Born on 3-Mar-1920 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, James Doohan came to be the youngest of four children to William and Sarah Doohan. His parents were, at the time, refugees from (for the most part) Protestant Belfast around the time of the Anglo-Irish war. Some time later, the family moved to Sarnia, Ontario, where James studied at SCITS (Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School – high school). He received high marks in math and science. His father had many jobs, a dentist, pharmacist, and veterinarian. Supposedly, his dad invented a high-octane gasoline in 1923, although in James’ autobiography, he was more of an abusive alcoholic.

     WWII broke out when James was 19, so he joined the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was commissioned as a lieutenant during his career. The first combat he had been assigned to, was Juno Beach on D-Day, when the invasion began. James had taken out two snipers, and was leading his unit to a better position by going through a minefield before finally settling on a resting spot for the night. As he went between command posts, around 2330 (11:30), a German machine gun unloaded six bullets into him. Out of these six, four lodged in his leg, one in his chest, and the last through his middle right finger, which was later, amputated. Fortunately, his silver cigarette case stopped the bullet that would have gone through his chest. Even after his injuries, Doohan remained in the service to be a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, flying an artillery observation plane.

     Following WWII, James Doohan began his acting career after attempting some radio drama without success. This resulted in James studying a bit of Shakespeare, and finally landed a role on a CBC radio show on 12-Jan.-1946. In Toronto, he continued his drama studies, winning a 2-year scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC. During his time there, some of his classmates included Leslie Nielsen, Tony Randall, and Richard Boone.

For the next several years he starred in at least 4000 radio bits and over 400 TV shows. By this point James Doohan had become a versatile actor able to perform a variety of different accents and voices. Ultimately, that is what caught Gene Roddenberry’s attention, Jimmy’s talent for voices. It was the fact that Jimmy suggested the accent of a Scot that landed him the role that would forever typecast him as Scotty.

The stories from Star Trek on could fill too many pages but suffice it to say that shortly after the original show was cancelled, there were hard times ahead for Jimmy. Once the show went into syndication and Jimmy told his dentist, it was the advice that he received from his dentist that helped. These are not his exact words but the meaning was basically: Enjoy the ride while it lasts.

            Jimmy began doing appearances at conventions and various places. Once Star Trek started up again, so did his career as an actor, well into his later years. He also began the Klingon language in the pre-production of ST:TMP when he made some vocals for the crew. These sounds were later expanded into what we now know as Klingon. His entire acting career is available for viewing on www.imdb.com

His first wife whom he married in 1949 was Janet Young, had 4 children, Larkin (1954), Deirdre (1957), and twin sons Christopher and Montgomery (1959). He later divorced in ’64. His second wife Anita Yagel he was married to from ’67-’72 His third wife Wende Braunberger he married in ’75, and had three more children: Thomas, Eric (author of Pocket Players Guide for Magic: The Gathering), and Sarah his youngest born 11-Apr.-2000.

            On August 31, 2004, Jimmy Doohan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He had also been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. An example of how he touched the world was reflected when he announced in 2004 that he was retiring from public life, it was circulated in NASA newsletters, Aviation Week, and Space Technology.

On the morning of July 20, 2005 at 5:30 he passed away with his wife and friend, Steve Stevens (his agent as well), at his side. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and pneumonia. His ashes are to be sent, per request, into space with Space Services Inc. The tentative schedule is for September, and could be on a Falcon 1 rocket launching from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. John Meredyth Lucas (Star Trek author), who died in 2002, his ashes are also scheduled to be launched alongside Jimmy’s.