(Soundbite of "Star Trek: Voyager" theme song)
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Some sad news for "Star Trek" fans. James Doohan, who beamed up many a character onto the USS Enterprise, died today at the age of 85. The Canadian-born actor immortalized the character of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, Scotty, with an unforgettable angst-ridden delivery.
(Soundbite of "Star Trek")
Mr. WILLIAM SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) Scotty.
Mr. JAMES DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott): Scotty here, sir.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) We have to get out of here within three hours. Spock has orders to kill me unless I complete the military mission.
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) We've got another deadline, too, sir.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) Explain.
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) The two-way matter transmission affected the local field density between their universes, and it's increasing. We've got to move fast.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) How fast?
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) Half hour at the most.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) If we miss?
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) We couldn't get out of here in a century.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
For the record, that Scottish brogue was not his own. When the actor landed the role in 1966, he tried seven different accents before settling on Scottish.
SIEGEL: Doohan was born in Vancouver in 1920. He left home at the age of 19 to fight with Canadian forces in World War II. As a captain, he led men into battle on D-Day in Normandy, where he was wounded in the arm and leg. He lost a finger in combat.
BLOCK: After the war, he began training as an actor in New York City and soon landed roles on radio, appearing in about 4,000 programs in both Canada and the US. But it was as Scotty that Doohan would be best known. Here are some of his most memorable moments.
(Soundbite of "Star Trek" montage)
Ms. NICHELLE NICHOLS: (As Lieutenant Nyota Uhura) Ship's outer skin is beginning to heat, Captain. Orbit flux shows we have about eight minutes left.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) Scotty.
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) I can't change the laws of physics. I've got to have 30 minutes.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) Scotty, you've got to get me some maneuvering power.
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) I can't repair a warp drive without a space dock.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) Then get me impulse power, half speed, quarter speed, anything. If we can get this hulk moving, maybe we can do something.
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) I checked the engines. The warp drive is a hopeless pile of junk.
If I push these impulse engines too hard in the condition they're in, they'll blow apart.
Mr. SHATNER: (As Captain James T. Kirk) You set the ship's impulse engines to overload?
Mr. DOOHAN: (As Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott) Aye. The shape that thing's in, it's hard to keep it from blowing.
SIEGEL: Doohan appeared on "Star Trek" until it was canceled in 1969. He reprised the role of Scotty in seven "Star Trek" movies.
BLOCK: James Doohan died at his home in Washington state. According to his agent, the cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease. He was 85 years old.
(Soundbite of "Star Trek" theme song)
SIEGEL: This is NPR, National Public Radio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
