




Star Trek’s James Doohan has an honorary PhD from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Best known for his portrayal of the original USS Enterprise’s chief engineer, ‘Scotty’, Doohan was awarded the honor after half the school’s students credited his character as their inspiration for choosing a career in engineering. Source Source 2 Source 3
Seriously, I have been asked how I would play Kirk now after these years and in new voyages. I have given that considerable thought, and it strikes me that I have learned and grown in a number of directions in those years, and I believe that Kirk would have, too. One key aspect is that I believe even more firmly in the importance of openness, willingness to communicate real emotions, willingness to be even more revealing of self-to have the courage to communicate: this is how Iam, this is how I am angry, this is how I love, this is how I cry.
That can be a difficult thing to do, but it is terribly important. It was something that Kirk had partly learned, and something that people evidently responded to in him. I believe that he would have learned more.
"William Shatner, Introduction to “The Mindsifter” in Star Trek: The New Voyages
I love the emphasis on Kirk’s originally being quite closed off with himself and his emotions, playing at openness with his charm and wit. I’m glad he found friends he could be open and honest with.
(via babemagi)
“I got a fan letter from a young lady. It was a suicide note.So I called her, and I said, “Hey, this is Jimmy Doohan. Scotty, from Star Trek.” I said, “I’m doing a convention in Indianapolis. I wanna see you there.”
I saw her — boy, I’m telling you, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was definitely suicide. Somebody had to help her, somehow. And obviously she wasn’t going to the right people.
I said to her, “I’m doing a convention two weeks from now in St. Louis.” And two weeks from then, in somewhere else, you know? She also came to New York - she was able to afford to got to these places. That went on for two or three years, maybe eighteen times. And all I did was talk positive things to her.
And then all of the sudden — nothing. I didn’t hear anything. I had no idea what had happened to her because I never really saved her address.
Eight years later, I get a letter saying, “I do want to thank you so much for what you did for me, because I just got my Master’s degree in electronic engineering.”
That’s…to me, the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
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