PeterDavid.net

As I posted at startrek.com (http://boards.startrek.com/community/messages.html?act=SF;f=5)

I started watching Star Trek as a kid. I watched it alone on the old tv in the kitchen because nobody else in the family enjoyed it as much as I. Scotty always made me smile. That old tv with missing knobs and not the clearest of pictures gave me my first glimpse into Sci Fi by showing me Star Trek. TOS cast will be with me forever, Scotty especially.

He was a neat character, I'll miss that, but at least we can revisit him whenever we want.

Hailing Frequencies Closed.

Very sad, but given the nature of Alzheimer's Disease most certainly a mercy. He will be remembered fondly.

I met the man once when he visited Ottawa. I'm glad I did.

That's all.

I met him at a convention years ago. Nichelle Nichols was supposed to be in attendance, but when she couldn't make it at the last minute, he filled in.

He was the highlight of the convention (of maybe any convention I've been too, actually). Heck of a guy. When I (truthully) told him that Scotty had always been my favorite character on the show, he grinned and said "He was mine, too."

I'd come up with some variation of the "God beamed him up" jokes that will no doubt be flying but it's just too sad, even though, as the poster above says, given his health situation we should be thankful that his ordeal is over.

He was a lot of fun to talk to at cons. When he and George Takei and Nichole got together it was always a good time for the audience and, it seemed, for the actors as well. He'll be missed.

This is especially bad news, as the world lost Jim Aparo earlier this week. All the legends are shuffling down the coil....

Tonight's viewing - ST:TNG RELICS. Say HI to Bones for me, Scotty. I miss you both.

I can't entirely say I'm surprised. Jimmy has been "fading" for the past few years now. Last time I saw him, he had absolutely no idea who I was. When I reminded him I'd helped him write his autobiography, he didn't know what I was talking about.

It's a real shame. He was a hell of a character when I was interviewing him for his autobiography. I wish he'd stayed healthier, longer. My condolences to his wife and family, whom I'll probably be calling when I get home.

PAD

>I wish he'd stayed healthier, longer.

Ultimately, we wish that about all of our loved ones.

It's a shame about the news - my condolences to those who knew him.

One thing I was wondering - I haven't actually read his biography, but would it now be worth revising it with a few extra chapters, to cover the things that happened in his life after it was published? I remember that "Reach for the Sky" (Douglas Bader's biography) had a comment near the end like "How do you finish a biography of someone who is still alive?" That said, given PAD's previous blog entry (about his workload quadrupling), I'm guessing that it may not be practical in the near future.

True BB, but speaking as someone who has watched a gradnfather who I was very close to slowly whither away from Alzheimer's Disease for over 15 years, I can't think of a more tragic, heartbreaking or grossly disturbing way to go or see someone else suffer with. Early on, my grandfather was beginning to forget things occassionally. He gradually began to have "blank periods" that he could not recall. He would have times when he was perfectly lucid and realized with absolute clarity what was happening to him.

Not only a living hell for a once brilliant man, but tragic for anyone who had the priveledge of knowing him, loving him or being loved by him.

Fred

Scotty was my favorite character from TOS, and as it turned out, James Doohan was the one actor
I wound up seeing most often at conventions. I remember him as gracious and gregarious, and worked a room well. He used the same jokes over and over ("People always come up to me and say that there were no bathrooms on the Enterprise and ask how that worked. I explain that we didn't have bathrooms, but we did have phasers.") but he delivered them well to a welcome audience.

To honor the man, I'm sure many of us while be playing some TOS episodes tonight (or TNG's "Relics.") In addition, I'm going to suggest that folks who can watch Denise Crosby's documentary "Trekkies." In it, there's a sequence where James Doohan describes an interaction he had with a fan which is as beautiful and compelling as anything you'd care to hear. The gist is how he received a letter from a fan who he could tell was depressed and suicidal. He called her (I think it was a her) up and said, "I'm going to be doing a convention in such-and-such city in a few weeks, and I want to see you there." At the convention he met her and told her where his next appearance would be and that he wanted to talk to her there. And so on and so on. After a while, they lost touch, but years later she came up to him at a convention to thank him for taking an interest in her life--in many ways saving her life--and that she had become an electrical engineer. Doohan told this story some times later in life when his faculties were clearly deteriorating, but seeing him tell the story in "Trekkies"--well, if that won't make you mist up, you've got a heart of stone.

Condolences to the family, with the hope that they can take some comfort in how many lives he touched--even those not as dramatically as that one fan whose life he saved.

I have been lurking here for awhile. I needed to say that I will indeed miss Mr. Doohan. He brought a wonderful sense of humor to the TOS. I think his "miracle worker" philosophy in his character is an enduring thing to me.

Heath

Fred: I more than understand. Both of my Grandmothers has ALzheimer's. It's a terrible disease.

I wasn't around when the original series aired, but when I was a kid, I loved watching the reruns and the movies. Rest in Peace James. You were a talented actor and you will be missed.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/jpprime

I posted in my LJ about my thoughts about Mr. Doohan. He will be missed.

A very sad day for all trek fans, but he had a good long run and was WELL loved by a lot of people, not least of all his family, so I would rather wish him a fond farewell and hope that when he gets to where he's going, they've finally found a way to change the laws of physics!

I'll be spending the rest of this evening watching The Galileo Seven and the Trouble With Tribbles, I think, two of my favourite Scotty episodes.

One to beam up....

ALzheimer's runs in my family, as well... no one should have to lose themselves like that, or bear witness to someone losing themselves.

My condolences to his family... you can rest assured he'll be remembered fondly by many.

I met James at a convention in my town about 10 years ago. I have to say he was the most entertaining. He did have a lot of bitterness toward Shatner and I think rightly so. Shatner did do a lot of scene stealing that robbed the characters moments on the screen. I can only bullying that must have taken place that he couldn't talk about.....

I read awhile back on on Trek Today how Shatner and Doohan had a discussion about what went on during those years on the original series. Apparently he forgave him.

It's sad to see such a talent like Doohan pass away. I would have liked to see him in another Trek or non Star Trek related project.

met James at a convention in my town about 10 years ago. I have to say he was the most entertaining. He did have a lot of bitterness toward Shatner and I think rightly so. Shatner did do a lot of scene stealing that robbed the characters moments on the screen. I can only imagine the bullying that must have taken place that he couldn't talk about.....

I read awhile back on on Trek Today how Shatner and Doohan had a discussion about what went on during those years on the original series. Apparently he forgave him.

It's sad to see such a talent like Doohan pass away. I would have liked to see him in another Trek or non Star Trek related project.

As Mike Shappe (whom some of you may remember) said over in his LJ, the original Trek series had two geek characters: Spock, the outcast geek, and Scotty, the cool geek. Any character who could wax poetic about catchin' up on his technical journals had to be gold to those seeing him for the first time, and Doohan made it work.

I don't know if I'm one of those people who can credit Doohan for the fact that I went into science -- others probably get larger shares of that credit -- but Scotty's presence certainly helped.

The character was cool, and Doohan was always warm. A great combination.

May "Amazing Grace" pipe thee to thy rest, Jimmy.

TWL

As for losing people to Alzheimer's -- yeah. Both Lisa and I lost grandmothers to it -- mine about a decade back, hers just this past January. Both times it was heartbreaking to see such forceful presences gradually replaced by empty shells.

I can't say Doohan's passing is a good thing, mind you ... but I'm sure there's at least a little bit of relief involved for his loved ones, as the real person left some time ago.

TWL

1The world was a richer place for his presence. It is sadder without him. My friends and I sat around this afternoon and talked about our favorite episodes with Scotty. I did a two minute monolog of lines from Relics and we all felt a little better.

I had the great pleasure of meeting James Doohan a number of times over the years at various conventions, and he always struck me as a very genial guy. Thes last time I saw him was at a New York comic con and I was absolutely heartbroken when I saw how much he had changed physically.

After hearing of his death earlier today, I went back and looked at the interviews I'd done with him, the first of which was back in 1996, not long before his bio came out. My very first question noted the recent plethora of Star Trek-related biographies, to which he responded, 'Hey, it's only going to be about 20% Star Trek! My writer Peter David said,'Oh, we'll make as much of that as possible!' To me, my adventures during the war are more interesting, because I was number one on my beach on D-Day, and getting wounded, and ended up flying and becoming a flyer. The adventures that I had and survived to me, are just astounding; I can't believe that I'm still alive!'

So I share that little personal recollection with the other readers here, for whatever it's worth.

James Doohan was a WWII Veteran who was wounded on D-Day (where he lost his finger) and then returned to military duty as a pilot. I hope he will be remembered as part of The Greatest Generation as well as for his role as Montgomery Scott.

My own father also served in WWII and was recently diagnosed as Alzheimer's, so my sympathies are with the Doohan family since I know what it was like for them and will be going there myself sooner rather than later.

Like Joe, I've seen Jimmy at several conventions.

The first time that I met him was in my home town of Trenton, NJ. His energy and graciousness was unlimited and I thought he'd continue to be that way into his nineties at that time.

The last time that I saw him was at a con in Secaucus, NJ four years ago. He looked like a different person! He needed help getting to and from the guest table! But when he answered questions from the audience, glimpses of the Old Jimmy peeked out, especially when I asked him about his experience doing "Relics." He smiled and said, "The cast treated me like a king!"

I thought then what I'm thinking now:

Jimmy, you ARE a king!

Rest in peace!

I'm sorry.

The first meeting took place in 1987. Jimmy was probably in his sixties at the time, but he acted at least twenty years younger, especially around the ladies!

If they do an update on the book, I'd love to read about him being a father late-in-life. I believe he was 80 when his LAST child was born!

As I said, a human dynamo!

I just heard about James Doohan passing away. I met him on a number of occasions in the 1970s and 80s at conventions in New York City. He was always entertaining and I was very sad to hear the news today.

I will always remember him fondly.

When Star Trek was in syndication in the '70s, I and a friend of mine were avid viewers of the reruns.

Years later, my childhood friend graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Engineering.

Thank you, Montgomery Scott.

Thank you, Mr. James Doohan.

Wherever you are now, I'm sure it's green. :)

Whenever something like this happens, people always seem to say "tell people in your life what they mean to you." So, I want to say to PAD--Thank-You for all the joy, enjoyment, pleasure, etc. you have brought to my life with all your work.

Damn. Some of my fondest memories are seeing a panel of him and John Pertwee at the very first I-Con I ever attended. Seeing the two of them sitting up on stage, joking about which of their shows had the worse special effects ('Dr. Who' or 'Jason of Star Command') and just having a grand old time... That's how I'm going to remember them.

For a long time, I've thought that Scotty's was one of the most underrated roles, especially in Wrath of Khan. In the extended sickbay scene in the director's cut, the pure anguish he puts into one word, "Why?" before going to bury himself in his work is just heart-wrenching.

He will be missed.

-Rex Hondo-

Dwight - I, too met him when he came to Carleton University all those years ago. I was tickled pink to find out his favourite TREK episode was also mine: THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE. One wonders, though, if he still felt that way after RELICS? I still prefer DOOMSDAY, but RELICS was pretty darn good, too. One of those rare TNG episodes which rivalled TOS in giving us something relevant to think about.

Pity he isn't as well remembered for some of his other roles, though. Guest on MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., BONANZA, and others ...

He always knew two things at conventions--what he "owed" to the people that were there and how to work a room. First time I saw him was at a con in Philly, and he pulled up this guy out of the audience and they both chorused at the top of their lungs "Thar be whales here!" And then the next con I saw him autographing this girl's butt, well, the butt of her shorts, anyway.

My heart not only goes out to him but his family. My dad had brian cancer at the end, and he forgot a LOT of stuff, so I don't even want to think about what his family went through.

Jimmy's passing brings a lot of feelings up for me. Sadness, of course, but not the great, tragic kind of sadness some deaths bring. His ailments were not secret, yet not public, sparing him, his family, and his fans the grief of watching him degrade, as PAD has described some. Alzheimer's is a terrible, terrible condition/disease, and it's oftem more stressful on those around the victim than it is to the person afflicted. My great grandmother suffered from it, and my family made the decision to not let a then 6 year old me see her during her last year, for fear of the pain it would cause me to see her in a state where she couldn't even remember who I was. So while there is sadness, there's also relief, that his family's suffering and grief is over, and Jimmy can move on.

It also brings up personal feelings that we're yet another step closer to a true end of an era that has played a hugely important role in my life. I literally grew up watching the adventures of Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, and Checkov. As funny as this may sound to some, when my parent's divorced (when I was 6 or 7) I started to look at Kirk as a sort of ideal father figure. And the rest as what ideal uncles would be like. With each passing, despite never having met the actors that portayed them, it truly feels like a family member has moved on.

I just read that Jimmy wanted his ashes blasted into space, just as they did for Roddenberry. I hope they can meet his wish. At least in my eyes, he's earned at least that much from us.

As a kid, Scotty was always my favorite character, even before I found out that James Doohan and I shared a birthday. He was also the first castmember I met at the first con I ever attended in the mid-80s in Scranton, PA. I feel fortunate to have seen him speak a few times over the years, and everytime was a treat. A hell of guy who shall be missed...

I remember his appearance on the original Outer Limits, a cameo on McGyver as a sleeping mechanic, the Ben Stiller Show, and the garage door commercial with Mrs. Doohan noting how seriously her husband took his role as engineer.

I understand that after the funeral, his body is to be cremated and then shot into space--which should be no tribble at all.

"The best diplomat is a fully charged phaser bank"

Open up that dusty old bottle of Dewar's and have a toast to absent friends.

Sad to hear the news. Does anyone know why he refused to do the Futurama Star Trek episode?

On Friday, July 22, at 11:30 PM EDT, "Destinies-The Voice of Science Fiction" will present a tribute to James Doohan featuring an exclusive recording of a comedy sketch written specifically for him by The Gunderson Corporation, and performed at the I-Con V Cabaret in 1986. Don't miss this chance to hear the comedic side of Scotty.
"Destinies" airs on 90.1 FM, WUSB, Stony Brook, NY, and in streaming audio through links at www.wusb.fm.

Does anyone know why he refused to do the Futurama Star Trek episode?

I don't think he ever explained his reasons for refusing; he just refused. Speculation exists that either:

He didn't want to be involved with a parody of his character and career;

He didn't want to be involved with Shatner (perhaps not realizing or carting that he might not need to be in the same room as Shatner)

But all that's speculation, and should be a footnote to a life very well lived.

I met Mr. Doohan at a con years and years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to find out about 3 years ago that we shared the same foot doctor.
I once sat in the doctor's waiting room for nearly an hour while Mr. Doohan shared stories with me. His wife, Wende, finally had to remind him that the doctor likely wanted to go home sometime that night.
I'd never met a more gracious celeb, and I'd be hard-pressed to think of a nicer human being.

James Doohan came to the local university when I was just a kid. He was warm, funny and had a lot of cool anecdotes.

I think the part that he loved best was meeting students in the local pub!

What a great guy. He will be missed.

I remember the commercial he did for one of the varieties of Cheerios several years ago. A brief, seconds-long shot of him declaring, "I've got have more milk!!" but it was incredibly funny.

I never got to meet him, but I've been very touched to read the posts here and on other boards about him the past few days.

Here's to ye, Mr. Doohan.

RIP

I haven't looked at Peter's blog for a while, just zooming through August and now July ... I haven't seen any entry written by PAD regarding Mr. Doohan's death so I'll just jot a quick note here.

Just wanted to say ... I came across Peter's biography a couple of years ago and very much enjoyed it, plus got a much better understanding/knowledge of the man behind "Mr. Scott". I'd had a slightly frustrating experience the one and only time I met Mr. Doohan at a convention, but I asked a couple of questions in Peter's usenet group and got a response which led to a brief e-mail exchange with PAD. I just wanted to say here again that I appreciated Peter's time; his comments made the biography even more effective and I'm grateful that he continues to be so accessible to his readers. When I heard of "Scotty's" death it meant much more to me than it otherwise would have. Cheers, Brad.