Talk:James Doohan

Inappropriately Angry Trekkers
The Internet is full of essays and reports about and by Trekkers who were angry about James Doohan not getting a send-off in the annual Oscar tribute to celebs who have died. But the strange thing is, he WAS featured; they showed a brief clip from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," with Kirk and Scott talking. Considering most people during the tribute were just flashed on the screen for a second or so, while Doohan got to say his beloved line, "aye, sir," it confuses me to no end how people could have missed it. Minaker 18:22, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * The annual "In Memoriam" is for actors who were prominent in the medium motion pictures. The Motion Picture Academy does not have time in its "In Memoriam" to salute every actor who died within the previous year. Although Doohan was in the Star Trek movies, he was primarily a television actor, and thus a tribute would be more appropriate during the Emmy Awards. — Walloon 18:58, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Condolences, Memorials
''The word is given Mr. Scott. Engage.'' 1920-2005

Post your condolences and memorials here


 * ( Though I *am* a Star Trek fan, it just breaks my heart to know that a man who was such an important part of a seminal contribution to human culture is losing his faculties. :(

It is sad, but now that he's died, I'm sure he's in heaven. I just wish we had an internet article relating to his death, so we could add that.Bedford
 * You mean like these? --BradBeattie 16:51, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * You'll note I finally found one to add. Bedford 12:21, 20 July 2005 (EST)


 * A great man once said that ye cannae change the laws of physics. Well, Scotty, up there, you can. Have fun! Bryan Jones


 * May he be a continual source of inspiration to all engineers, present and future. --Wombat


 * RIP, Scotty -- ya gave her all she got, boyo!!!! (anon)


 * I guess he just didn't have enough pu'er. Bye Scotty, now you've beamed up I'm gonna watch a truckload of TOS and celebrate your life! Mikademus


 * I guess God decided it was time to beam him up. Rest in peace Scotty.
 * JesseG 03:16, July 21, 2005 (UTC)
 * Rest in peace my friend. --Admiral Roo 10:16, July 21, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for all the kind words about my Dad, James Doohan. He really loved his fans and being known as "Scotty". We hope you will attend the launch on dec. 6th - at least in spirit. Deirdre Doohan.


 * Diedre, your father was the best. A great legend. May he rest in peace....--Joel Lindley 15:54, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

James Doohan was a great actor and a great man. He will always be remembered. I'm sure that he's entertaining my sister in heaven right now. RIP. Tschow (talk) 04:19, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Other
The dates don't seem to add up. It says married he was married for 28 years. From 1974-2005 should be at least 30 or 31 years right?

Just a formatting note: The ISBN links should only include "ISBN", and not include the numbers, IMHO - I was expecting to see some information on the book when I clicked those, but was taken to the ISBN page.

Yes.. he would have celebrated his 31st wedding anniversary to Wende last week (oct. 05).

On the subject of dates: if he was born in early 1920 and the family left Bangor in "the 20's", was he not actually born in Northern Ireland? Something needs clarified there at least, I think. 213.78.235.176 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 11:08, 19 November 2008 (UTC).

Copyright violations?
The edit performed by Fdewaele at 16:50, 20 July 2005 seems to have at least a couple portions that are copied directly from the Associated Press article about Doohan's death.

Here's a link to that article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050720/ap_on_en_tv/obit_doohan

The relevant portions are the discussion of Doohan's experiences on D-Day, and the discussion of his family history. -- Colden46 19:18, July 20, 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes, I noticed that too. Although people have subsequently tweaked the text, that doesn't fix the copyvio, since the current text is clearly based on the AP article. What is the right thing to do, delete it or add the copyvio marker? 128.2.203.136 20:59, 20 July 2005 (UTC)


 * I've rewritten all of these additions, which is the "right thing to do". --Dhartung | Talk 21:02, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

Modern picture
Should we also add a more recent picture of him? Bedford 16:01, 20 July 2005 (EST)


 * I think He should be remembered as both the man, in the height of his acting career, and the older, wiser, man.

Marriages, children
Can we check how many children he had? - most of the obituaries I've read say seven, but we seem to be listing nine! -- Arwel 23:18, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Fixed. He had no children by his second wife. --Dhartung | Talk 04:26, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

I am his second daughter, Deirdre, from his first marriage. The article is true - 4 kids from first and 3 from third..no kids with Anita (second wife). Associated Press had it wrong... and the word spread.

middlefinger
the story how he lost his finger, is it true? in de: someone deleted that recently. --141.53.194.251 13:42, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
 * It's in published obituaries. -- Arwel 17:25, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

Yes, he lost his finger on D-day. He was shot several times in chest, leg, etc. but only noticed his hand at first. It's a great and true story - I should know, I'm his daughter, Deirdre.


 * It's also in his autobiography. HairyWombat (talk) 05:37, 29 June 2008 (UTC)


 * As a fan of your father and a German I am really moved by this information. Your father has contributed to make this world a better place. I lost my father last year. Best wishes. --91.34.175.168 (talk) 22:25, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

"However, despite his efforts, the missing finger can be seen in..."

The missing finger can be seen‽ Ewww. 198.208.159.17 (talk) 16:19, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Post-War Service in Europe
Captain J.M. 'James' Doohan, RCA, served with my father, Gunner R.D. Knight, RCA, while both were members of 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF, stationed at Apeldoorn, Holland, in the summer and autumn of 1945. The recollection my father had of Captain Doohan was of driving him and other officers out to their assigned Auster aircraft, while my father was a qualified chauffeur/staff driver in 666 (AOP) squadron, months after the cessation of hostilities in the ETO. It was common knowledge in the squadron that Doohan was an exceptional pilot - as many of the officers were - and often picked for air taxi duties the squadron engaged in, while tasked with flying senior officers from #1 Canadian Army HQ in Apeldoorn, to and from Germany. A spartan but excellent reference to this history is found in the 32-page book the squadron produced while it was still serving in Holland, entitled "Battle History 666" (1945)(2006)... Darrell Knight 

Early Career in Canada
If memory serves, before James Doohan became "Scotty", he played the role of an officer, if not captain, of a space ship travelling the galaxy. This was a sci-fi series that ran for perhaps a year or two on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. I like to think that that series already set him up for the role of Scotty in Star Trek. I'd appreciate it if anyone can confirm my recollection.

Ed Treister 
 * It's in his IMDb entry: "Space Command". --Dhartung | Talk 19:00, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

Grandfather
He claimed his grandfather, Thomas Doohan, was Chief Constable of Belfast. There was no such rank in the RIC at the time. There was a rank of "Head Constable" see - http://www.4qd.org/biog/rgt.html - and http://www.psni.police.uk/index/pg_police_museum/pg_principal_ranks.htm - this was a non-commisioned rank above a sergeant far below what one might think of with the term chief constable. Jooler 03:25, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

Ashes in Space...
Anyone know if this went as planned? The article still says that they're planned to be launched on 6 December 2005 Vash The Stampede 07:52, 1 January 2006 (UTC)


 * According to Space Services Inc, his remains will be launched on their "Legacy" flight [] in the first quater of 2007 Alastairward 16:44, 26 December 2006 (UTC)


 * He's going up with a bunch of other people on Friday, April 28, 2007. -Mik —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 151.203.186.103 (talk) 15:33, 25 April 2007 (UTC).


 * 2020.12.27 - The ashes of James Doohan— Scotty from Star Trek— are aboard the International Space Station [] - Until now, only a handful of people knew that Doohan’s ashes got on the ISS in 2008 -- Kevin Cole (talk) 13:02, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

Relationship with Shatner
I've just noticed the paragraph asserting hostility between JD and WD is identical to the paragraph asserting the same in George Takei's page. Seems a bit suspect. Toby Douglass 16:37, 19 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Read their autobiographies. HairyWombat (talk) 05:38, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

NPOV?
In the legacy section of the article, it states that the Apollo 11 landing was "arguably the greatest engineering achievement in human history." While I don't necessarily dispute the statement or agree with it, It seems NPOV to me. Perhaps a more neutral wording or a citation could be arranged, or else I think that particular sentance isn't all that necessary anyway. A possibility of the top of my head, "one the most famous events in spacefaring history". There are so many engineering achievements in human history, I think that unless you have a list or article citing that a legitimate body thinks that the Apollo 11 landing was the greatest engineering achievements in history... TheHYPO 09:07, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
 * That the Apollo 11 landing may be the greatest engineering achievement in human history is very possibly true and a legitimate statement to include, and given that, the coincidence of dates is ironic and worth inclusion.


 * Davidkevin 00:48, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

I have changed that phrase to "one of the greatest engineering achievement in space exploration" instead of the "greatest engineering achievements" based on the following

There have been several great enginerring achievements in the space program

As a citizen of the United States of America, of course I have full respect for everything that Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins did in serving this country.

Apollo 12 spent more time on the moon and collected more data

Apollo 14 spent more time on the moon and collected more data

Apollo 15 spent more time on the moon and collected more data

Apollo 16 spent more time on the moon and collected more data

Apollo 17 spent more time on the moon and collected more data

I am refering to the reference source: The Illustrated Encylopedia of Space Technology" ISBN: 0-517-542587 As far as Apollo 13, it is quite clear that NASA had about 1000 "SCOTTYS" to bring the crippled spacecraft home. I am referring to the book "Lost Moon" By Jim Lovell ISBN 0-395-67029-2 I am also referring to the accurately based movie "Apollo 13"

While it is quite true that the Voyager missions were unmaned, the incredible distances they achieved were a far greater enginering achievement.

Each and every Space shuttle has had computer capabilities far greater than any Apollo spacecraft

There have been an myriad of Space Shuttle missions that have carried a much larger crew into space.

Each and every Salyut, Skylab,Mir, and ISS mission has been a greater engineering accomplishment.

While I respect everything the crew of Apollo 11 accomplished and did for this country, instead of being the "greatest" engineering accomplishment, it should be,by now, described as being one of the "greatest"

Claffey27 (talk) 04:49, 12 April 2008 (UTC)Claffey27
 * I will assume good faith here and try to explain it to you as politely as I can as this is important, and as you aren't seeing it you're degrading the article as a result: what made it an achievement isn't how much core memory the computer had or how many people were in the ship or how many hours they were on the surface, what made it the greatest achievement is that they were the first. Against all odds, despite all unknowns, Apollo 11 was the culmination of what was arguably the most difficult engineering project ever undertaken, literally going where no man had gone before.  All the engineering work was to that goal, everything following is by comparison anti-climactic.  It is exactly that which makes the date of Doohan's death such a perfect irony -- best known for his role portraying a spaceship engineer, he didn't die on the anniversary of one of the earlier working-our-way-up missions or one of the rather mundane shuttle flights which followed, but precisely the one which had the most emotional impact, took the greatest risk, and won the biggest gamble.


 * If you still can't see that, I'm sorry for you, but please stop degrading the article for those who do. -- Davidkevin (talk) 07:06, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

Irony
If anyone has trouble understanding the concept of irony, I recommend the linked Wiki article, which seems to me to be fairly comprehensive. (Section 4.2 in particular.) The date of his death is ironic. Davidkevin 09:14, 26 February 2007 (UTC)


 * That whole bit should be removed, imho. That source is not considered reliable by a number of editors here. Its also POV as pointed out above. --Tom 17:30, 10 May 2007 (UTC)


 * "Not considered reliable" -- so are you saying it's wrong and that he didn't die on July 20, 2005 or it's wrong and that Apollo 11 didn't land on July 20, 1969? -- Davidkevin 20:32, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Image:James Doohan 1980s.jpg
I originally uploaded this image over two years ago; it was just tagged for speedy deletion because it lacks a fair use rationale (the tagger inexplicably failed to give notice here). If the regular editors of this article would like to keep the image (of whom I am not one), please look into this. Personally, I would prefer a screenshot of him in character, particularly one from TOS. Cheers, Postdlf 01:58, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Infobox re: launch failure
Is it really necessary to have that up there? I don't think many people will be losing sleep at not knowing whether his ashes were involved in a launch failure... Spartacusprime (talk) 21:34, 3 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I put it back up earlier because it was removed anonymously with no reason. You might ask GW_Simulations what his rationale was for creating the template.Poobslag (talk) 16:12, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Adding military service time and rank as well as any awards to side table
Most other bio articles have something similar if the subject served in the military. This is especially true with astronauts, Doohan here is close enough, so why not add it?

James Doohan's military service is arguably more important than his subsequent acting career. He was a volunteer---as were all members of the Canadian Forces in WW II---who took part in one of the most important military actions in history. He was literally one of the men who saved the world from fascism. And his being wounded under the circumstances described makes it clear that he was a junior officer doing his job and placing himself in harm's way, when many holding similar positions "phoned it in" and minimized the physical danger they exposed themselves to.

Honestly, how can Star Trek compare to that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.28.168.227 (talk • contribs)

Contradiction in text
The language in this article reading: "The rest of his ashes were scattered over Puget Sound in Washington.[19][20] On May 22, 2012, a small urn containing some of Doohan's remains in ash form was flown into space aboard the Dragon spacecraft as part of COTS Demo Flight 2." is contradictory. It indicates that one of the two earlier footnotes is either inaccurate or the information in that source is erroneous. I leave it to the author to verify and update the footnotes ... but clearly "the rest of his ashes" could not have been scattered if some of them were left to be on the recent flight. 75.171.33.161 (talk) 01:32, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Andover mountains
It seems unlikely that he could have "slalomed a plane between mountainside telegraph poles" north of Andover unless he'd strayed very far to the north. Mutt Lunker (talk) 23:33, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Salisbury Plain is a military training area; the Army flying corps are close by. However, the plain and Wiltshire are noted for gently rolling downland. The highest point in the entire county of Wiltshire, Milk Hill, is just shy of 1,000 feet.

Maybe he might have slalomed between hillside poles?

Sounds less dramatic, but there are no mountains.

As the "mountainside" doesn't really add any value why not just remove the word completely... 212.159.44.170 (talk) 22:45, 21 April 2015 (UTC)


 * The claim is indeed dubious and also unnecessary, so I've removed it. --RFBailey (talk) 16:15, 7 September 2015 (UTC)

LVO
When and for what service to the British monarch was he made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order? I've monitored this page virtually since it was created and this bit was only added very recently. 98.10.165.90 (talk) 00:35, 25 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I agree - I can find no trace in the London or Canada Gazettes and the only cited source (http://en.ww2awards.com/person/34824) gives no source for its assertion. At the very least this is highly dubious, so I would propose deletion. CharlesSpencer (talk) 06:25, 24 June 2018 (UTC)

Star Trek: Movie Memories - contradiction with William Shatner article
The statement that James Doohan declined to consent to be interviewed "for Shatner's follow-up book, Star Trek: Movie Memories" contradicts with a statement on the William Shatner article in the section "Relationships with other actors" which states "Doohan was the only former Star Trek co-star who declined to be interviewed by Shatner for his first, 1993 memoir, Star Trek Memories. But Doohan did contribute to Shatner's sequel". Not sure which is wrong as I have not read Movie Memories, but either there is an error here or in the other article. Dunarc (talk) 20:35, 2 April 2024 (UTC)