Doohan in a 1980's Star Trek publicity shotDoohan always had a gift for using foreign accents. When he auditioned for Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, Doohan did several different accents. Roddenberry asked Doohan which one he liked the best. Doohan acknowledged that he believed "all the world's best engineers have been Scottish." So, Doohan was cast as the Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise, Montgomery Scott. In later years he would revisit this casting process at Star Trek conventions, demonstrating a variety of possible engineer voices and characters. When Roddenberry produced Star Trek: The Animated Series in the early 1970s, Doohan's ability to perform different voices was utilized by having him perform most "guest star" male roles in the series, including Robert April, conjectured first captain of the Enterprise.
The Scott character, as conceived, would have been a semi-regular, but just as fellow cast members Leonard Nimoy, as the alien science officer Spock, and DeForest Kelley, as the irascible medical officer Dr. McCoy, were elevated in importance to leads alongside William Shatner's Capt. James T. Kirk, it was made clear that Lt. Cmdr. Scott was the third officer of the Enterprise and at times the ship was left in his care. Scott was frequently used in subplots regarding disabled ship components, and as a foil for Kirk's ambitious tactical approaches, which were said to strain the propulsion and defenses of the starship. In the end, many fans saw the Enterprise itself as the show's star, leaving Scott in an enviable position as her defender.
After the series ended, Doohan found himself typecast and had a hard time getting other acting roles. He had minor, fleeting parts, such as playing the Captain in the short-lived Saturday morning live-action kids' show, Jason of Star Command. (They killed him off in the beginning of the second season.) He was able to support himself with income from personal appearances. When the Star Trek franchise was revived, Doohan could once again work as an actor. He reprised his role of Scotty in seven Star Trek films and made a guest appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
[edit] Klingon and Vulcan languages Using his considerable vocal skills, Doohan devised the Vulcan and Klingon language dialogue heard in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Later, professional linguists, particularly Marc Okrand, expanded Klingon into a fully constructed language with a working grammar.
[edit] As a writer Doohan, with the assistance of longtime Star Trek author Peter David, wrote an autobiography titled Beam Me Up, Scotty: Star Trek's "Scotty" in his own words (1996, ISBN 0671520563)
He collaborated on a series of three science fiction novels with S.M. Stirling:
The Rising (1996, ISBN 0671877585) The Privateer (1999, ISBN 0671578324) The Independent Command (2000, ISBN 0671319515) [edit] Later life and death Scotty's exploits as the redoubtable Chief Engineer aboard the Enterprise inspired many students to pursue a career in engineering. Because of this the Milwaukee School of Engineering granted Doohan an honorary degree in engineering. He was immortalised with a star in Hollywood's Walk of Fame on August 31, 2004.
Doohan was married three times. He had four children, Larkin, Deirdre, and twins Christopher and Montgomery, with first wife Janet Young before a 1964 divorce. A marriage to Anita Yagel from 1967 to 1972 produced no children. In 1974 he was introduced to 19-year-old fan Wende Braunberger at a party, and they married the next year; their children were Eric, Thomas and Sarah, who was born in 2000, when Doohan was 80.
Doohan suffered from Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and lung fibrosis in later life. In 2004, Doohan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. On July 20, 2005 at 5:30 in the morning, he died at his home in Redmond, Washington with his wife Wende and long-time friend (and agent) Steve Stevens at his side. His agent identified the cause as pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease.
Space burial firm Space Services, Inc. confirmed that Doohan had arranged for his cremated ashes to be released into Earth orbit.
