"Scotty" beamed up for the final time

Seattle's Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame is holding a wake tonight for one of the most beloved characters in the science-fiction universe: James Doohan, aka "Star Trek" chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, who died at his Redmond home yesterday at age 85.

"He was a role model," the museum's education and outreach manager, Leslie Howle, said of the countless real-life engineers Mr. Doohan's "Scotty" character had inspired. "He brought the whole field of engineering to the forefront of popular culture. All of a sudden engineers could be heroes."

Howle said the celebration of Mr. Doohan's life will feature clips from the TV series that illustrate his character and humor, as well as stories shared by those who knew or admired him. The event is free and open to the public at 7 tonight, on the museum's third level, housed in the Experience Music Project building.

Mr. Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. yesterday with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, he said.

Mr. Doohan had said farewell to public life last August, a few months after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. At a relatively somber five-day Los Angeles tribute, called "Beam Me Up Scotty ... One Last Time," Mr. Doohan waved to fans from a wheelchair as his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled in front of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum.

At that event he was praised, roasted and serenaded by colleagues, including original series cast members Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols, as well as real-life astronaut Neil Armstrong.

The Canadian-born Mr. Doohan was enjoying a busy career as a character actor when he auditioned for a role as an engineer in a new space adventure on NBC in 1966. A master of dialects from his early years in radio, he tried seven different accents.

"The producers asked me which one I preferred," Mr. Doohan recalled 30 years later. "I believed the Scot voice was the most commanding. So I told them, 'If this character is going to be an engineer, you'd better make him a Scotsman.' "

The series, which starred William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as the enigmatic Mr. Spock, attracted an enthusiastic following of science-fiction fans, but not enough ratings power. NBC canceled it after three seasons.

When the series ended in 1969, Mr. Doohan found himself typecast as Montgomery Scott, the canny engineer with a burr in his voice. In 1973, he complained to his dentist, who advised him: "Jimmy, you're going to be Scotty long after you're dead. If I were you, I'd go with the flow."

"I took his advice," Mr. Doohan said, "and since then everything's been just lovely."

"Star Trek" continued in syndication both in the United States and abroad, and its following grew larger and more dedicated. In his later years, Mr. Doohan attended 40 "Trekkie" gatherings around the country and lectured at colleges.

Mr. Doohan reprised his famous role numerous times. He lent his voice to the animated "Star Trek" series in 1973 and to several "Star Trek" video games. After the success of "Star Wars" in 1977 opened the door for "Star Trek" feature films, he appeared in seven of them. And while his last appearance as Scotty was in the 1994 film, "Star Trek: Generations," the character's fate was revealed in a 1992 episode of the spinoff series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" titled "Relics."

James Montgomery Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, B.C., the youngest of four children of William Doohan, a pharmacist, veterinarian and dentist, and his wife, Sarah. As he wrote in his autobiography, "Beam Me Up, Scotty," his father was a drunk who made life miserable for his wife and children.

At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. "The sea was rough," he recalled. "We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans."

At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on screen), four in his leg and a bullet in the chest that was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

After the war, on a whim, Mr. Doohan enrolled in a drama class in Toronto. He showed promise and won a two-year scholarship to New York's famed Neighborhood Playhouse, where fellow students included Leslie Nielsen and Tony Randall.

Mr. Doohan's first marriage to Judy Doohan produced four children, and he had two children with his second wife, Anita Yagel. Both marriages ended in divorce. In 1974 he married Wende Braunberger, and they had Eric, Thomas and Sarah, who was born in 2000, when Mr. Doohan was 80.

In a 1998 interview, Mr. Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line "Beam me up, Scotty."

"I'm not tired of it at all," he replied. "Good gracious, it's been said to me for just about 31 years. It's been said to me at 70 miles an hour across four lanes on the freeway. I hear it from just about everybody. It's been fun."

Material from The Associated Press and Times staff reporter Mark Rahner is included in this report.