THE US: Actor James Doohan, best known as the feisty Scottish chief engineer in the original Star Trek series - a role immortalised by the catchphrase "Beam me up, Scotty" - died yesterday, aged 85, his manager said.
Doohan died in the Seattle suburb of Redmond, Washington, of pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease. The actor's wife of 28 years, Wende, was at his side.
The Canadian-born actor had also suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, which doctors believed was linked to Doohan's exposure to hazardous chemicals during his military service in the second World War.
He was wounded as an infantryman during the D-Day invasion of Normandy and returned to action later in the war as a fighter pilot.
Doohan was an actor on Canadian radio before moving into television in the 1950s. However he will be remembered for playing Scotty aboard the starship USS Enterprise on the original Star Trek series, which ran from 1966-69 on NBC.