This from AP:
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, 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….
That is so sad.
Years ago when I found out that Ronald Reagan had Alzheimer’s, it didn’t really make an impression on me. And when he died a few weeks back, I have to admit I didn’t really care.
But this is Scotty! Who’s going to keep the Enterprise running?
There’s a great episode from Season 6 of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” called “Relics” where the Enterprise D (Picard’s Enterprise) finds Scotty trapped in a transporter buffer on a Federation ship that crashed into a Dyson Sphere 75 year earlier. Scotty comes to grips with the idea that his time is past and he has to leave the adventuring to the younger folks, but not before he has a chance to save the Enterprise from certain disaster one last time.
There’s also a wonderful story that James tells in the “Trekkies” documentary about how he helped a suicidal fan work through her emotional problems.
James, we’re all pulling for you.