James Doohan | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photo of James Doohan asScotty from the television programStar Trek | |
| Born | James Montgomery Doohan (1920-03-03)March 3, 1920 Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | July 20, 2005(2005-07-20) (aged 85) Redmond, Washington, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre,Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1952–2005 |
| Known for | Montgomery "Scotty" Scott |
| Television | Star Trek |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 7, includingChris |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Canada |
| Branch |  Canadian Army |
| Years of service | 1938–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | 2nd Canadian Infantry Division 3rd Canadian Infantry Division 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
James Montgomery Doohan (/ˈduːən/; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, best known for his role asMontgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film seriesStar Trek. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish chief engineer of theStarshipEnterprise has become one of the most recognizable elements in theStar Trek franchise, and inspired many fans to pursue careers inengineering and other technical fields.[1] He also made contributions behind the scenes, such as the initial development of theKlingon andVulcan languages.
Prior to his acting career, Doohan served in the 14th Field Artillery Regiment of the3rd Canadian Infantry Division. He also served as an Artillery Forward Observation Officer (FOO) and pilot. He saw combat in Europe duringWorld War II, including theD-Day invasion of Normandy, in which he was wounded, apparently byfriendly fire.[2] After the war, he had extensive experience performing in radio and television, which led to his role as Scotty. Following the cancellation of the originalStar Trek series, Doohan wastypecast and had limited success in finding other roles; he returned to play the character in theanimated and film continuations of the series, and made frequent appearances atStar Trek conventions.
Doohan was born inVancouver,British Columbia,[1] the youngest of four children of William Patrick Doohan and Sarah Frances (née Montgomery), who both emigrated fromBangor, County Down,Northern Ireland.[3] His father, William Doohan, was born inBelfast,[4] and was apharmacist,veterinarian anddentist, and a member of thePharmaceutical Society of Ireland.[5][6][7] William Doohan owned a chemist shop in Main Street in Bangor beside Trinity Presbyterian Church and reportedly invented an early form ofhigh-octanegasoline in 1923. Doohan's 1996 autobiography recounted his father's seriousalcoholism.[7]
The family moved from Vancouver toSarnia,Ontario. Doohan attended high school atSarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School, where he excelled in mathematics and science. He enrolled in the 102ndRoyal Canadian Army Cadet Corps in 1938.[8]
In 1939, Doohan enlisted in theCanadian Army, joining theRoyal Canadian Artillery, 14th (Midland) Field Battery of the2nd Canadian Division. From there, he was moved to the 13th Field Regiment of the3rd Canadian Division in their 22nd Field Battery. By 1940 he was a lieutenant and was sent to train in Britain prior to Operation Overlord. He first saw combat onD-Day, landing in the second wave in a reconnaissance party atJuno Beach. The 13th Field Regiment was interspersed with the Regina Rifle Regiment landing at Nan Sector of Juno Beach. After shooting twosnipers, Doohan led his men to higher ground through a field ofanti-tank mines, where they took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 23:30 that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from aBren gun by a nervous Canadian sentry:[2] four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The bullet to his chest was stopped by asilver cigarette case given to him by his brother.[7] His right middle finger had to be amputated, something he would conceal on-screen during most of his career as an actor, sometimes with a flesh-colored glove with a faux finger.[9]
Doohan graduated from Air Observation Pilot Course 40 with eleven other Canadian artillery officers[10] and flewTaylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer in support of1st Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery. All three Canadian (AOP) RCAF squadrons were crewed by artillery officer-pilots and accompanied by non-commissioned RCA and RCAF personnel serving as observers.[11][12] Although he was never actually a member of theRoyal Canadian Air Force, Doohan was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force". In the late spring of 1945, onSalisbury Plain north ofRAF Andover, he slalomed a plane between telegraph poles "to prove it could be done", earning himself a serious reprimand. (Various accounts cite the plane as aHurricane or a jet trainer; however, it was anAuster Mark IV.)[13][14]
After the war, Doohan moved toLondon, Ontario, for further technical education. After hearing a radio drama and believing he could do better, he recorded his voice at the local radio station, and learned about theLorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto. There he won a two-year scholarship to theNeighborhood Playhouse in New York City,[15] where his classmates includedLeslie Nielsen,Tony Randall, andRichard Boone.
In 1946, he had several roles forCBC radio,[16] starting January 12. For several years, he shuttled between Toronto and New York as work demanded. He made his TV debut as a detective on the showMartin Kane, Private Eye, and appeared in 54 episodes. He estimated he performed in over 4,000 radio programs and 450 television programs during this period,[17] and earned a reputation for versatility.[18]
In the mid-1950s, he appeared as forest ranger Timber Tom (the northern counterpart of Buffalo Bob) in the Canadian version ofHowdy Doody. Coincidentally, fellowStar Trek cast memberWilliam Shatner appeared simultaneously as Ranger Bill in the American version. Doohan and Shatner both appeared in the 1950s Canadian science fiction seriesSpace Command.[16] Doohan also appeared in several episodes ofHawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans in 1957–58.
ForGM Presents, he played the lead role in theCBC Television dramaFlight into Danger (1956) byArthur Hailey, then inThe Night they KilledJoe Howe (1960).[19] (Arthur Hailey rewrote the former into the novelRunway Zero-Eight, then adapted toTerror in the Sky. This story was later satirized inAirplane!.)
Doohan's credits includedThe Twilight Zone (Season 4, Episode 3 "Valley of the Shadow" - 17 January 1961),GE True,Hazel ("Hazel's Highland Fling" as Gordon "Gordy" MacHeath).The Outer Limits,The Fugitive,Bewitched,Fantasy Island,Magnum, P.I.,The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Season 1, Episode 4 "The Shark Affair" - 1964 - and Season 2, Episode 20 "The Bridge of Lions Affair, Part 1" - 1966), andBonanza. In theBonanza episode "Gift of Water" (1962), he co-starred with actressMajel Barrett who would later playStar Trek's NurseChristine Chapel. He played an assistant to the United States president in two episodes ofVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He had an uncredited role inThe Satan Bug (1965), appeared in theDaniel Boone episode "A Perilous Passage" (1970), appeared as a state trooper inRoger Vadim's filmPretty Maids All in a Row (1971, which was produced byStar Trek creatorGene Roddenberry), and played opposite Richard Harris in the movieMan in the Wilderness (1971).[17]
Doohan also acted on stage, includingEvery Bed Is Narrow(1956)Bright Sun at Midnight(1957) andKing Lear(1960) on theCrest Theatre in Toronto.[20]
Doohan developed a talent for accents as a child.[14] Auditioning for the role of chief engineer of theUSSEnterprise, Doohan did several different accents. ProducerGene Roddenberry asked which he preferred, and Doohan replied, "If you want an engineer, in my experience the best engineers are Scotsmen."[21] He chose the name "Montgomery Scott" after his grandfather.[21] In later years, Doohan reenacted the casting process at Star Trek conventions, demonstrating a variety of possible voices and characters.[21]
Doohan was quoted as saying, "Scotty is ninety-nine percent James Doohan and one percent accent."[17][22] The character was originally conceived as semi-regular; but was elevated to be a regular supporting character. Doohan also provided voices for inanimate characters, including Sargon in "Return to Tomorrow", the M-5 in "The Ultimate Computer", the Mission Control Voice in "Assignment: Earth", and the Oracle in "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky".
Doohan returned to the role of Scotty in the early 1970s forStar Trek: The Animated Series.Walter Koenig (navigatorPavel Chekov) was not hired for this series due to budget limitations, so Doohan voiced a replacement character: alien navigatorArex. He also voiced most guest male roles, including that ofRobert April, the first captain of theEnterprise and around 50 other roles, voicing as many as seven different characters in a single episode.[23][24]
He rejoined the entire regular cast ofStar Trek for the feature filmStar Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He continued in the role of Scotty for sequelsThe Wrath of Khan,The Search for Spock,The Voyage Home,The Final Frontier andThe Undiscovered Country. In 1992, he guest-starred in theStar Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", playing an elderly Scotty reminiscing about his time on theEnterprise. He and Walter Koenig appeared briefly with William Shatner inStar Trek Generations, in a scene which transitioned the film series to the newer cast of the first of the later television series in the franchise.
The Klingon language's basic sound, along with a few words, was created by Doohan and producerJon Povill. Doohan also devised theVulcan dialogue for the feature filmStar Trek: The Motion Picture.Kwantlen journalist Robert Jago has pointed out similarities between Klingon andHalkomelem, a language spoken by the Indigenous people of the area where James Doohan grew up.[25]
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Doohan hoped thatStar Trek would benefit his acting career.[14] After the series ended, however, he found himselftypecast and had a hard time gaining other roles. After his dentist reminded him he would "always be Scotty", he supported his family with income from personal appearances,[26] speaking at more than 40 colleges in 1977 alone.[27]
Most of the roles Doohan subsequently played made at least oblique references to hisStar Trek connection and engineering reputation. He was Commander Canarvin in the short-lived Saturday morninglive-action kids' showJason of Star Command, and had acameo in the made-for-TV movieKnight Rider 2000 as "Jimmy Doohan, the guy who played Scotty onStar Trek". On the television seriesHomeboys in Outer Space, he was Pippen, a pun on Scotty and basketball starScottie Pippen. He played himself in an episode ofThe Ben Stiller Show. He played Damon Warwick, father of James Warwick, on the daytimesoap operaThe Bold and the Beautiful.[28] After learning about cold fusion from technical journals in 1989, he narrated the video "Cold Fusion: Fire from Water", about the physics behind cold fusion.[15]
When theStar Trek franchise was revived, Doohan reprised his role of Scotty in sevenStar Trek films. Many of Doohan's film appearances centred on the role of Scotty, such as acameo inNational Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, where he plays a policeman doing repair work who tells his superior officer "I am giving it all she has got, Captain!" in the same accent he used inStar Trek.
Although he continued to work with William Shatner in theStar Trek films, Doohan did not get along well with him and was once quoted in 1998 as saying, "I like Captain Kirk, but I sure don't like Bill."[26] He was the only formerStar Trek co-star to decline to be interviewed by Shatner for Shatner's firstStar Trek: Memories book about the show, nor did he consent to do so for Shatner's follow-up book,Star Trek: Movie Memories, though Shatner claimed in the latter that the icy relationship between the two started to thaw when both men were working onStar Trek Generations in 1993–94.[29] By Doohan's final August 2004 convention appearance, Doohan and Shatner reportedly had mended their relationship.[30]
Many fans told Doohan over the years that it was he who inspired them to choose engineering as a profession.AstronautNeil Armstrong, an engineer before he participated inNASA'sApollo program, becoming the first man on the moon, personally told Doohan on stage at Doohan's last public appearance in 2004, "From one old engineer to another, thanks, mate."[31]
In an interview for the first''Trekkies'' film, Doohan related the story of a young fan who was contemplating suicide. Doohan says that he convinced her to attend his next convention appearance, and later learned that his encouragement and kind words had not only saved her life, but inspired her to go back to school and become anelectronics engineer.[32]
Doohan was married three times and had seven children, four of them—includingChristopher—with his first wife Janet Young, whom he divorced in 1964. His marriage to Anita Yagel in 1967–72 produced no children. In early 1974, he was introduced to 17-year-old fan Wende Braunberger at a theatre performance. They were married that same year, when he was 54 and she was 18, on October 12, 1974.Star Trek guest actorWilliam Campbell served asbest man.[33] Doohan and Braunberger had three children: Eric, Thomas, and Sarah in April 2000, around his 80th birthday.[34][35] In his later years, Doohan had a multitude of health problems partially from his lifestyle, which included prodigious alcohol consumption, and partially from injuries sustained during World War II. These includeddiabetes,liver cirrhosis,osteoarthritis,high blood pressure, andhearing loss. In July 2004, his suffering fromAlzheimer's andParkinson's disease caused him to withdraw from public life.[36]
His sons Montgomery and Christopher appeared inStar Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Christopher also appeared in theJ. J. Abrams rebootStar Trek (2009).Simon Pegg, who played Scotty in the film, invited Chris and his family to the premiere.[37] ForStar Trek Into Darkness in 2012, fans campaigned for Christopher Doohan[38] gaining him a credited cameo in the transporter room.[39] Chris Doohan played Scotty in the award-winning web seriesStar Trek Continues.[37]
On July 20, 2005, at 5:30 in the morning, Doohan died at his home inRedmond, Washington,[40][41] due to complications ofpulmonary fibrosis, which was believed to be from exposure to noxious substances during World War II. His body was subsequently cremated.
A portion of his ashes, ¼ ounce (7 grams), was scheduled the following fall for amemorial flight to space with 308 others, includingProject Mercury astronautGordon Cooper.[42][43] Launch on theSpaceLoft XL rocket was delayed to April 28, 2007, when the rocket briefly entered outer space in a four-minutesuborbital flight before parachuting to earth, as planned, with the ashes still inside.[44] The ashes were subsequently launched on aFalcon 1 rocket, on August 3, 2008, into what was intended to be alow Earth orbit; however, the rocket failed two minutes after launch.[45] Some of Doohan's ashes are hidden under the floor cladding of the International Space Station's Columbus module – after being smuggled aboard in 2008 byRichard Garriott.[46] The rest of Doohan's ashes were scattered overPuget Sound inWashington.[47][48] On May 22, 2012, a small urn containing some of Doohan's ashes was flown into space aboard theFalcon 9 rocket as part ofCOTS Demo Flight 2.[49]
Scotty's exploits as theEnterprise's redoubtable chief engineer inspired many students to pursue careers inengineering. Because of this, theMilwaukee School of Engineering presented Doohan with anhonorary degree in engineering.[50] Doohan received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame on August 31, 2004. Despite his ill health, he was present at the ceremony, which was his final public appearance.[51]
Montgomery Scott was claimed byLinlithgow, Scotland, in 2007 by a commemorative plaque from theWest Lothian Council for Doohan's importance.[52] His birthplace is also attributed toAberdeen,[53] where Doohan learned thedoric accent,[54] orElgin. In the actual show, Scotty refers to himself as a one-time "Aberdeen pub-crawler", the only reference Doohan's character ever makes to a specific place in Scotland where he lived. However, Scotty's accent chosen by Doohan is not the relatively harsh Aberdonian accent; the specific accent Doohan used implies most of Scotty's formative years were spent at or nearEdinburgh, something that is supported by original script notes.[55]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | The Cage | Bob | National Film Board of Canada short documentary |
| 1957 | "Test Pilot" | Dave Frost | National Film Board of Canada short documentary |
| 1963 | The Wheeler Dealers | Defense Attorney | Uncredited |
| 1964 | 36 Hours | Bishop | Uncredited |
| Signpost to Murder | 1st Guard | Uncredited | |
| 1965 | Bus Riley's Back in Town | Les | |
| The Satan Bug | SDI Agent at Gas Station | Uncredited | |
| Willy McBean and His Magic Machine | General Custer / Merlin / Excalibur / Royal Emcee / Leopard | voice | |
| 1966 | One of Our Spies Is Missing | Phillip Bainbridge | |
| Scalplock | Scrimp | ||
| 1968 | Jigsaw | Building Superintendent | |
| 1971 | Pretty Maids All in a Row | Follo | |
| Man in the Wilderness | Benoit | ||
| 1979 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Montgomery Scott | |
| 1982 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | ||
| 1984 | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | ||
| 1986 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | Nominated-Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
| 1989 | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | ||
| 1991 | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | ||
| Star Trek Adventure | Theme Park Attraction Short Film | ||
| 1992 | Double Trouble | Chief O'Brien | |
| 1993 | Loaded Weapon 1 | Scotti | |
| Amore! | Dr. Landon | ||
| 1994 | Star Trek Generations | Montgomery Scott | |
| 1996 | Storybook | Uncle Monty | |
| 1998 | Bug Buster | Sheriff Carlson | |
| 1999 | Through Dead Eyes | Barney Fredericks | |
| The Duke | Clive Chives | ||
| 2005 | Skinwalker: Curse of the Shaman | Judge Peterson | Final Film Appearance |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Suspense | Peters | Episode: "Go Home Dead Man" |
| 1952 | Tales of Tomorrow | Sgt. Morgan | 1 Episode |
| 1953 | Space Command | Phil Mitchell | TV series |
| 1953–1955 | Playbill | Suitor / Navigator | 4 Episodes |
| 1953–1961 | General Motors Theatre | Various | 30 episodes |
| 1954–1958 | On Camera | Various | 12 episodes |
| 1956–1957 | Folio | Ted / William Annand | 4 episodes |
| 1956 | Flight into Danger | George Spencer | CBC Television: broadcast April 3. |
| 1956–1958 | First Performance | Joynt | 3 episodes |
| 1957 | Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans | Tonkawa / Harris | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | R.C.M.P. | Tom Rolands / Ken McCready | 3 episodes |
| First Person | Rod Murphy | ||
| 1961–1963 | Festival | Various | 5 episodes |
| 1962 | The New Breed | Dr. Lennon | 2 episodes |
| Gunsmoke | Davit | Episode: "Quint Asper Comes Home" | |
| 1962–1963 | Bonanza | Bill Collins / Colonel's Man | Episodes: "Gift of Water" and "The Legacy" |
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | Johnson | Episode: "Valley of the Shadow" |
| Hazel | Gordon MacHeath | Episode: "Hazel's Highland Fling" | |
| GE True | Jennings | 2 episodes | |
| The Gallant Men | Captain Blagdon | Episode: "The Warriors" | |
| Empire | Doctor | Episode: "A House in Order" | |
| Going My Way | Attendant | Episode: "Hear No Evil" | |
| 1963–1965 | The Virginian | James Francis O'Bannion / George Mitchell | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | The Richard Boone Show | John Grisham | Episode: "The Arena" |
| The Outer Limits | Police Lt. Branch | Episode: "Expanding Human" | |
| The Rogues | Cutler | Episode: "Fringe Benefits" | |
| Ben Casey | Dr. Watson | Episode: "A Disease of the Heart Called Love" | |
| Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | Lawrence Tobin / Presidential Assistant | 2 episodes | |
| 1964–1966 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Phillip Bainbridge / MacInernay | 2 episodes |
| 1965 | The Fugitive | 2 episodes | Season 2 Episode 26- Masquerade (Deputy #1) Season 3 Episode 2- Middle of a heat Wave (Doctor) |
| Laredo | Mike Pripton | Episode: "I See by Your Outfit" | |
| Convoy | Lt. Wells | Episode: "Lady on the Rock" | |
| Bewitched | Walter Brocken | Episode: "A Strange Little Visitor" | |
| 1965–1967 | Peyton Place | Thomas | 27 episodes[56] |
| 1966 | Scalplock | Scrimp | Iron Horse pilot episode released as TV Film |
| 1966 | The F.B.I. | Frank Delbey / Claude Bell | 2 episodes |
| A Man Called Shenandoah | Francis Xavier O'Connell | Episode: "Care of General Delivery" | |
| Blue Light | Conners | Episode: "The Friendly Enemy" | |
| Iron Horse | Scrimp | 2 episodes | |
| Insight | Rudy Fresno | Episode: "Leroy" | |
| Jericho | Pastor Lutjens | Episode: "Eric the Redhead" | |
| 1966–1969 | Star Trek | Montgomery Scott | 66 episodes |
| 1969 | Then Came Bronson | Dr. John Wilson | Episode: "Amid Splinters of the Thunderbolt" |
| 1969–1970 | Daniel Boone | Fletcher / Bruce MacFarland | 2 episodes |
| 1969–1972 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Fred Baxter / Detective Brenner | |
| 1973 | Return to Peyton Place | Mr. Blake | 2 episodes |
| 1973–1974 | Star Trek: The Animated Series | Various | Voice, 22 episodes |
| 1978 | Jason of Star Command | Commander Canarvin | 16 episodes |
| 1983 | Fantasy Island | Governor Gaspar d'Annard | Episode: "Naughty Marietta/The Winning Ticket" |
| Magnum, P.I. | Archie MacPherson | Episode: "The Big Blow" | |
| 1985 | Hotel | Roger Deveraux | Episode: "Resolutions" |
| 1987 | Série noire | Jim | Episode: "1996" |
| 1988 | Danger Bay | Pete | Episode: "Put a Little Back" |
| 1990 | MacGyver | Speedy | Episode: "Harry's Will" |
| 1991 | Knight Rider 2000 | James 'Scotty' Doohan | Television film |
| 1992 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Montgomery Scott | Episode: "Relics" |
| 1996 | Homeboys in Outer Space | Pippen | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Montgomery Scott | Archive footage in episode: "Trials and Tribble-ations" |
| 1996–1997 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Damon Warwick | 7 episodes |
| 1997 | Duckman | Kardassian | Episode: "Where No Duckman Has Gone Before" |
| 2022 | Star Trek: Prodigy | Montgomery Scott | Archived audio in episode: "Kobayashi" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Star Trek: 25th Anniversary | Montgomery Scott | Voice, CD-ROM version |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Judgment Rites | Lt. Cmdr.Montgomery "Scotty" Scott | Voice, CD-ROM version |
| 1997 | Star Trek Generations | Capt.Montgomery "Scotty" Scott | Voice |
C/Maj James Doohan (1938–40)
The character is ninety-nine percent James Doohan and one percent accent
James Doohan... guest-starred for several appearances as James' dad Damon
born on the 3rd of March 222 (sd 1269.5) to Kathleen and William Donald Scott in Aberdeen, Scotland.
