayed late and a handful of people met him out in the hall while he signed autographs. I was very impressed that the whole room didn't go right then (kudos to the Trekkies!), but more than that, I was impressed that Jimmy Doohan went clearly above and beyond what he was obligated to do just for the sake of being a nice guy. Out in the hallway, he was extremely personable and it was obvious that he wasn't just going through the motions of getting a bunch of Trekkies (myself included) out of his hair, an impression I got from some of the other actors.
Nowadays, I'm not so much a Star Trek fan, but one of my most prized possessions is still my autographed copy of Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. Not because of the autograph, because I have lots of 'em from various people, but because of the memory of what a nice guy Jimmy Doohan was and how special it was that he took some time out of his schedule and his life just to be a nice guy to me, an anonymous guy he didn't know and would very likely never see again.
And yes, of all of the Star Trek actors I've read about beyond their non-Trek lives, Jimmy Doohan is BY FAR the most interesting, courageous and noble one. Christ, the man was shot by Nazis six times with a machine gun in World War II while storming a beach! In my book, that makes him a bigger hero than even the fictional Captain Kirk.