Mattb
07-05-2004, 04:37 PM
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14442,00.html
Scotty Battling Alzheimer's
by Joal Ryan
Jul 2, 2004, 12:40 PM PT
James Doohan (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,4576,00.html) is battling his latest opponent with typical Scotty tenacity.
The 84-year-old Star Trek (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Tv/0,1588,121,00.html) veteran, who held together the Enterprise against repeated Klingon attack through his tenure on the original TV series and in several big-screen movies, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his son, Chris Doohan, confirmed Friday.
"It's really in the early stages at this point," Chris Doohan said. "He's doing fine."
Doohan said his father is relaxing in retirement in Washington state with his wife, Wende, and the daughter he beamed up (http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,6433,00.html) when he was 80. Chris Doohan said his father, at this time, has been more slowed by Parkinson's disease and diabetes than Alzheimer's, the incurable, progressive neurological disorder that affected Ronald Reagan.
"If you ask him about D-Day, he'll go on about an hour about D-Day," Chris Doohan said.
A native of Canada, James Doohan fought, and was wounded, in that historic World War II battle as a captain in the Royal Canadian Artillery.
To the world, Doohan is best known as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the fiery chief engineer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Doohan milked the maximum out of his ship's dilithium crystals on the original Trek series from 1966-69. He reprised the role in the first seven theatrical Trek films, including a cameo in 1994's franchise crossover, Star Trek: Generations (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Movies/0,60,38896,00.html).
In August, he'll bid farewell to the still thriving Trek convention circuit, with "Beam Me Up Scotty...One Last Time," a three-day fest that's billed as his last-ever con appearance.
"He wants to say thank you to [the fans]," Chris Doohan said.
All surviving crew members of original-formula Trek are scheduled to put in appearances at the Aug. 28-30 event in Hollywood: Leonard Nimoy (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,11618,00.html), Nichelle Nichols (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,11579,00.html), George Takei (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,15362,00.html), Walter Koenig (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,8658,00.html), Majel Barrett (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,33912,00.html), Grace Lee Whitney (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,63415,00.html), even William Shatner (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,14296,00.html), with whom Doohan famously clashed with for years.
"It's all water under the bridge at this point," Chris Doohan said. "My dad and William Shatner got together recently and told each other how much they love each other."
The Doohan tribute convention will coincide with the actor's induction onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a ceremony set for Aug. 31.
Doohan, who plans to attend both the convention and the Walk of Fame ceremony, is the sixth original Trek actor to be honored with a street-side Hollywood star, after Shatner, Nimoy, Takei, Nichols and the late DeForest Kelley (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,8339,00.html). Among the show's regulars, only Koenig, the Beatle-cut-wearing Chekov, hasn't yet been shown the boulevard.
In other Starfleet business, Paramount had no comment Friday on a report that producers of UPN's struggling Trek series, Enterprise (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Tv/0,1588,56,00.html), were planning on recruiting Shatner.
Executive producer Rick Berman is quoted in the sci-fi magazine Starburst as saying he wanted to discuss "some possible ways of [Shatner] being involved" in the series' upcoming fourth season.
While the likes of Doohan and Nimoy have appeared in the various Trek spinoffs, Shatner has not. The esteemed Captain Kirk has only joined his new-school counterparts on screen once: In Star Trek: Generations, when he ceded the com to Next Generation Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,243,00.html)).
Shatner, 73, is already set to return to prime time (http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13788,00.html) in ABC's Practice (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Tv/0,1588,38,00.html) spinoff, dubbed Fleet Street
Scotty Battling Alzheimer's
by Joal Ryan
Jul 2, 2004, 12:40 PM PT
James Doohan (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,4576,00.html) is battling his latest opponent with typical Scotty tenacity.
The 84-year-old Star Trek (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Tv/0,1588,121,00.html) veteran, who held together the Enterprise against repeated Klingon attack through his tenure on the original TV series and in several big-screen movies, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his son, Chris Doohan, confirmed Friday.
"It's really in the early stages at this point," Chris Doohan said. "He's doing fine."
Doohan said his father is relaxing in retirement in Washington state with his wife, Wende, and the daughter he beamed up (http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,6433,00.html) when he was 80. Chris Doohan said his father, at this time, has been more slowed by Parkinson's disease and diabetes than Alzheimer's, the incurable, progressive neurological disorder that affected Ronald Reagan.
"If you ask him about D-Day, he'll go on about an hour about D-Day," Chris Doohan said.
A native of Canada, James Doohan fought, and was wounded, in that historic World War II battle as a captain in the Royal Canadian Artillery.
To the world, Doohan is best known as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the fiery chief engineer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Doohan milked the maximum out of his ship's dilithium crystals on the original Trek series from 1966-69. He reprised the role in the first seven theatrical Trek films, including a cameo in 1994's franchise crossover, Star Trek: Generations (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Movies/0,60,38896,00.html).
In August, he'll bid farewell to the still thriving Trek convention circuit, with "Beam Me Up Scotty...One Last Time," a three-day fest that's billed as his last-ever con appearance.
"He wants to say thank you to [the fans]," Chris Doohan said.
All surviving crew members of original-formula Trek are scheduled to put in appearances at the Aug. 28-30 event in Hollywood: Leonard Nimoy (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,11618,00.html), Nichelle Nichols (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,11579,00.html), George Takei (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,15362,00.html), Walter Koenig (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,8658,00.html), Majel Barrett (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,33912,00.html), Grace Lee Whitney (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,63415,00.html), even William Shatner (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,14296,00.html), with whom Doohan famously clashed with for years.
"It's all water under the bridge at this point," Chris Doohan said. "My dad and William Shatner got together recently and told each other how much they love each other."
The Doohan tribute convention will coincide with the actor's induction onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a ceremony set for Aug. 31.
Doohan, who plans to attend both the convention and the Walk of Fame ceremony, is the sixth original Trek actor to be honored with a street-side Hollywood star, after Shatner, Nimoy, Takei, Nichols and the late DeForest Kelley (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/0,12,8339,00.html). Among the show's regulars, only Koenig, the Beatle-cut-wearing Chekov, hasn't yet been shown the boulevard.
In other Starfleet business, Paramount had no comment Friday on a report that producers of UPN's struggling Trek series, Enterprise (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Tv/0,1588,56,00.html), were planning on recruiting Shatner.
Executive producer Rick Berman is quoted in the sci-fi magazine Starburst as saying he wanted to discuss "some possible ways of [Shatner] being involved" in the series' upcoming fourth season.
While the likes of Doohan and Nimoy have appeared in the various Trek spinoffs, Shatner has not. The esteemed Captain Kirk has only joined his new-school counterparts on screen once: In Star Trek: Generations, when he ceded the com to Next Generation Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,243,00.html)).
Shatner, 73, is already set to return to prime time (http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13788,00.html) in ABC's Practice (http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Tv/0,1588,38,00.html) spinoff, dubbed Fleet Street