On a scale of earth shattering importance this ranks very low but to me it is a sad day.
James Doohan, 85, died at 5:30 AM at his home in Redmond, Washingtn. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease according to his agent and friend Steve Stevens.
Doohan was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1920. He joined the Canadian Army during World War II when he was 19 and became an officer in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. Later that night he was machine-gunned, taking 6 rounds: one took off his middle finger, four in the leg and one directly into a silver cigarette case in a breast pocket. (So much for smoking always being bad for your health!)
After the war, on a lark, he took an acting class in Toronto, found he had talent, and went on to win a scholarship with the New York Neighborhood Playhouse. He went on to work as a character actor in films and television.
The role that brought him to mass notice was as the Chief Engineer for the United Federation of Planets Starship Enterprise. And notably for a line that was never, actually, used, “Beam me up, Scotty!”
In 1998 Mr. Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing that line. “I’m not tired of it at all,” he replied. “Good Gracious, it’s been said to me for just about 31 years. I’ts 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.”
Here’s to you, Scotty