James Doohan
| Name: | James Doohan |
| Also Known As: | Jimmy Doohan |
| Occupation: | Actor, Writer |
| Medium: | Television and Film |
| Works: | Star Trek |
| Official Website(s): | |
| Fan Website(s): | |
| On Fanlore: | Related pages |
James Doohan was an American actor, renowned for his portrayal of Scotty in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series and in subsequent films.
He, along with the other actors of the TV series, was a frequent guest at professional Star Trek conventions. During many of his convention appearances he would sing a Scottish lullaby which formed the basis of "Not a Bad Day’s Work" (a Scotty story, written by the author so that the character could sing the Scottish lullaby). It appeared in Orion Archives: 2266-2270 The First Mission 3.
James Doohan's wife, Wende, contributed calligraphy and computer graphics to the Beauty and the Beast (TV) zine, Skyline #1.
James Doohan died in 2005.
Fan Clubs
Fan Art
memorial portrait by Gamin Davis
Doohan's Comments About Fanfiction
On the subject of fan writing, Jimmy reads "...about 1/5 of it. The whole thing is flattering in the way that you become famous, all over the world." [1]
Doohan's Thoughts on Fans (from JDIFC Newsletters)
Some issues of James Doohan International Club Newsletter (1968-1986) contained a regular column called "Quizzing Jim." [2] They consisted of extensive questions from fans and answers from Doohan. Doohan's were handwritten.
The possibly hundreds of answers include many, many topics and random subjects, including info about his pets, the kind of cigarettes he smoked (Tareyton 100s!), his car and license plate (a white Volvo Sports 1800E, 253 BXH)!) about his activities (both personal and professional), his opinions about conventions, what Gene Roddenberry called him (Jimmie James), Judy Garland ("I couldn't stand her when she got older."), The Lord's Prayer, philosophies, his ring size, Northern Ireland, favorite flowers, Shakespeare, poetry, country western music, "have you ever been to Cleveland?", politics, religion, memories of the military, the kind of cars he drove, women, and even would he allow a fan to make a wet plaster cast of his feet. No topic was too big or too small!
Many of the Q&As were about fans and fandoms, and a handful of these are excerpted below.
from Apr/May 1973, described a good deed done by George Takei and himself
from Apr/May 1973, Shirley Maiewski makes a characterization observation
from Apr/May 1973, are fans scary?
from Aug/Sept 1973, is going to sell his Scotty kilt
from Aug/Sept 1973, thinks fans are marvelous
from Aug/Sept 1973, would you fly to England for a con?
from Aug/Sept 1973, not a fan of the Trek books by James Blish
Fan Thoughts on Doohan
Registration for the con began around 9:00 am on Friday. After registering, I headed for the Grand Salon where James Doohan's first show was scheduled to begin at 11:00 am. He was right on time.
Never having seen him in person, I was in for a pleasant surprise. He is a very attractive man who does NOT have a Scottish accent. Somehow I had thought he normally talked like Scotty.
Before we knew it, Doohan was roaming through the audience shaking hands and having his picture made with every interested lass. You better believe I was interested! For me, being hugged by James Doohan was the high-light of the con.
There was a question and answer period next and Doohan was asked many questions about Star Trek The Motion Picture. He answered the ones he could, but, of course, he was not allowed to say as much as he would have liked to. After the questions and answers, Doohan signed autographs. The line was quite long but he never grew tired or impatient.
James Doohan is a kind and courteous person with a warm and genuine sense of humor. He really seems to like and enjoy his fans and the fans responded in kind. It was a true pleasure to meet him. [3]
References
- ^ from WKFS Journal (April 1983)
- ^ Later, the newsletters contained a similar feature with his wife, Wende, as well as a "letter" from his son, Eric.
- ^ from a fan testimonial about meeting Doohan at Schuster Star Trek Conventions/1978 Atlanta Schuster Star Trek Convention, by Frances (Franki) Jackson in Illogical These Humans!! (1980)