Star Trek's Scotty Dies at 85 762
darkworm writes "James Doohan, better known to Trekkies everywhere as Scotty, has died at the age of 85. James was suffering from both Parkinsons and Alzheimer's and died earlier today at his home"
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Star Trek's Scotty Dies at 85
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Understanding is always the understanding of a smaller problem in relation to a bigger problem. -- P.D. Ouspensky
Off To The Final Frontier (Score:3, Interesting)
Nuff said
Re:Yes, I am going to hell for this... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Can't (Score:3, Interesting)
Something has to be said about the famous accent. I don't know that many Scots, but I'm told that nobody from Scotland actually talks that way. It's a sort of Hollywood convention.
Speaking of Scots, has anybody else noticed that Kirk and McCoy are both Scottish names? So two of the three main characters were Scottish, plus the most prominent supporting character. Makes you wonder...
A fitting day for his passing (Score:5, Interesting)
There goes a good man (Score:5, Interesting)
I'll miss you, Jimmy.
What is it... (Score:4, Interesting)
Kjella
More about his war injuries. (Score:2, Interesting)
Does anyone know if he later on became politically active against warfare? What was his stance on such things as the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and earlier than that, Vietnam?
My favorite: "It's... it's green." (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Yes, I am going to hell for this... (Score:4, Interesting)
What would be ironic is if the actors who played the "red shirts" on the old series actually outlived all the principle actors. I wonder if any of the "expendable ensigns" have passed on?
An inspiration to engineers everwhere.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Beem him on up... (Score:3, Interesting)
He will be truely missed.
Doohan saved a fan's life (Score:5, Interesting)
Damn right. Not only did he expertly play the character that hooked many a kid on the idea of science and engineering, but was also a decorated war veteran and a genuine class act. He was always warm and receptive to his fans and a beloved fixture of the convention circuit.
This is an important point. Doohan really gave so much back to the community. In the fascinating (and sometimes hilarious) documentary Trekkies [trekdoc.com], Doohan relates the story of a suicidal Trek fan who confided in him. Doohan took it upon himself to nurse this poor soul back to health. He told the fan that he wanted to see them at the next convention. To his amazement, the fan was there and Doohan graciously met with them, allowing them to come backstage and the whole deal. Doohan tried it again and again the fan showed up at the next convention. They kept this up for a long time (I forget -- it might have been years) when suddenly the fan stopped coming. Doohan feared the worst had happened.
Years later Doohan was stunned when the fan showed up at a convention out of nowhere! The fan told Doohan that they had turned their life around, enrolled in school, and become ... an electrical engineer.
If you haven't seen this film you should definitely rent it. Watching Doohan come close to tears as he tells this story is worth the rental fee right there.
GMD
Re:Remembering James Doohan (Score:5, Interesting)
Another tidbit...as like most good soldiers (David Niven comes to mind) he underplayed his WWII experience very much, when talking about it in public usually talked about how scared he was etc. He was at the Juno Beach landings on D-Day and took 6 bullets (including the loss of one of his fingers).
I never met him, but people I know who did claim he was probably the most charming, down-to-earth media personality they ever met. Old-school gentleman, with a great sense of humour and humilty. This can be contrasted slightly with Canada's OTHER contribution to Star Trek, William (Farking) Shanter...
Re:There goes a good man (Score:3, Interesting)
There were several "hard core" trekies there. Very geeky, fawning on him, commenting about this or that episode, trying to make tribble jokes, and generally making a nusince of themselves. All the while he just wanted to buy his tickets.
I remember that he was humble, polite and very patient each and every one of them. He took the time to shake each of their hands and listen to their stories. Very classy.
Re:he was a very compassionate person (Score:5, Interesting)
This wasn't just for the cameras. I was at a convention in Atlanta, Georgia back in my hard-core Trekkie days (I've mellowed out a bit...). Being a broke teenager, I could only afford a one-day pass, and they didn't schedule any autograph sessions for that day. During his Q&A session, I asked him if my buddy and I could have autographs since we wouldn't be able to see him during the other two days.
He said of course we could, he didn't realize that they were selling one-day passes and thought everyone there would be there for two more days. Right there in the Q&A, he said that anyone who wouldn't have another chance to see him on one of the other two days could meet him in the hallway after the Q&A and get autographs.
After the Q&A, he stayed late and a handful of people met him out in the hall while he signed autographs. I was very impressed that the whole room didn't go right then (kudos to the Trekkies!), but more than that, I was impressed that Jimmy Doohan went clearly above and beyond what he was obligated to do just for the sake of being a nice guy. Out in the hallway, he was extremely personable and it was obvious that he wasn't just going through the motions of getting a bunch of Trekkies (myself included) out of his hair, an impression I got from some of the other actors.
Nowadays, I'm not so much a Star Trek fan, but one of my most prized possessions is still my autographed copy of Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. Not because of the autograph, because I have lots of 'em from various people, but because of the memory of what a nice guy Jimmy Doohan was and how special it was that he took some time out of his schedule and his life just to be a nice guy to me, an anonymous guy he didn't know and would very likely never see again.
And yes, of all of the Star Trek actors I've read about beyond their non-Trek lives, Jimmy Doohan is BY FAR the most interesting, courageous and noble one. Christ, the man was shot by Nazis six times with a machine gun in World War II while storming a beach! In my book, that makes him a bigger hero than even the fictional Captain Kirk.
Re:There goes a good man (Score:2, Interesting)
Not a bad fake Scots accent in amongst the real Scots either.
KIRK is Klingon. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Remembering James Doohan (Score:2, Interesting)
I was a lifelong Star Trek fan and I realized that James Doohan was about lot more than playing Scottie. He was a very gracious host and his real life was as interesting as anything he played on TV.
Star Trek is the reason I am working in the technology field. Scottie made engineering cool and in the tradition of Scottie, I am a hands on engineer.
Even though I only met him once, I feel like I have lost a close colleague. Goodbye, James. You will be missed but not forgotten.
Famous? Yes and No. (Score:3, Interesting)
Really... "famous" is relative anyway. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of those in Slashdot-type circles (and a proportion of those working in IT) know who ESR is, or have at least heard of him. From that point of view, he could be considered famous, infamous, or at least well-known.
On the other hand, I'd be willing to be that his name wouldn't even elicit a flicker of recognition from 9/10 of the general public.
Nor would RMS's... Linus Torvalds might score somewhat higher, but in the general scheme of things he's still not really "famous".
Bill Gates, and possibly Steve Jobs. That's your lot.
Fact is, that outside Hollywood and the music business, there isn't that much universal fame. Sure, some TV stars will become well known if the show is a global hit (e.g. Mr Doohan himself), but the majority won't be known outside their home country- not even famous US television presenters, such as those on daytime TV, and game show hosts.
I don't know the circumstances of Eric's meeting with James Doohan so I can't comment on that, nor do I know what Doohan's interests were and how Eric's (relative) fame might have affected things. As Bones might have said, "Dammit Jim, I'm an actor, not an u83r-1337 h4x0r..."