Born James Montgomery Doohan on the 3rd March 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada, of Northern Irish ancestry – his parents were both immigrants from Bangor – he was an actor, best known to the world as Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott in the TV and film franchise “Star Trek”; he became known also for devising Klingon and Vulcan languages. His career started in 1952 and ended in 2005, when he passed away.
Have you ever wondered how rich James Doohan was, at the time of his death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Doohan’s net worth was as high as $7 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment industry.
James Doohan Net Worth $7 Million
James was the youngest child of Sarah Frances and William Patrick Doohan. He and his family left Vancouver and settled in Sarnia, Ontario, where he went to Sarnia Collegiate Institute and then Technical School, where he excelled in mathematics and science. After finishing high school, James enlisted in the 102nd Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps in 1938, and throughout the Second World War James served in the Royal Canadian Artillery – he was shot six times by a nervous Canadian sentry – four bullets in his leg, one in his chest and one through his right middle finger, which was then amputated. He also obtained a military pilot’s license, as he graduated from Air Observation Pilot Course 40.
Once the war was over, James settled in London, Ontario where he wanted to learn more about technology and engineering. Instead, he heard about a drama school in Toronto, and wanted to try himself as an actor after hearing a radio drama, but wasn’t much impressed by actors, thinking that he could do much better. He won a two-year scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, sharing classrooms with future stars Leslie Nielsen, Richard Boone and Tony Randall, among others.
As early as 1946 he found a job at CBC radio, and contributed to more 4,000 radio programs and 450 television programs in the next several years. His career on screen began in the mid- ‘50s, but without any major success until appearing in the TV series “Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans” in 1957. In the mid- ’60 he auditioned for the role in “Star Trek” of chief engineer of the USS Enterprise, bragging about his skill to speak in several accents – producer Gene Roddenberry wanted to know which was his favorite, and James answered that the best engineers were Scotsmen. James got the role, and to choose the name of the character – Montgomery Scott, after his grandfather. However, the show wasn’t very popular in its original airing, but instead when reruns began, the show started to build on popularity. James couldn’t land other significant role, but then voiced Scotty in the animated TV series “Star Trek: The Animated Series” (1973-1974), and then in 1978 played Commander Canarvin in the TV series “Jason of Star Command”.
However, thanks for the increased popularity of the series, “Star Trek” returned in the way of films, and James was again in the role of Scotty, in seven installments of the “Star Trek” film franchise, which only increased his net worth. Also, James appeared in numerous Star Trek conventions, mostly due to an inability to land any other notable role, as he lived off Star Trek gatherings and other events. Some of his later roles included as Damon Warwick in the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” (1996-1997).
Thanks to his portrayal of Scotty and influence on masses, numerous students cited him as their idol and inspiration to study engineering. For this, James received an honorary degree in engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Also, James received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.
Regarding his personal life, James was married three times. At the time of his death he had been married to Wende Braunberger since 1974, with who he has three children. Previously, he was married to Janet Young (1949-64), with whom he has four children, and Anita Yagel(1967-72).
Throughout his later life, James had severe health problems, which included diabetes, liver cirrhosis, high blood pressure, and as early as 2004 he announced that he was suffering from both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, which forced him to leave the public life for good. He passed away on the 20th July 2005 in Redmond, Washington. Part of his ashes were scattered into space on the Falcon 9 rocket in 2012, originally scheduled for 2007, but the rocket failed to launch. The rest of his ashes were dispersed over Puget Sound in Washington State.
