Posted on 07/07/2004 7:06:33 AM PDT by mgc1122
James M. Doohan, the actor who played Scotty on the '60s "Star Trek" TV series, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his agent confirmed Tuesday.
Doohan, 84, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's "within the last couple months," agent Steven Stevens told The Associated Press.
He said Doohan is in the beginning stages of the disease, a progressive neurological disorder that afflicted former President Ronald Reagan, who died June 5.
Doohan, who lives in the Seattle suburb of Redmond, also has suffered for some time with Parkinson's disease, diabetes and fibrosis, the latter due to chemical exposure during World War II when he was a soldier in the Canadian military, Stevens said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
"Captain! I can't remember where I left the Dilithium Crystals!"
Who?
Even I know who Scotty is. Where you been?
Sad. I guess he no longer will be able to say that he knows the ship like the back of his hand.
OK. How can someone with Alzheimers remember his lines?
Prayers for him and his family.
So both Scotty and Kirk are...Canadian by birth.
lets say for the sake of argument you really didnt know who he is and had never heard of star trek. didnt the post answer your question anyway? another candidate for knucklehead of the week.
Birthplace like family are beyond our control ... LOL!
There are a lot of fans at that site, including a few that have met Jimmy at cons and got to spend the afternon with him playing one of the many incarnations of the Star Trek roleplaying game. All that was expected of him was to roll some dice and chat with some of the players. Instead, he got into character and even recited some of the dialogue from the old episodes. He's a great person, not a phony. You won't hear "shatner" stories about him.
It's a real shame.
TS
The only reason to watch "Homeboys From Outer Space".
TS
He was my only reason too!
I canna give ya any more power!
Very good.
Compare that with today's Hollywood trash.
Don't take it personal here. I do know who the character Scotty is for heaven sake.
Yeah, it's sad that Doohan is not doing well. One day, he'll be in a land with all the engines he could hope for, with dilithium crystal floors, phase inverters and matter-antimatter matrices. Hopefully he still has a few good years left in him.
James Doohan is best known to Star Trek fans as Scotty ("Montgomery Scott"), the chief engineer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, in the original Star Trek series.
Doohan was born on March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and spent his early years in there and in Sarnia, Ontario. Surviving the anguish of living with an alcoholic father, he left home at age 19 to join the Canadian Forces, fighting with the Allies in World War II. After outscoring his fellow soldiers on an officer's exam, he became Captain in the Royal Canadian Artillery. While leading his men into battle on D-Day, Doohan was wounded in the leg and hand, and eventually lost a finger. For the remainder of the war, he became a pilot observer, and received the dubious distinction of being called the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Forces."
After returning home to Canada, Doohan performed a few scenes for the local radio station, and was awarded a two-year scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Beginning in 1946, he trained at the Playhouse with Sanford Meisner, alongside such future stars as Leslie Nielsen, Tony Randall and Jackie Gleason.
In the ensuing eight years, Doohan shuttled between New York and Canada where he worked on 4000 radio programs, 400 live and taped variety and dramatic television shows, several films and plays. Though he became known as Canada's busiest actor, he eventually found himself following other fellow actors in the pilgrimage to Hollywood. There, his versatility and talent as a dialectician helped him earn parts in more than 100 motion pictures and television series, including The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Fantasy Island, "Loaded Weapon 1" and "Double Trouble." He has also appeared in the first seven Star Trek motion pictures.
In the years since the final episode of Star Trek, Doohan has pursued a speaking career which has taken him to more than 250 colleges throughout the U.S. and Canada. In addition, he makes appearances at numerous Star Trek conventions.
Doohan lives in Washington, with his wife Wende and his sons, Eric and Thomas. In April 2000, James and Wende gave birth to another child, Sarah.
You just reminded me. I taped a "Twilight Zone" episode from the recent marathon on my PVR with Jimmy Doohan in it. I have to make sure to watch it today.
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