Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: James "Scotty" Doohan has passed away at 85

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 07-20-2005, 11:18 AM:

James Doohan the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise on the TV series and movies "Star Trek" has passed away at age 85.

[Frown]

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 07-20-2005, 01:03 PM:

Obit from KING-TV, Seattle...

'Star Trek's' Doohan dies; immortalized for 'Beam me up, Scotty'

10:46 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - 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 teen-agers 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.”

Posted by Andy Summers (Member # 3207) on 07-20-2005, 02:51 PM:

Man that’s low numbers, well hears too you jimmy, Mr Scott energize…

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-20-2005, 06:36 PM:

He's dead, Jim. [Frown]

I hope when the next Academy Awards does its "In Memorium" segment they don't leave out James Doohan like they left out DeForest Kelley. [Mad]

I think I've told my James Doohan story here before, but what the hell, I'll tell it again. Doohan was the main celeb at a Star Trek convention here in Eugene. This was in the early 90s. He was introduced and took the stage to enthusiastic fan applause. He smiled and waved at the crowd and started his talk. Well as soon as Scotty opened his mouth, I got the feeling he had more than a little Romulan Ale in him. He was reminiscing about all things Trek, when suddenly his demeanor changed and he blurted out "We had a great thing going until that bastard Shatner ruined it for all of us!" You could sense that this outburst kind of stunned the crowd. Well Scotty quickly caught himself and went back to being jovial again for the rest of his "show". That little outburst is the part that stuck with me though.

RIP Scotty. [beer]

James Doohan at imdb.com

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-20-2005, 10:41 PM:

Shit! I guess he couldn't keep the ship together any longer!

[Frown]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-20-2005, 11:04 PM:

His last words: I don't think she's gonna take much more...

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 07-21-2005, 12:33 AM:

Scotty said:

quote:
"We had a great thing going until that bastard Shatner ruined it for all of us!"

Nothing like an old, stereotyped, bitter, drunk, actor to liven things up... [thumbsup]

RIP Chief...all yous originals are still the best! [beer]

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 07-21-2005, 12:39 AM:

Rest In Peace, Scotty, and may the Force be with you.

[Frown]

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 07-21-2005, 09:36 AM:

quote:
who responded to the command “Beam me up, Scotty,”

Nnnnawp... those words were never uttered on the show.

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 07-21-2005, 11:39 AM:

I worked on a film in the 1990's in Miami where he had a three day cameo role....he blew the pants off the other actors in being "ready" for the shot [Razz]

. The film was completed but unreleased due to investor and technical problems...but I expect it will show up as a "lost" work.