RIP James Doohan

Today is the anniversary of the date James Doohan got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Best known for his role as Scotty on Star Trek, the actor passed away last month, after a year long battle with Altzheimers. It is confirmed that a portion of his ashes will soon be sent into space, as were those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. He is survived by his wife and nine children. Interestingly, he was Canadian and was just very good at doing accents. After trying a number of accents out, the Scotty character got the Scot dialect. Doohan did the voice of Kardassian on Duckman, but he turned down the Star Trek homage/fan bitchslap episode of Futurama. Along with the original cast members who agreed, Futurama’s overly obsessed fanboy space creature had to collect Welshie, as Scotty was not available. Not only was Doohan born in Vancouver, but he served in the Royal Canadian Artillery and was injured in World War II, although Star Trek cameras shot around his missing finger and scars. He was one of many WWII veterans to come out publicly in support of Steven Spielberg’s very strong opening scene in Saving Private Ryan. A life well-lived. RIP.