Originally Posted by http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?id=31712
Trek's Doohan Dies At 85
James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the original Star Trek and subsequent films, died early July 20 at his Redmond, Wash., home, the Associated Press reported. He was 85.
Doohan died at 5:30 a.m., with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens told the wire service.The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, he said.
Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, B.C. Doohan was enjoying a busy career as a character actor when he auditioned for a role as an engineer in a new space adventure on NBC in 1966. A master of dialects from his early years in radio, he tried seven different accents.
"The producers asked me which one I preferred," Doohan recalled 30 years later, the AP reported. "I believed the Scot voice was the most commanding. So I told them, 'If this character is going to be an engineer, you'd better make him a Scotsman.'"
When Star Trek ended in 1969, Doohan found himself typecast as Scotty. But Star Trek continued in syndicated TV both in the United States and abroad, and its following grew larger and more dedicated. In his later years, Doohan attended 40 fan gatherings around the country and lectured at colleges. He eventually reprised the role in six Star Trek movies.
In a 1998 interview, Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line "Beam me up, Scotty."
"I'm not tired of it at all," he replied. "Good gracious, it's been said to me for just about 31 years. It's 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."
