You might've already heard from the news but James Doohan died...
Here is the article
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
I'm staring to think the original cast of TOS is dying out...I really do.Which
is sad.They were my favorite Star Trek cast.U_Ux
Quote by NeoXarchThht is truly sad I've
met him once at a convention he sign several of my Starship blueprint's he was a
great guy he will be missed.
I would've liked to meet him.He and the other original TOS cast is the best Star
Trek cast well in my opinion that is.I prefer the original series to the newer
ones because well it is the first lol.TOS is what got me into space and such.I
wasn't interested in it until after i've seen TOS.My Dad,Brother,Cousin and Aunt
were also big fans of the it..Too bad they seem to be dying out..*sigh*It's sad
but then again it also reminds you of how old you are when you don't even act
like your age.Even though I myself is 18 years old I am into the original star
trek.lol
Yeah I,m 33 lost my father 3 yr ago so make's one ponder their life however you
only old if you act most of my friend are in their teen to mid 20's of the orig
crew of the old star trel I,ve met shatner as well now Nimoy though wan't to
meet Pactric Stewart before he's gone!
Quote by wolfcoThat's rather sad. I
always liked his character and his real life personality always seemed just as
welcoming.
I know it was...I feel sad because as we grow older so does the things we
love.And as those things grow older they tend to fade away in memories and
pain...Those things that grows older ,soon dies out...It's sad to know that the
people on our favorite shows are dying...
Quote by NeoXarchYeah I,m 33 lost my
father 3 yr ago so make's one ponder their life however you only old if you act
most of my friend are in their teen to mid 20's of the orig crew of the old star
trel I,ve met shatner as well now Nimoy though wan't to meet Pactric Stewart
before he's gone!
I'm sorry for your loss.I know what you mean about people acting like a certain
age younger only to be really old by time.I just recently loss my aunt to
cancer...last year...Saturday I lost my pet rabbit which I had for 4 years...Any
ways I wouldn't mind meeting Shatner and Nimoy.Also I wouldn't had minded
meeting Kelly but he's dead as well..He was my favorite lol him and Nimoy.My
Cousin has met them though.He even has their autographs which I'm jealous of..It
would be cool to meet them.
You might've already heard from the news but James Doohan died...
Here is the article
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
I'm staring to think the original cast of TOS is dying out...I really do.Which is sad.They were my favorite Star Trek cast.U_Ux
Thht is truly sad I've met him once at a convention he sign several of my Starship blueprint's he was a great guy he will be missed.
I would've liked to meet him.He and the other original TOS cast is the best Star Trek cast well in my opinion that is.I prefer the original series to the newer ones because well it is the first lol.TOS is what got me into space and such.I wasn't interested in it until after i've seen TOS.My Dad,Brother,Cousin and Aunt were also big fans of the it..Too bad they seem to be dying out..*sigh*It's sad but then again it also reminds you of how old you are when you don't even act like your age.Even though I myself is 18 years old I am into the original star trek.lol
Yeah I,m 33 lost my father 3 yr ago so make's one ponder their life however you only old if you act most of my friend are in their teen to mid 20's of the orig crew of the old star trel I,ve met shatner as well now Nimoy though wan't to meet Pactric Stewart before he's gone!
That's rather sad. I always liked his character and his real life personality always seemed just as welcoming.
I know it was...I feel sad because as we grow older so does the things we love.And as those things grow older they tend to fade away in memories and pain...Those things that grows older ,soon dies out...It's sad to know that the people on our favorite shows are dying...
I'm sorry for your loss.I know what you mean about people acting like a certain age younger only to be really old by time.I just recently loss my aunt to cancer...last year...Saturday I lost my pet rabbit which I had for 4 years...Any ways I wouldn't mind meeting Shatner and Nimoy.Also I wouldn't had minded meeting Kelly but he's dead as well..He was my favorite lol him and Nimoy.My Cousin has met them though.He even has their autographs which I'm jealous of..It would be cool to meet them.