Summer Nose-talgia #24: James Doohan-- The World's Greatest Starship Engineer!

Today we remember a talented character who became a pop culture icon by virtue of his honored place on the crew of the original starship Enterprise on the legendary Star Trek. D-Day veteran James Doohan, who passed away on this date nine years ago, had been a solid constantly working actor particularly adept at voices and accents at the time he was cast as Montgomery Scott.  Doohan's winning characterization and Mr. Scott's technical prowess made the Chief Engineer a lynchpin on the Enterprise whether down in his engine room, on the bridge, or along with his fellow crewmen on a surface mission.

Doohan passed away nine years ago today, the 2nd of the main Star Trek actors to go (DeForest Kelley died in 1999).  However as we all know, if you've been on Star Trek, immortality is yours.

Here's an assortment of Scotty-ness in honor of our favorite Chief Engineer and the man who portrayed him but first a few of his other TV roles to get a sense of what he was doing before Mr. Scott:

















James Doohan also made a wonderful guest appearance as Scotty on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled "Relics":

A Belated Birthday Remembrance for James Doohan

We couldn't let it pass unnoticed -- last Thursday was the 91st anniversary of the birth of James Doohan, beloved by so many of us for his role as Scotty in Star Trek. He was an icon -- as himself and as the character -- adored for his jolly presence at Trek conventions over the years and for his portrayal of a skilled and dedicated engineer with plenty of personality. Doohan was born on March 3, 1920 and died July 20, 2005.

Some people may think Scotty only loved his engines (and his Scotch) and never got the girl, but in several classic Star Trek episodes he had quite an eye for the ladies, such as "Wolf in the Fold" where his adoration of a beautiful belly dancer at a bar got him mixed up with the dead spirit of Jack the Ripper, or "Who Mourns for Adonais?" where he was the one squiring around the breathtaking Leslie Parrish in her famous pink backless gown, that is, before Apollo (Michael Forest) took a shine to her.

One of the most amusing Scotty scenes is in "By Any Other Name" where he tries to get an alien (played by Robert Fortier) drunk. Let's watch:



James Doohan returned as Montgomery Scott in wonderful guest appearance in the Star Trek series follow-up Star Trek: The Next Generation in the episode "Relics". Scotty is discovered, miraculously preserved in a transporter wave, and brought back to life where he must adjust to a very different Enterprise and a very different time. Here's a cute scene between Doohan and Brett Spiner as Data.:



Doohan appeared in all the Star Trek big-screen movies and has the distinction of being part of one of the most quoted Trek phrases -- "Beam Me Up, Scotty!" -- which is a bonafide pop culture touchstone now.

So a tip of our cap to our favorite starship engineer, James Doohan! We will leave you with this lovely YouTube fan-made video which combines footage of Doohan's ashes being shot into space by NASA, with Star Trek footage, resulting in a fitting finale send-off for Scotty. (For the whole story on what actually transpired with this spaceflight tribute, click here.)