# James "Scotty" Doohan Has Alzheimers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 3, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396 "2004-07-03T19:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/21 "2004-07-05T14:06:32Z")
I have read a couple places that (but forget where) that Jimmy and Wende met at a convention. I know she is a Trek fan, and he has said that he relied upon her advice as to what episodes of TNG to watch when preparing to appear on the program himself. He has always had the reputation of being a flirt, a charmer with the ladies. I would classify a 55-year-old marrying an 18-year-old as “odd,” but not necessarily “creepy.” Some people know just what they want and are mature enough to make such decisions at 18. It would seem with the endurance of their marriage that Wende was one of those few mature young ladies. But, I’m tolerant. I would not be here were it not for such a May-December marriage (though to be fair, my mother was 28 when she married my much much older Pop). Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/22 "2004-07-05T14:11:08Z")
**Sampiro** , my statement, “But I’m tolerant,” could sound like I’m saying you’re not, or slurring you. That was not my intent, and I regret the choice of words. I would have been more honest if I had said, “But, I’m extrememly, perhaps far too unreasonably tolerant.” My apologies if I caused offense. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/23 "2004-07-05T15:17:24Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I actually ran into him at a McDonalds about 20 years ago. He told me, and I’ll never forget this, that I should get my butt out of the handicapped parking space! And he said it firmly, but nicely. I hope you did. That was pretty cool! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/24 "2004-07-05T15:30:24Z")
[![](https://insidetrek.com/picweek/picdata/7a.jpg) ](https://insidetrek.com/picweek/picdata/7a.jpg) A picture of Jimmy and Wende, which, judging from his rather colorful shirt and sveltness, was probably taken around, oh, 1977. His hair seems to be just a bit darker than it was in “The Motion Picture,” which was filmed in mid-to-late 1978. I’ve seen a couple recent ones somewhere, one of them and Sarah, their daughter. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/25 "2004-07-05T15:39:09Z")
I swear, all I could think of when I saw that picture was hear Doohan’s voice laughing in my head. “Shatner can’t get one of these!” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/26 "2004-07-05T15:47:19Z")
She’s probably his “Maxine.” Most aging stars have their “Max” or “Maxine,” and frequently marry them (when the sexes are legal for marryin’). ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/27 "2004-07-05T16:39:04Z")
> [@Arden Ranger](#): > > I swear, all I could think of when I saw that picture was hear Doohan’s voice laughing in my head. “Shatner can’t get one of these!” Thanks, I read your comment and now all I can think about is Doohan “going to town” with the misses and shouting, “I’m givin’ her all she’s got cap’n!” ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/28 "2004-07-05T17:21:34Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Out of curiosity, does anybody know how James & Wende Doohan met? According to his autobiography, _Beam Me Up, Scotty,_ it was in early 1974, when he was playing in a San Francisco production of _The Trial of James McNeill Whistler._ After one show, two young (“And I do mean young”) ladies met him backage – Wende and her friend Julie; apparently Wende was a big Scotty fan, and Julie had taken her to the show as a result. Doohan signed some autographs for them, then lied about not having any glossy photos so he could get her address (“I don’t have any pictures, but if you’ll send me your address, I’ll send you some.”). They dated off and on for a while, then got engaged around September of '74. (This is page 169-170 of the paperback edition, for those who want to follow along) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/29 "2004-07-05T19:50:43Z")
So, even if Wende turns 48 this year, she was barely 18 when they met, or did he wait for her to turn 18 while sending her the photos. . . ? Thanks for the clarification, **rjung**. I understand the gist of “Max/Maxine,” but not the specific reference. . . As I looked for a recent photo of the couple, even I was shocked by photos taken of him in the last couple years. This man should not be leaving his front porch, let alone keeping up any kind of appearance/speaking schedule. He looks so frail and ill, I will not even link to the photos as it would seem almost tacky and sensationalist. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/30 "2004-07-05T19:52:44Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > [Scotty’s] **hair** seems to be just a bit darker than it was in “The Motion Picture,” which was filmed in mid-to-late 1978. _Hair_? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/31 "2004-07-05T20:01:51Z")
^^^I’m probably being whooshed here… but my point was that this photo seemed earlier than when he filmed **Star Trek: The Motion Picture** , as his hair was grayer in that film than in this photo. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/32 "2004-07-06T05:52:27Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > My apologies if I caused offense. You didn’t, and good point about the fact they’re still together almost 30 years later. Still, I have to say I’d unload a barrel of buckshot on any 55 year old who wanted to date my 18 year old daughter.\* (Richard Dawson began dating his current wife when she was an 18 year old contestant on _Family Feud_ and he was 50-something, but then he’s always had a major reputation as a horndog.) The last time I saw Doohan on TV he was hooked to an oxygen tank (or should I say, it was hooked to him) and had to have a conventioneer repeat questions in his ear because he was so deaf. While I don’t think he’s broke by most people’s understandings of the term, he did admit shortly after Sarah was born that he was upping his number of appearances in order to make money to take care of her after he is gone. He receives anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000+ per appearance (plus money from autographs, book sales and photos) at conventions depending on how big/how long, etc., so just a few months of appearances would put her through college. (In a recent autograph show at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn, Bernie Kopell [_Love Boat’s_ Doc] and Ed Asner both also claimed “education of late-in-life children” as their reasons for appearing there.) \*My own parents met in Junior High; my mother was a 14 year old student and my father was her 30 year old English teacher. They married 2 years later after a long engagement and I was born 18 years after that. She informed her own daughters that she’d cuff and gag them, tie them into croker sacks and lock them in a chest (essentially the Ira Einhorn treatment minus the bludgeoning) if they even considered marriage before their 20s, but in her case it worked for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/33 "2004-07-08T13:41:09Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > As I looked for a recent photo of the couple, even I was shocked by photos taken of him in the last couple years. This man should not be leaving his front porch, let alone keeping up any kind of appearance/speaking schedule. He looks so frail and ill, I will not even link to the photos as it would seem almost tacky and sensationalist. True. But with alzheimer’s, diabetes, **and** parkinson’s ravaging an 84-year-old hull, it’s not too surprising that he looks as though his engines canna take much moor o’ this. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/34 "2004-07-13T04:51:51Z")
I just dragged up this thread because I just finished watching TOS “The Trouble with Tribbles,” TNG “Relics” and DS9s “Trials and Tribble-lations”. It just started to hit me that I MUST be a man, because I’m not a kid anymore. (Sigh.) Gonna miss Doohan as Scotty. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/35 "2004-08-27T22:42:18Z")
Bump. Jimmy’s final public appearance/star ceremony is this weekend. Anybody going? Post your thoughts if you do go or see coverage of it on TV. As always, I wish one of my childhood icons the best. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/36 "2004-08-28T13:53:34Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Maybe even Stewart… he’s not much younger than the TOSers. ☹ He’s recovering from angioplasty surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/37 "2004-08-29T02:23:28Z")
[http://www.planetxpo.com/doohan/](http://www.planetxpo.com/doohan/) [http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001678.php](http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001678.php) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/38 "2004-08-29T03:09:31Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > [http://www.planetxpo.com/doohan/](http://www.planetxpo.com/doohan/) > > [http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001678.php](http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001678.php) From your first link > [@](#): > > Neil Armstrong is beaming in to the show > > Planet Xpo is proud to announce that the first man to walk on the moon, who brought us one step closer to trekking to the stars will be joining our celebration honoring and paying tribute to Jimmy Doohan and the entire cast of Star Trek. That is ubercool! ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/39 "2004-09-01T02:25:34Z")
A photo of the surviving TOS main cast taken this weekend at Jimmy Doohan’s final convention appearance. Seems that De Kelley should be standing in the gap between Shatner and Doohan. [![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/Warped9/tribute.jpg) ](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/Warped9/tribute.jpg) He received his Star on the Walk of Fame. [http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-08-31-doohan-retires\_X.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-08-31-doohan-retires_X.htm) Time slips away… Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396/40 "2004-09-01T02:29:16Z")
Man, they’re all so … _old_. We probably have a decade left before we lose them all. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-scotty-doohan-has-alzheimers/253396.md?page=3)