James Doohan, best known as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott on the original series of late-blooming television science fiction phenomenon Star Trek, has died. An endearing obituary closes with this anecdote from Doohan:
In a 1998 interview, Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line "Beam me up, Scotty" — a line that, reportedly, was never actually spoken on the TV show."I'm not tired of it at all," he replied. "Good gracious, it's been said to me for just about 31 years. It's been said to me at 70 miles an hour across four lanes on the freeway. I hear it from just about everybody. It's been fun."
From the engine room of the Enterprise to an entertainment franchise virtually unparalleled in longevity or influence, he gave us all she got. Cap'n.