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No More Beaming Scotty


Born: March 3rd, 1920
Died: July 20th 2005

Actor James Doohan was better known to us as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott a.k.a. Scotty. Doohan joined the original cast of the television series Star Trek in 1966 alongside William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.


Doohan was a member of the Royal Canadian Artillery and was part of the landing party on Juno Beach on D-Day. He lost the middle finger from his right arm and was saved from a gunshot to the chest by a silver cigarette case that was given to him by his brother. After the war Doohan embarked on his acting career when after a number of films and television shows throughout the fifties and sixties he finally got a role on the television series Star Trek which was to be his most successful role. Doohan reportedly tried several accents before settling with his famous Scottish brogue. It was also said the then-nascent language of the Klingons was partly devised by Doohan. Although the series ended in 1969, Doohan was forever associated with his Scottish role of Scotty. The catch phrase "Beam me up Scotty" was etched in the minds of every Star Trek fan worldwide. In 1979 he reprised his role in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and subsequently appeared in the six sequels that followed. In 1996 he published his autobiography appropriately title Beam Me Up, Scotty. He has appeared in numerous fan conventions and lectured in various colleges. Doohan received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2004.

Doohan died at his home in Washington at the age of 85 after suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer's. Born and raised in Canada, James Doohan leaves behind his wife Wende Doohan, their three children (Eric, Thomas and Sarah) and another six children from his previous two marriages. Following in the footsteps of the late Gene Rodenberry, Doohan's ashes along with Star Trek writer John Meredyth Lucas will be sent into space in September on board the Falcon 1 which will be launched from the Vanderberg Air Force base in California.
























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