Mr. Scotts natural voice

[FormerLurker]

Once, long ago, I worked with a Scotsman. He was very possessive of Scotty. When I told him about James Doohan's description of other potential accents for the character, including the one Doohan called "Reggie", he was most displeased.

Reggie: I'm sorry, sir, but I just can't seem to get the little buggers to go any faster.
My co-worker: NOOOOOO!

 

[Poltargyst]

I don't know if it's my computer or browser or what, but sometimes this site is darn near unusable for me in terms of pages taking forever to load, pages freezing and unresponsive. Grrrrrrr.

Sorry to vent in the middle of your nice thread here.

 

[Maurice]

According to Nick Cook aka Starship Intrepid, who lives in Scotland...
ME: Whose Scottish accent is worse: Pegg or Doohan?
NICK: Doohan’s by far. Pegg’s isn’t bad.

 

[Mysterion]

And now that I think about it, Craig Ferguson himself would make a pretty good Scotty...

Always thought Billy Connolly would have been fun as Scotty.

 

[Kor]

Doohan’s “Irish-ness” is arguably irrelevant (esp. to those who like to argue),but not wrong. I bet he could have pulled off a more credible Irish accent than Scots based on his upbringing, had that been the decided background of the character. ...

Possibly. On the other hand, Walter Koenig supposedly based Chekov's accent on that of his own father, an immigrant from the Soviet Union, yet there's plenty of fan nitpicking when it comes to the authenticity of Chekov's speech patterns.

Kor

 

[Phaser Two]

Possibly. On the other hand, Walter Koenig supposedly based Chekov's accent on that of his own father, an immigrant from the Soviet Union, yet there's plenty of fan nitpicking when it comes to the authenticity of Chekov's speech patterns.

Kor

Yup. Many people have never met any actual Russian immigrants from what I can tell.

 

[Maurice]

Possibly. On the other hand, Walter Koenig supposedly based Chekov's accent on that of his own father, an immigrant from the Soviet Union, yet there's plenty of fan nitpicking when it comes to the authenticity of Chekov's speech patterns.

Kor

I thought he said it was based on Lithuanian grandparents.

Yup. Many people have never met any actual Russian immigrants from what I can tell.

<points downstairs> I hear them all the time.

 

[mb22]

Possibly. On the other hand, Walter Koenig supposedly based Chekov's accent on that of his own father, an immigrant from the Soviet Union, yet there's plenty of fan nitpicking when it comes to the authenticity of Chekov's speech patterns.
Kor
I thought he said it was based on Lithuanian grandparents.

Stalin occupied and then incorporated Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia into the USSR in 1940, where they remained until 1990.

 

[Maurice]

Yes, but the point was in his accent actually mock-Russian or something else.

 

[mb22]

Not that I know anything in particular, but Koenig's parents were Jewish, and probably spoke more with a Yiddish-Lithuanian accent than anything else. How "authentic" is Chekov's accent compared to other Russians populating American sixties TV? Or to the later Chekov, Anton Yelchin, who was born in Leningrad, but moved to the US as an infant? His parents are also Jewish, but I imagine more assimilated than Koenig's were.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Always thought Billy Connolly would have been fun as Scotty.

Not as much fun as this, of course.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Maurice]

Try this... (link) At 3:20 you hear Doohan as he spoke normally.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

My GOD, Walter's rug!

 

[alensatemybuick1]

Hard to tell for sure, but could just be a "comb-forward"

I saw Doohan in person in NYC (the Roosevelt Hotel) in 1986 (I think) and he did the bit with his trying out various accents for the creators to choose from back on 1965. And the "if I were captain" bit. He was a fan fav., and made for an enduring fond memory.

 

[Kor]

Doohan also did some Trek audiobooks in his normal speaking voice, not with the Scotty accent.

Kor

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Try this... (link) At 3:20 you hear Doohan as he spoke normally.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

My GOD, Walter's rug!

How odd that Koenig and Takei agreed to appear in their character costumes. Did they not have time to change before their next appearance?

 

[ZapBrannigan]

How odd that Koenig and Takei agreed to appear in their character costumes. Did they not have time to change before their next appearance?

Yeah, and the wild disrespect of thinking he would want to be called Chekov. Although, he was in costume, so that's a mitigating factor for the know-nothing hostess.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

It's even weirder because Doohan is not in costume. You'd think you'd want to go all or nothing for that sort of thing.

 

[Marsden]

Hard to tell for sure, but could just be a "comb-forward"

I saw Doohan in person in NYC (the Roosevelt Hotel) in 1986 (I think) and he did the bit with his trying out various accents for the creators to choose from back on 1965. And the "if I were captain" bit. He was a fan fav., and made for an enduring fond memory.

I never saw him in person but our local PBS station used to show his "If I were captain" bit they recorded at an appearance in Scranton for a few years. That must be about 20 or so years ago now, I can barely remember it.

 

[alensatemybuick1]

I fund this on youtube - the room looks familiar (esp the ceiling) the bit the same as I remember (though I suspect he recycled it a lot over the years), I'd swear this was at the event I attended in NYC, but it was over 30 years ago so maybe not.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

ON EDIT: from https://fanlore.org/wiki/Creation_Con

I'm sure now it was 1984 that I saw Doohan, just not sure the video above is from that event (that room sure does not strike me as a "Grand Ballroom").

Regarding the May 12-13, 1984 Creation Con]:

The next guest was James Doohan, who as you know, plays the chief engineer of the Enterprise, Commander Montgomery Scott. He packed the fans into the Grand Ballroom just as Mark Lenard had. Jim did some of his famous accents and told the fensstories and anecdotes from both his career, and Star Trek. Then he held a question and answer session. The fans asked Jim about his career and, of course Star Trek.

After Jim's presentation, he and Mark (Lendard) held an autograph session in the area outside of the Grand Ballroom.

 

[FormerLurker]

I saw Doohan in person in NYC (the Roosevelt Hotel) in 1986 (I think) and he did the bit with his trying out various accents for the creators to choose from back on 1965.

So you heard "Reggie"?