“Star Trek’s” Scotty to Make Final Space Voyage

Canadian-born James Doohan passed away at the age of 85 due to pneumonia and complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease. A veteran of the D-Day landings, where he took six bullets and lost part of a finger, he entered the acting profession on a lark taking a class in Toronto after the war. He was good enough to win a scholarship to New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse, where he worked with Tony Randall, Richard Boone, and Leslie Nielsen. He will, however, always be remembered for a line never actually spoken – ‘Beam me up, Scotty.”

Mr. Doohan was Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer of the starship Enterprise. When those in the theatre and cinema say that they create a role, they are often giving themselves airs. In this case, though, Mr. Doohan really did make Scotty up. After trying seven different accents out, “The producers asked me which one I preferred,” the actor said, “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’.” And it was Mr. Doohan’s interest in technical manuals turned up more than once in Scotty’s shipboard recreation.

The problem, of course, with being Montgomery Scott was typecasting. “Star Trek” ran three years, and while he had some luck with “Space Command” back in 1953, Mr. Doohan had a load of trouble finding other roles (a fate most other cast members had, save William Shatner). It annoyed him for a time, but in 1973, his dentist told him, “Jimmy, you’re going to be Scotty long after you’re dead. If I were you, I’d go with the flow.” Doohan took that to heart and “and since then everything’s been just lovely.”

All the same, the money from the cultural icon of which he was part came later, from the films. “I started out in the series at basic minimum — plus 10 percent for my agent. That was added to 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.” As for fellow Canadian, William Shatner, all way not rosy between the bridge and engineering, “I like Captain Kirk, but I sure don’t like Bill. He’s so insecure that all he can think about is himself.” Somehow, though, they managed.

Susan Shwartz, who with by Josepha Sherman co-authored the “Star Trek” novels Vulcan’s Forge, Vulcan’s Heart and Vulcan’s Soul, told the Kensington Review, “James Doohan was a hero of the Normandy beaches. He was also a hero to every kid who watched him nursemaid his ‘bairns’ and grew up to become an engineer -- and to everyone who thought that ‘second star to the right and straight on to morning’ was the perfect course.”

Houston-based Space Services, Inc. will launch a few grams of Mr. Doohan's ashes into orbit later this year. Eventually, the aluminum tube in which those ashes will ride will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up. Scotty will have taken his last flight in "space, the final frontier."


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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