Star Trek's "Scotty" diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease

By Melanthia Mitchell
The Associated Press

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Doohan, 84, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's "within the last couple months," agent Steven Stevens told The Associated Press. He said Doohan is in the beginning stages of the disease, a progressive neurological disorder that afflicted former President Ronald Reagan, who died June 5.

Doohan also has suffered for some time from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and fibrosis, the latter due to chemical exposure during World War II and the D-Day invasion in France, said Stevens, of Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Doohan lives in Redmond.

One of Doohan's sons, Chris Doohan, 45, a vascular technician from Thousand Oaks, Calif., said the Alzheimer's diagnosis stemmed from his father's increasing loss of short-term memory.

"His longterm memory seems to be intact," the younger Doohan said. "If you ask him how he got his role on Star Trek or (about) D-Day, he can talk for an hour about that. But if you ask him what he had for breakfast," he can't say.

The son said he couldn't say how his father took the news, because he doesn't get up from California to Washington very often. For now, he said, the family is paying more attention to his Parkinson's and diabetes.

Stevens said he last saw Doohan in January in Los Angeles when the actor made a cameo appearance in the upcoming horror film, "Skinwalker: Curse of the Shaman."

"He didn't have any energy and he seemed very frail. But as soon as they yelled 'Action,' he was the same old feisty Scotty," said Stevens, who has represented Doohan for the past 28 years.

Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, B.C. His career spans more than 50 years, but he is best known for his role as the USS Enterprise's affable chief engineer, Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery Scott, in the original 1966-69 "Star Trek" TV series.

He has lived in Redmond for almost a dozen years with his wife, Wende. They have a 4-year-old daughter and two older sons, and Doohan has four children from a previous marriage, Stevens said.
 
Doohan was selected last month to receive a star Aug. 31 on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Before his induction, Doohan plans a three-day Star Trek farewell convention, Aug. 28-30, in Hollywood, Stevens said. All surviving members of the original Enterprise crew are scheduled to attend, including William Shatner, who played Capt. Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy, who was Mr. Spock.