James Doohan, 1920-2005

It's a sad day for fans of the original series "Star Trek." James Doohan, who played Lt. Cmdr. Montgomey Scott, has died at age 85. Doohan played the chief engineering officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise in three seasons of regular TV, six movies and one episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." He was always a hit at conventions, too.

A couple things most people don't know: Doohan was a veteran of the Canadian Army, landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and was wounded in battle thereafter.

And, although he titled his autobiography "Beam Me Up, Scotty," that phrase was never used at any time in the series or the movies. Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) would say "beam me up," and in "Star Trek: The Voyage Home" Kirk said, "Scotty, beam me up," but the most famous Trek phrase is, as fans say, extracanonical.

Doohan isn't the first member of the Enterprise crew to slip the surly bonds, either. DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. Leonard McCoy, died several years ago. Doohan's death comes during the first time in more than two decades when there was neither a "Star Trek" TV series nor a "Star Trek" movie in production. ("Enterprise," a "Star Trek" prequel, went off the air this year.)