James Doohan, who played Scotty on Star Trek, was a Canadian war hero who fought at Juno Beach on D-Day, survived six bullet wounds including one stopped by a silver cigarette case, and lost a middle finger. He later flew for the Canadian Air Force before adopting a fake Scottish accent for the role.
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You probably didn't know he was Canadian, and you definitely didn't know he was faking it the whole time. Before he ever hit your radar, he was a war hero. He stormed Juno Beach on D-Day with the Royal Canadian Artillery, 13th Field Battery. Machine gun raining down like fire, he led his men through it until he was shot 6 times. One sliced off his middle finger, another stopped an inch from his heart by a silver cigarette case. He'd later go on to joke, "For once, smoking saved someone's life." Oh, and he was shot by a Canadian. Incidentally, friendly fire. Some poor jittery kid on our side that thought he was German. Welcome to war. He also earned a reputation as the craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force, once reprimanded for flying between telegraph poles. He came out with his life, minus one finger, and he spent the rest of his life hiding it on camera. Because yes, there would be cameras. He was born in Vancouver. His dad came from Ireland. His dad was a pharmacist and a dentist and a veterinarian. His dad was a little scattered. He had the kind of regular West Coast Canadian accent that disappears in a crowd. But this character he played had a certain level of chaotic gravitas. He built an entire career on it. And every time you heard him bark orders, you believed it. Because he was the guy who held it together under fire, because he had lived through the worst. Have you guessed yet? The name of the character he played? Actually, it was Montgomery Scott, which probably doesn't help you because on the show his character only went by the nickname Scotty.
Well, Scotty, now you've done it. Aye, the haggis is in the fire for sure. But I'll not lower my defenses on the word of that mealy-mouthed gentleman down below.
I know what you're thinking, wait, wasn't he Scottish? Nope. He decided to go with that accent because he thought the Scots made the best engineers, but he was faking it the whole time. James Doohan, testy Starship Enterprise engineer on TV, Canadian war hero in real life. Every Saturday I publish a free newsletter about true Canadian stories you have never heard. You can subscribe from my bio link.
I'm giving her all she's got, Captain. If I push it any harder, the whole thing will blow.
