Beam me up. :`(

[Yakk]

James Doohan, Who Played Scotty on `Star Trek,' Dies at 85 July 20
(Bloomberg) -- James Doohan, who fielded the request ``Beam me up'' as the
starship Enterprise's engineer Scotty in the ``Star Trek'' science-fiction
television series and subsequent films, has died. He was 85.

Doohan died of pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease at his home in Redmond,
Washington, this morning, the Associated Press reported, citing his
agent Steve Stevens. His wife was with him, AP said. The actor also
suffered from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis and used
a wheelchair.

Doohan played Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ``Scotty'' Scott, the
Enterprise's chief engineer, on ``Star Trek,'' which ran on NBC network
from 1966-1969.

``Star Trek'' was canceled after 79 episodes, then gained legions of
fans in reruns, spinning off 10 movies, five TV series and a burgeoning
convention circuit. Doohan later made a guest appearance on the ``Star
Trek: The Next Generation'' TV series (1987-1994), starring Patrick
Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Doohan created the Klingon language introduced in the first Star Trek
movie, 1979's ``Star Trek: The Motion Picture,'' according to the
director's edition DVD of the film. His original sounds were expanded
and used to translate William Shakespeare plays and the Bible.

Doohan made his last public appearance in August 2004 when he received a
star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and blew kisses to a standing-room-only
crowd at the two-day ``Beam Me Up, Scotty ... One More Time'' tribute
and convention at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.

Trouble With Tribbles
James Montgomery Doohan was born on March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British
Columbia. He became a captain of artillery in the Royal Canadian Army
during World War II.

Doohan lost the middle finger of his right hand on June 6, 1944, or D-Day,
when the Allied forces invaded France. The injury is visible in only two
``Star Trek'' episodes, ``The Trouble With Tribbles'' and ``Cats Paw,''
according to Internet Movie Database.

In 1946, Doohan won a two-year scholarship to drama teacher Sanford
Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he trained
alongside actors Tony Randall and Jackie Gleason. He served as Meisner's
assistant for several years.

Doohan went on to appear on 4,000 radio shows and 400 live TV shows
for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He acted in plays and films in the
U.S. and Canada and guest-starred on TV shows including ``Bonanza'' and
``The Twilight Zone.''

He joined the cast of ``Star Trek'' after the first of two pilots. Doohan
said in a 1994 interview with the Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
that he auditioned with seven or eight different accents. ``Star Trek''
creator Gene Roddenberry then asked him to choose his favorite accent
and Doohan said, ``If you're looking for an engineer, I think he'd better
be a Scotsman.''

`Can't Take It Anymore!'
Scotty, named after Doohan's grandfather, was a mechanical wizard who
could fix dilithium crystals with safety pins and bail William Shatner's
Captain James T. Kirk out of scrapes. He would shout in a Scottish brogue,
``Captain, she can't take any more.''

Doohan also appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies, spanning from
``Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (1979) to ``Star Trek: Generations''
in 1994.

Doohan became a regular on the Star Trek convention circuit. Fans praised
him for always signing autographs and chatting with fans about alternate
universes. The ``Beam Me Up'' convention in August 2004 featured Scotty
impersonation contests, Scotty trivia and a panel discussion on ``The
Influence of Scotty on Society.''

Doohan said in a 1994 Boston Herald interview that he appeared at ``Star
Trek'' events ``because I'm not getting other parts. I get a fabulous
living just doing appearances.''

He also was a regular speaker at colleges and a spokesman for Royal
Philips Electronics NV. Survivors include his wife Wende, sons Eric and
Thomas, daughter Sarah and four children, Larkin, Deirdre, Montgomery
and Christopher, from his first marriage.

Now that is a life.

In the face of vacuous celebrities whose claim to fame is being famous, stands this man who was -- no, is famous for the least of his accomplisments.

If my life is a tenth of a tenth of this man's...

He can't take it any more, cap'n. Beam him up.

[stevie667]

A sad sad day

[Yakk]

Tracked down the source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...KCdxY&refer=us

[Charlatan]

He was my favourite of the original cast... I like to think of him just being caught in the buffer of a juryrigged transporter beam... just waiting.

[Cuatela]

Originally Posted by Yakk

Tracked down the source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...KCdxY&refer=us

Thanks, I was looking for that.

This is depressing...especially for us Trekkers...

[Bill O'Rights]

Son of a...
I was just thinking about him yesterday. Out of the blue...for no real reason.
Sad. Very sad.

Sadder still, I suppose, that even his D-Day contribution had to be cut with a Star Trek reference.

[Pip]

A sad day indeed. I wanted to be just like Scotty when I grew up. Part of me still would like to be a no-nonsense chief engineer on a starship. Rest in peace.

[Yakk]

The battle where James "Scotty" Doohan lost his finger:

Juno Beach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_Beach).

In the first hour of the assault on Juno Beach, the Canadian forces suffered approximately 50% casualty rates, comparable to those suffered by the Americans at Omaha Beach. Once the Canadians cleared the seawall (about an hour after jumping off the transports), however, they started to advance quickly inland and have a much easer time subduing the German defences than the Americans at Omaha would. By noon, the 3rd Canadian Division had completely landed and had pushed several kilometres inland to seize bridges over Seulles River, and at 6 PM, they captured the town of St. Aubin. A 1st Hussar Armoured troop was the only unit in Normandy that had reached its objectives; it had pushed 15 km inland and crossed the Caen-Bayeux highway. However, this troop was forced to pull back because they had passed the supporting infantry. By the end of D-Day the 3rd Canadian Division had penetrated farther into France than any other Allied force, having faced resistance stronger than at any beachhead save Omaha.

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Juno-Beach

Juno was the second most heavily defended of the five landing sites chosen, after the more famous Omaha Beach. General Richter was in charge of the 716th Division guarding the beach, with 11 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns at his disposal. Additionally, pillboxes and other fortifications were present all along the beach, most heavily concentrated at the Courseulles-sur-mer region. The seawall was twice the height of Omaha Beach's, and the ocean was heavily mined.

[Yakk]

More details:

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/vie...icle/6527.html

[...] signing up for the Royal Canadian Artillery, once the country joined the war effort in 1939. Posted in England, he served throughout the duration of the war, becoming an officer and rising through the ranks, but without seeing actual combat until June 6, 1944 — D-Day — where he led a regiment of 33 men onto Juno Beach at Normandy, France.

You may have never noticed, watching the Original Series and the movies, that Mr. Scott has a physical handicap — he's missing the middle finger of his right hand. That's because the actor kept it very well hidden. (Watch the shows again carefully — Scotty is almost always clenching his right hand, or hiding it behind a console — but if you know to look, the missing digit is occasionally apparent.) That injury occurred on D-Day. Lt. Doohan successfully led his Canadian troop onto the beach and pushed inland to establish the best possible gun position (along the way Doohan shot two German snipers, never knowing whether he killed them). A field was secured and command posts were established, but not all Germans between the beach and their position had been captured. That night about 11:30, Doohan and another officer were walking between command posts when machine gun fire broke out. Doohan was hit; he fell into a shell hole, looked at his hand and saw blood. Three bullets struck the one finger. Never losing consciousness, he actually walked to the regimental aid post, unaware he also took four bullets in the leg.

There was an eighth bullet, and it was nothing less than a miracle that he's still with us today. It hit his chest, four inches from his heart. But it ricocheted off the sterling silver cigarette case in his pocket, the one his brother had given him for being best man at his wedding. It's like a trite plot twist, he acknowledges — his brother saved his life from thousands of miles away. Jimmy pushed the dent out of the cigarette case and continued using it until he quit smoking years later. He stayed in the military, learned to fly and came to be known as the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Forces."

[Seer666]

Rest in Peace and go with God.
A sad sad day.

[JumpinJesus]

Star Trek was one of my favorite shows growing up. I used to have those Star Trek walkie-talkies and we would run around flipping the lids open making that beeping noise and saying, "Beam me up, Scotty." It was grand because my friend's name also happened to be Scotty.

Rest in peace.

[snowy]

Awwwww

I loved Scotty. I especially enjoyed his appearance on Star Trek: TNG.

How sad.

[ShaniFaye]

damn it this is just as sad as losing Doc Baker!!!!

[Fremen]

I didn't know that about his military career. The tale was heartwrenching.
My respect for him knows no bounds.

Rest in peace, Jimmy. You will be missed.

[yabobo]

Makes me think of my own mortality. I watched him in the sixties.The first run I was hooked. Must have seen nearly a million episodes in the forty years
it has been on the tube. Where have the years gone?
Who's next?

[feelgood]

Aw man...not good ole Scotty!

[Minx]

I grew up on the old Star Treks. It was a sad day, indeed, when we lost "Scotty".

Rest in peace.

ps....Yakk - great research! Go Canada!

[SecretMethod70]

I can't believe he has a 5 year old daughter. A kid at 80...he must have been one sexy guy!

He'll definitely be missed...everyone who has met him has said nothing but wonderful things about him and it's said that he made even random fans feel like they were his best friend. He was truly a great guy.