Thursday, January 20, 2011

Happy birthday, De!

All our Star Trek favorites past and present have birthdays worth noting, of course...but as you veteran residents of Trekland know, I indulge my privilege and always take special care to mark the one of our late, great and much-beloved Dr. McCoy Prime—Jackson DeForest Kelley. He would have been 91 today had he not died on June 11, 1999—the first loss of the original regular cast. Jimmy Doohan followed six years later.

Aside from Trek and all those Westerns, here's a still from De's very first feature, a little film noir mystery from 1947 — that's *47* — called Fear in the Night (from Paramount, natch). De plays the lead: a guy who dreams he killed a man, then wakes up with spent bullets in his pocket .... And guys and gals, he's all of 27 here!

8 comments:

Tamara said...

Good lord but he was a skinny young guy.

Wrath Of Mom said...

I would love to see that movie. He looks like a kid!

One of the best parts of buying the Star Trek (Original Series) wall calendars is that they list the birthdays of all the principal players. Brings a smile to my face.

Dimitris said...

Happy Birthday, De! You were -and still are- quite something! Always unforgettable!

DesiluTrek said...

Fear in the Night is available via Netflix streaming!

Barry Ingram said...

I still get a little misty when I see McCoy's appearance in "Encounter at Farpoint" and his last words to Data about the Enterprise:

" . . . you treat her like a lady, she'll always bring you home."

Aw, hell, here's the whole scene:

RIKER: Thank you, Lieutenant. Is
Commander Data on duty?

WORF: Commander Data is on a special assignment, sir. He's using our shuttlecraft to transfer an admiral over to the Hood.

RIKER: An admiral?

WORF: He's been aboard all day, sir, checking over medical layout.

RIKER: Why the shuttlecraft? Can he just beam over?

WORF: I suppose he could, sir. But the admiral's a rather remarkable man.

DATA: But, sir, the transporter could have you on the Hood in a matter of seconds, Admiral.

McCOY: Have you got some reason to want my atoms scattered all over space?

DATA: No sir. But at your age, sir, I thought you shouldn't have to put up with the time and trouble
of a shuttlecraft.

McCOY: My age? Hold it right there, boy, what about my age?

DATA: Sorry, sir. If that subject
troubles you...

McCOY: Troubles me? What's so damned troubling about not having died? How old do you think I am?

DATA: One hundred forty-seven years, Admiral. According to Starfleet records.

McCOY: Explain how you remember that so exactly.

DATA: I remember every fact I am exposed to, sir.

McCOY: I don't see any points on your ears, boy, but you sound like a Vulcan.

DATA: No, sir. I am an android.

McCOY: Almost as bad.

DATA: I thought it was generally
accepted, sir, that Vulcans are
an advanced and most honorable
race.

McCOY: They are, boy. They are. And also damned annoying at times.

DATA: Yes, sir.

McCOY: This is a new ship, boy, but she's got the right name. Remember that.

DATA: I will, sir.

McCOY: You treat her like a lady,
She'll always bring you home...

Larry Nemecek said...

Tamara: He was a pretty skinny OLD guy, too!

Larry Nemecek said...

OMG, Fear In the Night IS available on Netflix: I'll add it to the blog text ...

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Fear-in-the-Night/70035736?strackid=3bb8db11baab64ca_1_srl&strkid=2143322048_1_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&trkid=222336

Larry Nemecek said...

Bigmoneygrip: My mind strays to that scene all the time, too ("I don't see no points on your ears, boy!"). The idea they were able to keep it a secret until debut night still boggles the mind.

Thanks so much for posting the complete dialogue. iTunes, schmie-Tunes—its's nice to have the text!