Seattle — Canadian actor James M. Doohan, who played Scotty on the '60s Star Trek TV series, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his agent confirmed Tuesday.
Mr. Doohan, 84, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's “within the last couple months,” agent Steven Stevens said.
He said Mr. Doohan is in the beginning stages of the disease, a progressive neurological disorder that afflicted former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who died June 5.
Mr. Doohan also has suffered for some time with Parkinson's disease, diabetes and fibrosis, the latter due to chemical exposure during the Second World War when he was a soldier in the Canadian military, Mr. Stevens said.
Canadian actor James Doohan is shown in this 1999, file photo in Los Angeles. (John Hayes/AP)
He lives in Redmond, a suburb northeast of Seattle. A telephone number wasn't listed, and a call to his son, Chris Mr. Doohan, of California, wasn't immediately returned Tuesday.
Mr. Stevens said he last saw Mr. 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 Mr. Stevens, who has represented Mr. Doohan for 28 years.
Mr. Doohan's career spans more than 50 years, but he's best known for his role as the USS Enterprise's affable chief engineer, Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, in the original 1966-69 Star Trek TV series.
He's also appeared in several Star Trek movies.
Mr. Doohan, who was born in Vancouver, B.C., 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 Mr. Doohan has four children from a previous marriage, Mr. Stevens said.
Mr. Doohan is scheduled to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Aug. 31.
He plans to attend a three-day Star Trek farewell convention, Aug. 28-30, in Hollywood, Mr. Stevens said. All surviving members of the original Enterprise crew are scheduled to attend, including William Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy, who was Mr. Spock.
