Posted on 07/07/2004 12:18:21 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Actor James Doohan -- who played Scotty on the 60's "Star Trek" TV series, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Doohan's agent says the 84-year-old was diagnosed with Alzheimer's "within the last couple months."
Agent Steven Stevens tells the The Associated Press that Doohan is in the beginning stages of the progressive neurological disorder.
Doohan also has suffered for some time with Parkinson's disease, diabetes and fibrosis due to chemical exposure during World War Two and the D-Day invasion in France.
Doohan lives in in Redmond, Washington, a suburb northeast of Seattle.
Planet Vulcan found?In fact, among the most recently discovered extrasolar planets is one that has been linked directly to Star Trek. Astronomers at the McDonald Observatory in Austin, Texas, announced earlier this month that they have detected a planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani, which is 10.5 light-years from Earth and the closest star yet showing evidence of a solar system. Epsilon Eridani has been identified in some Star Trek literature as the home of planet Vulcan.
8/31/2000 Science Roundup
from the Star Trek Official website
What makes this story more interesting from a Star Trek perspective is that the discovery was made by a team led by Dr. William Cochran of the University of Texas. It was Dr. Cochran's near-namesake, Dr. Zefram Cochrane, who was the first human to meet a member of the Vulcan species in "Star Trek: First Contact."
The planet found by the Texas team is a gas giant slightly larger than Jupiter with a stable orbit similar in radius to that of the asteroid belt in our own solar system. With the planet lying that distance from its star, the possibility is raised that Earth-like (Class M) planets could exist closer to Epsilon Eridani, in a zone Cochran said might be habitable...
Epsilon Eridani was identified as the Vulcan sun in the "Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology" published in 1980. However, other writings--including a letter from Gene Roddenberry and three astrophysicists to Sky & Telescope magazine in 1991--suggest that Eridani 40 is a likelier candidate for the honor. (It should be noted that the Vulcan sun has never been officially identified in the Star Trek series, so neither should be considered canon.)
About 50 extrasolar planets have been detected so far by astronomers measuring wobbles in the movement of their parent stars. No such planets have been observed directly, but NASA plans to launch two new space-based telescopes dedicated to the pursuit of Earth-like planets in 2013, in a project called the Terrestrial Planet Finder.
Wow! I didn't know he was at Normandy. I heard he liked to read engineering manuals in real life, like his character. All ahead full, Mr. Scott...
That wasn't all of it, either. He went ashore as (IIRC) a Lieutenant with the Canadian forces. He caught a burst from an MG-34. He took several body hits and lost a finger. I am given to understand that he hid it onstage, but it is briefly visible in "The Trouble with Tribbles".
He returned to England to convalesce from his wounds. While there, a call went up for artillery officers to become pilot trained as airborne artillery observers. He volunteered, and learned to fly a light aircraft. Going aloft once in training, he flew right into the middle of a bomber stream heading for Germany.
Another close brush.
"he was a war hero."
oh yes he even lost a finger after being shot down and escaped through enemy lines to fight again
God Bless him
is it me or does it seem that a lot of actors get alzheimers
God bless James Doohan, and it is inspiring to read the news on his military history. But on a side note, seems like James Doohan's Agent is a job that probably allows you quite a bit of free time, huh?
The man has long been a hero of mine, both "in real life" and as "Scotty". God bless him.
Warp drive? What warp drive? This ship has a warp drive?
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This planet sucks, indeed!
Beam me up!
Old thread, he passed a number of years ago.
;-)
ping
I’d respond with “did you hear the Pope died?” (which dates from the late 1970s) but I don’t want to be tarred as Catholic-bashing. ;’)
That's what IIRC....
why bump this again? ...memory lane? :p
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