Scotty Follow-up

James Montgomery Doohan (1920-2005)

Yesterday's news that James Doohan had died came just as I was about to start getting ready for work, and the details were just coming in. I never met Mr. Doohan, but my mother did, at the Hollywood premier of Star Trek IV, and my friend Jacqui Kaese of Spotlight Academy worked with him on The Duke.

He was an inspiration to many, especially in the engineering field. I remember my father quoting Scotty quite a bit, he was already working in ship's engine rooms when the show first ran, and over the years Scotty’s ways and quotes bounced off ships walls with laughter and glee. The Milwaukee School of Engineering gave an honorary Degree in Engineering in 1993 to Doohan, due to an apparent fifty percent of the students polled stating they were inspired to study engineering by his role.

He suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had been ravaged by Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and lung fibrosis. Pneumonia was listed as cause of death.