James Doohan dies at age 85

[dlbpharmd]

Godspeed, Scotty.

[wayfriend]

This time, the Captain beemed Scotty up.

[Cail]

It really sucks when people you grew up idolizing start dropping dead. I'm sick of getting older.....

[danlo]

Once, at a convention of astronomers, James Doohan was asked what it felt like "to be beamed." The actor who'd heard the order, "Beam me up, Scotty," countless times on the Star Trek set reported that it was "very pleasurable."

"You end up beaming all over the place," Doohan said, per StarTrek.com.

Doohan, who sweated it out in the engine room of the U.S.S. Enterprise as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on the original Trek TV series and, indeed, found himself beamed "all over the place," via reruns, videos and DVDs, died Wednesday at his home in Washington state. He was 85, and had been most recently battling pneumonia.


In addition to the trailblazing 1966-69 series, the Canadian-born Doohan affected his Scotty brogue for the first seven Trek feature films, and the 1973 animated series. And when he wasn't burring, he was grunting what would become the basis for the Klingon language that was developed for the big-screen adventures.


It was a year ago last July that Doohan's family disclosed the Trek star had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. That, combined with Parkinson's and diabetes, led Doohan to sign off from the lucrative convention and college circuit, which he had worked like few other Enterprise alums. But first there was to be one more con. Last August, Doohan's longtime costars and fans converged in Hollywood for three days of roasting, toasting and starring the actor on the Walk of Fame.

[aTOMiC]

"He's not really gone as long as we remember him."

[danlo]

[onewyteduck]

May he always have enough dilithium crystals!

[ChoChiyo]

He has entered the Ultimate Final Frontier...I hope he and DeForest Kelley have some drinks and a good long catch-up with the gossip chat.

I LOVED those men.

I have cried three times when tv personalities died.

(1) Roy Rogers, my childhood idol
(2) DeForest Kelley, who was always my favorite character
(3) James Doohan, for the same reason that Cail says it sucks to get older.

My heros flickering out of existence. *sniff*

On the news tonight, it said that his family was having his ashes shot into space....I think that would be an appropriate memorial service for the great, kind man who played Montgomery Scott.

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

And so Star Trek's sunset continues.

I've been on the road all day, so this is the first I've heard of Jimmy Doohan's death. Bit of a shock. I feel like Doohan, with the Great Bird and Kelley before him, have entered the realm of the footnote.

[matrixman]

Farewell, Scotty.

Gene Roddenberry also had his ashes launched into space. Warp speed to the Great Bird and Doohan: may they roam the galactic frontier and beyond...

[Damelon]

R.I.P. Scotty

[Avatar]

Well said all.

--A

[wayfriend]

» Family: 'Mr. Scott's' ashes to be beamed up

[caamora]

The Enterprise will never again be fixed! All its power is gone.

A part of Americana has beamed up on his own now.


Bye, Scotty, and Godspeed. We loved you.

[Worm of Despite]

And James Doohan, who played the engineer, Scottie, spoke movingly of a woman who wrote him a suicide note. He called her and told her there was a Star Trek convention in two weeks and he wanted to see her there. She went, they talked and he told her about the next convention, and he wanted to see her there. She went to that one, too. And the next, and the next—for about two or three years. Then silence. He didn’t hear from her, and didn’t know what had happened.



Eight years later, she wrote him a letter, thanking him for taking the time to help her. His kindness and attention had lifted her spirits and given her the will to go on. She was writing to tell him that he had inspired her to get her degree in electrical engineering. He had tears in his eyes as he spoke of it.

[matrixman]

Thanks very much for that, Lord Foul. It's beautiful story!

[Lord Mhoram]

LF,

That is a powerful and moving story.

[ChoChiyo]

Years ago there was a documentary about Star Trek conventions--and they showed Jimmy Doohan talking about that situation. He got a little choked up when he spoke of it on that documentary too.

I wish I'd thought to tape it.

It was very very interesting.

I think it was him who also got a picture of a naked fan which he said was quite interesting.

heheeheheheh

His great spirit and sweet heart always showed in his eyes when he spoke.

[Warmark Jay]

Sigh. Another one of my childhood heroes gone.

It speaks volumes of the man that he seemed to derive so much pleasure out of giving so much pleasure to Trek fans. Far too many actors whine and complain about being typecast. Doohan reminds me of comments made by Mark Hamill on a talk show a few years back;when asked if he was bitter about the limited number of post-"Star Wars" roles he'd gotten, he said something to the effect of "Bitter? I played Luke Skywalker! My kids and their kids and millions of others will watch those movies for generations to come. How great is that?"

Two Trek quotes come to mind:

"A keyboard. How quaint."

and, though spoken about another character, surely fits...

"Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most human."

[Creator]

R.I.P. Scotty