Doohan's Agent, Son Discuss His Condition

Agent Steve Stevens, who represents James Doohan, said that the actor beloved as Star Trek's Scotty has been experiencing memory loss for months - a condition initially attributed as a side effect of his medication for Parkinson's disease.

Stevens told Reuters (via Yahoo!) that the Canadian-born Doohan had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which also afflicted Doohan's brother before his death two years ago. Doohan, 84, also has pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease which Stevens said was related to exposure to hazardous chemicals during Doohan's military service in World War Two, during the course of which the 84-year-old actor was wounded at the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

The agent explained that Doohan learned to perform the brogue he used as Scotty while bunking with a Scottish-born soldier he bunked with during the war. "He can talk about his Army days and his old acting days and give you dates and details of whatever, but it's hard for him to remember yesterday," explained Stevens. "That's why we're having one last convention." He said that Doohan plans to attend a convention in late August timed to coincide with the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Planet Xpo has named the August convention "Beam Me Up Scotty - One Last Time" in tribute to Doohan, who will attend along with all the surviving cast members of the original Star Trek series. The event will include Doohan's last autograph and photo sessions with fans. He will also be presented with a reference book about Scotty by the author.

Doohan's son Chris told E! Online that his father was suffering more from Parkinson's and his lung condition than he was from Alzheimer's. Asked about the reputed feud between Doohan and co-star William Shatner (Kirk), Chris Doohan said, "It's all water under the bridge at this point...my dad and William Shatner got together recently and told each other how much they love each other."

More information about the August convention is here. The Reuters article is here.

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