star trek cast bones mccoy

Leonard McCoy

Admiral Leonard H. McCoy , MD was a male Human Starfleet officer of the 23rd and 24th centuries . He was an accomplished surgeon , physician , psychologist , and exobiologist , and was also considered an expert in space psychology . As chief medical officer , he served aboard the USS Enterprise and USS Enterprise -A for a combined twenty-seven years. ( Star Trek: The Original Series ; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint "; VOY : " Lifesigns ", " Message in a Bottle ")

• 1 Early life
• 2.1 The five-year mission
• 2.2 As an "old country doctor" in the 23rd century
• 2.3 Return to Starfleet
• 2.4 Training cruise aboard the Enterprise
• 2.5 Hosting Spock's "soul"
• 2.6 Saving Earth
• 2.7 Chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise -A
• 2.8 Later career
• 2.9 Fictional or exaggerated stories about McCoy
• 4.1 Friendship
• 5.1 About McCoy
• 5.2 By McCoy
• 5.3 See also
• 6 Chronology
• 7.1 Appearances
• 7.2 Background information
• 7.3 Apocrypha
• 7.4 External links

Early life [ ]

Dr. Leonard McCoy was born in Georgia , USA , Earth , in 2227 . He was the son of David McCoy . ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ; TAS : " Once Upon a Planet "; TOS : " This Side of Paradise "; TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint "; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

According to a line cut from the 9 May 1968 "final draft" of the " Spectre of the Gun " script , McCoy mentioned to Doc Holliday that he was originally from Atlanta .

McCoy was attending the University of Mississippi during the mid- 2240s when he met the joined Trill Emony Dax , who was visiting Earth to judge a gymnastics competition. According to Jadzia Dax , " he had the hands of a surgeon ". ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

While it was made clear that in the alternate reality McCoy attended and graduated Starfleet Academy , this obviously was not true in the prime universe – although he did, of course, receive a Starfleet officer 's commission . DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations " established McCoy's alma mater as the University of Mississippi– and, in TOS : " The Ultimate Computer ", McCoy did not understand the reference to " dunsel " in Commodore Bob Wesley referring to Kirk as "Captain Dunsel". Spock had to explain to McCoy that midshipmen at Starfleet Academy used the term– a reference McCoy would have understood had he attended the Academy.

McCoy began studying medicine in or before 2245 . ( TAS : " The Pirates of Orion ") While in medical school, McCoy and his friends used to play practical jokes on each other all the time. For example, they would substitute real drinking glasses with trick drinking glasses, causing the target drinker to spill on their shirt. ( TAS : " The Practical Joker ")

McCoy's graduation date from medical school was never confirmed in a Star Trek production, but with four years of pre-med followed by four years of medical school, McCoy would normally have received his medical degree in 2253 , assuming he started college at the age of eighteen in 2245. Kirk's statement in 2270 that McCoy had been a doctor for twenty-five years seemed to support this.

Starfleet career [ ]

In 2251 , McCoy led a massive inoculation program on planet Dramia II , where he saved a Dramen colonist , named Kol-Tai , from a strain of the Saurian virus . Shortly after McCoy departed, a plague struck Dramia II, killing most of the colonists. ( TAS : " Albatross ")

In 2253 , McCoy developed a surgical procedure for the humanoid brain; grafting neural tissue to the cerebral cortex, followed by the creation of an axonal pathway between the tissue graft and the basal ganglia. ( VOY : " Lifesigns ")

McCoy divorced his wife and enrolled in Starfleet Academy in the alternate reality in 2255 . ( Star Trek ) The novel Shadows on the Sun stated the prime reality McCoy separated from his wife and then enrolled in 2253.

First visit to Capella IV

In 2266 , Lieutenant Commander McCoy was a sciences division officer . He was stationed on Capella IV where Capellan lack of interest in medical aid or hospitals ensured a short visit, lasting only a few months, before eventually joining the USS Enterprise 's five-year mission . The knowledge of Capellan customs he acquired on this mission would prove valuable in a later mission to the planet. ( TOS : " Friday's Child "; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

The five-year mission [ ]

In 2266, McCoy was the Life Sciences department head and the chief medical officer of the Enterprise . His assigned quarters were "3F 127" on Deck 9 , section 2. His predecessor was Dr. Mark Piper . ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " The Man Trap ")

In the final revised draft of the script for " The Conscience of the King ", McCoy's quarters were described as being located on the other side of sickbay from the doctor's office (which is where, in the final version of that episode, McCoy exits while finishing preparing himself for attending a performance of Hamlet ).

Kirk liberally used the nickname " Bones " for his doctor from this point on. ( TOS : " The Man Trap ") During a 2267 away mission on Pyris VII , Kirk made a special point to avoid calling McCoy "Bones", instead using the nickname "Doc", after finding themselves in shackles hanging alongside a skeleton . ( TOS : " Catspaw ")

In an ultimately omitted line of dialogue from the second revised final draft script of " The Corbomite Maneuver ", McCoy stated that he "never" asked approval from Kirk for his diagnoses .

Kirk's evil persona threatening McCoy

McCoy provided Kirk with advice when the Enterprise 's transporter duplicated him in 2266. Kirk was split into two people – one good and one bad. Kirk needed his evil side to live as well as to command the Enterprise . McCoy told his captain that all Humans have their darker side; it is literally half of what they are and they need it to live. Later, Kirk had the choice of going through the transporter again to reintegrate into one being. The procedure was dangerous and McCoy told him, " Jim, you can't risk your life on a theory! " However, McCoy decided that the decision was Kirk's alone after he refused to relinquish command. Later, Kirk was successfully reintegrated as one being. ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ")

Three friends in 2267

On stardate 1513.1, while conducting a routine medical examination of outpost personnel at the archaeological dig on planet M-113 , McCoy became reacquainted with an old flame, Nancy Crater . Unbeknownst to McCoy, what became known as the " M-113 creature " had murdered and replaced Nancy years before.

The last survivor of M-113's long-dead civilization was a telepathic shapeshifter who digested the salt content from its prey. Drawing from a potential food source's mental imagery, it appeared as sympathetic or attractive, and further hypnotized its victim before feeding; hence McCoy saw a vision of Nancy exactly as he had known her years earlier.

McCoy curing Kirk of polywater intoxication on the bridge of the Enterprise

When the creature began taking the lives of Enterprise crew members on the surface and aboard the ship itself, McCoy's past feelings for Nancy tainted his judgment. It was only when Spock was assaulted and Captain Kirk's life was in imminent jeopardy that Dr. McCoy saw past the illusion of Nancy, forcing him to fire a phaser at a sentient being, the last of its kind. Just before firing, he said quietly, " Lord forgive me. " ( TOS : " The Man Trap ")

McCoy with Tonia Barrows in 2267

In early 2267 the Enterprise visited the Shore Leave Planet located in the Omicron Delta region . During the initial survey, McCoy reported seeing a giant white rabbit followed by a little girl .

Further investigation revealed that a vast underground factory recorded their thoughts and brought them to life. While walking through the glade with Yeoman Tonia Barrows , they discovered the dress of a princess, conceived from the thoughts of Barrows.

McCoy encouraged Barrows to try on the dress, and afterward begin to romance the yeoman, later stating that she should not be afraid "with a brave knight to protect her". Moments later a Black Knight appeared on horseback, bearing a lance.

The apparent death of McCoy

Convinced it was illusion and could not harm him, McCoy stood his ground against a charge – impaled in the chest, he died instantly. McCoy was brought underground, healed , and returned to the surface with two cabaret chorus girls he had once met on Rigel II . Barrow's obvious jealousy prompted McCoy to extricate himself from his fantasy girls, taking the yeoman's arm instead. ( TOS : " Shore Leave ")

On stardate 2713.5, the Enterprise discovered an Earth-like planet inhabited only by children. They soon discovered that all of the adults had died from a virus that caused the victim to age rapidly. The landing party contracted the disease and only had one week to live. McCoy and Spock developed a cure, but were unable to verify the formula with the Enterprise 's computers, because the children had stolen their communicators. Desperate, McCoy decided to test the serum on himself when Spock stepped out. Spock and Kirk returned to find an unconscious McCoy, but also that the serum worked. ( TOS : " Miri ")

Khan choking McCoy from his biobed in sickbay

On stardate 3141, McCoy accompanied Captain Kirk, Scott , and historian Marla McGivers to the SS Botany Bay , where the landing party encountered Khan Noonien Singh in stasis . McCoy had Khan removed from his enclosure when it began to malfunction while waking him and caused Khan to have a heart flutter . McCoy later stabilized Khan and brought him back to health aboard the Enterprise . Khan awoke shortly thereafter in sickbay and threatened McCoy with a scalpel when the doctor came to check up on him. Khan removed the scalpel from McCoy's neck when the doctor told him to cut his carotid artery , remarking, " I like a brave man. " Later on, Khan commandeered the Enterprise and forced McCoy and several other Enterprise crewmembers to watch as Kirk was put into a decompression chamber to die slowly. Khan asked the crew to join him and his brethren but McCoy and the crew refused and were later knocked out by anesthesia gas sent out by Kirk and Spock, intending to knock out Khan and his followers. After the defeat of Khan and his augments, McCoy, in dress uniform , attended Khan and McGivers' sentencing. McCoy expressed incredulity when Kirk announced that he was dropping all charges in exchange for marooning Khan, his followers, and McGivers on Ceti Alpha V . ( TOS : " Space Seed ")

On stardate 3417, McCoy's tonsils , which had been removed some years earlier, regrew when he was briefly under the influence of the Omicron spores . He mentioned that he had broken three ribs once. Although he took part in the subsequent mutiny, he returned with the rest of the crew after the spore's influence was eradicated. ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

During an investigation of temporal disturbances over an ancient planet, McCoy accidentally injected himself with an overdose of cordrazine , resulting in psychosis and paranoid delusions, and he escaped to the planet's surface. Kirk, Spock, and a landing party followed him into the ruins of an ancient civilization, where they discovered the Guardian of Forever , an ancient time portal device.

Still psychotic, McCoy entered the device, transporting himself into Earth's past, and somehow created a history without a Federation or the Enterprise . Kirk and Spock, stranded and alone on the planet's surface, had no choice but to follow McCoy into the portal to try to undo whatever he had done to change the course of history.

They found themselves back in 1930 New York , where they met social worker Edith Keeler but had trouble locating McCoy. Using an improvised tricorder device, Spock determined that Keeler's death was the focal point of the altered timeline – she died in the original history, but somehow McCoy's going back in time prevented this from happening. Eventually, Kirk and Spock spotted McCoy walking down a city sidewalk. McCoy was happy to see them, but then he noticed that Keeler was crossing the street nearby in front of a speeding car. McCoy tried to rush forward to save her life, but Kirk, realizing that this was the critical moment, tearfully grabbed his friend and prevented him from intervening, allowing Keeler to die and restoring their own historical timeline. ( TOS : " The City on the Edge of Forever ")

After the first discovery of a silicon-based lifeform on Janus VI , the Horta matriarch, McCoy was the first exobiologist to actually treat one of the creatures, healing the wounded mother with a bandage of thermal concrete . Considering he successfully medically treated a type of lifeform that he previously did not even believe could exist, McCoy could not help but comment, " By golly, Jim, I'm beginning to think I can cure a rainy day! " ( TOS : " The Devil in the Dark ")

He was also the first to describe the deadly habits and help find the cure for the flying parasites , a plague of one-celled flying creatures linked in a collective mind that had been sweeping across whole star systems and destroying all humanoid life. ( TOS : " Operation -- Annihilate! ")

McCoy examining an in shock Matt Decker on the USS Constellation

On a return to Capella IV, McCoy helped lead Kirk through tentative negotiations over dilithium mining rights with the Capellan Teer , talks which fell apart due to Klingon interference.

After the death of the Teer, the Enterprise landing party fled with the Teer's pregnant wife, Eleen . McCoy's truculent patient required an atypical bedside manner (i.e. "a right cross"), but he delivered the newborn High Teer, the rightful leader of the Capellan tribes .

Eleen, having grown fond of McCoy, named the child Leonard James Akaar , much to the annoyance of Spock, who commented that the name would cause Kirk and McCoy to become insufferably pleased with themselves for at least a month. ( TOS : " Friday's Child ")

McCoy happy at finally getting the last word

Although possessing limited surgical experience in Vulcan anatomy and physiology , McCoy successfully operated on Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan , when Sarek suffered from a faulty heart valve and subsequently near-fatal heart attacks. With blood donations from Spock, McCoy performed open heart surgery on Sarek while the Enterprise shuddered under the attack of hostile Orions .

Despite the distractions of his captain being knifed in the back, phaser attacks on the ship, and his blood donor attempting to get up and report to duty during the procedure, McCoy successfully completed the operation and Sarek fully recovered. ( TOS : " Journey to Babel ")

While mapping near the Sigma Draconis system , the Enterprise encountered an Eymorg starship , whose occupant, Kara rendered the crew unconscious. Upon waking, they discovered that Spock's brain had been stolen.

It fell to McCoy to find a way to keep Spock's body alive; McCoy not only managed this, but also fitted him with a control system to move Spock's body remotely. When Spock's brain was located on Sigma Draconis VI , wired to the planet's environmental control system to care for its inhabitants, it fell to McCoy to use an advanced Great Teacher machine to learn how to place the brain back within his body.

The effects of the teaching machine quickly wore off, but not before McCoy had reconnected Spock's autonomic and speech centers, enough for the Vulcan to verbally assist the doctor with the rest of the procedure and reconnect the rest of his voluntary functions. ( TOS : " Spock's Brain ")

McCoy near death on Minara II

On stardate 5121.5, while investigating the disappearance of a science team sent to study an impending nova, the Enterprise encountered a mute alien with empathic abilities on Minara II . McCoy named her " Gem ." They discovered that the Vians were holding her captive. McCoy nearly died after volunteering himself to satisfy the Vians' demands for an experimental subject to teach Gem the value of self-sacrifice. ( TOS : " The Empath ")

McCoy with Sulu on the Kalandan outpost in 2268

In 2268, the Enterprise found the USS Defiant floating in and out of interphase space, its crew having apparently killed each other from space madness. When the Enterprise crew soon exhibited the same symptoms, McCoy discovered that prolonged exposure to the effects of interphase were causing the episodes. The symptoms were alleviated after McCoy created and administered a radical derivative of theragen (a Klingon nerve gas) mixed with drinking alcohol. ( TOS : " The Tholian Web ")

The joining of McCoy and Natira

In 2268 , McCoy was diagnosed with a terminal disease known as xenopolycythemia ; he was given one year to live. Shortly thereafter, the Enterprise encountered the Fabrini asteroid -ship Yonada where he met their high priestess, Natira .

McCoy joined Natira and the Fabrini by having an instrument of obedience subdermally implanted into his body. He later changed his mind about staying with the Fabrini, choosing instead to search the galaxy to discover a cure for his disease.

Kirk and Spock discovered that the Fabrini, in fact, had the cure for xenopolycythemia in their databanks, curing McCoy and allowing him to continue his life aboard the Enterprise . ( TOS : " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky ")

In 2269 , McCoy was promoted; from that point on, he wore the insignia of a commander on his uniform. He held this rank for over 25 years. ( TAS : " Beyond the Farthest Star ")

McCoy's sleeve braid changes back and forth from lieutenant commander to commander throughout TAS, possibly due to the vagaries of Filmation's "limited animation" modus operandi . The same happened to Scott.

Around stardate 5371.3, Captain Kirk consulted McCoy to get his expert psychological opinion on whether the inhabitants of the planet Mantilles should be warned of the impending danger of an unidentified cosmic cloud that was approaching and preparing to consume the planet.

McCoy figured that with only four hours and ten minutes until the cloud reached the planet, there would be planet-wide panic, which Kirk clarified as "blind panic." Spock, however, recommended otherwise and noted that if they told the inhabitants of the situation, they might be able to save a small fraction of the population. McCoy then agreed with Spock, after learning that Bob Wesley was governor of the planet, and urged Kirk to contact the governor. ( TAS : " One of Our Planets Is Missing ")

McCoy rapidly aged on the planet

Later that year, McCoy was among the landing party that beamed down to inspect the second planet of the Taurean system . He was among those affected by the glandular secretion of the planet's female inhabitants , known for controlling the male mind.

This caused McCoy to be drained of his "life force", making him age at a rate of ten years per day. Unable to counteract the effects of rapid aging, McCoy employed a hypospray of cortropine on himself and the landing party to help alleviate their conditions. An all female Enterprise security detachment led by Uhura eventually recovered McCoy and the landing party. Using their molecular pattern stored in the transporter system, they were returned to their previous ages. ( TAS : " The Lorelei Signal ")

In 2270 , following a delivery of medical supplies to Dramia , McCoy was arrested for the wanton mass murder of the colonists of Dramia II some nineteen years earlier. McCoy feared that he might have accidentally been responsible for the plague that killed the Dramens and that he might be found guilty.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise visited Dramia II and discovered a survivor named Kol-Tai, who wished to help acquit McCoy of the charges. On the journey back to Dramia they passed through an aurora , which was later discovered to be the source of the plague.

Spock helped McCoy break out of the Dramian prison in order for the doctor to help find the cure for the plague that was now unleashed aboard the Enterprise . McCoy discovered the cure in Saurian virus antibodies and was able to save the crew. Later, in a series of ceremonies, the Dramians honored McCoy for his significant achievements in the field of interstellar medicine. ( TAS : " Albatross ")

On stardate 5499.9, while exploring the ocean planet Argo to study the regular seismic disturbances there, Kirk and Spock were separated from the rest of the landing party during an attack by an aquatic predator.

They were found later adapted for water-breathing, even possessing gills and webbed hands. Dr. McCoy was able to stabilize their condition aboard the Enterprise , but could not find a reversal for their condition. He endorsed their going back to Argo to investigate the mystery.

Kirk and Spock were able to locate the underwater city of the Aquans , and discovered a medical treatment within the city's records which could reverse their condition (utilizing the venom of another dangerous predator, the sur-snake ). After obtaining a sample of venom, McCoy was able to synthesize a vaccine. The vaccine was nearly fatal for Kirk, but the treatment was successful, and Kirk and Spock were fully cured of their condition. ( TAS : " The Ambergris Element ")

On stardate 5591.2, McCoy returned with the others to the Shore Leave Planet for shore leave once again. They soon discovered, however, that the Keeper had died and the planet's central computer was rebelling against its programming, assaulting the landing party with dangerous manifestations.

McCoy tricked the planet into taking Spock beneath the surface by injecting him with melenex , an anesthetic which induced unconsciousness and odd skin discoloration in the Vulcan. McCoy and Sulu were later in danger of being incinerated by another of the planet's manifestations, a fire-breathing dragon, but were rescued when Uhura and the others were able to "talk down" the planet's computer. ( TAS : " Once Upon a Planet ")

As an "old country doctor" in the 23rd century [ ]

McCoy frequently displayed a love/hate attitude towards technology. Although he was a great believer in the body's own natural ability to heal and felt that a little suffering was good for the soul, he also held 23rd century medicine in high esteem and frequently lamented how barbarous medicine used to be in the past – when on Earth in 1986 , he angrily dismissed the medical technology of San Francisco 's Mercy Hospital , state-of-the-art for the time, as "medieval" compared to what he knew. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " The City on the Edge of Forever "; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

He also distrusted other highly technological devices, especially the transporter . ( TOS : " Space Seed ", " Obsession ", " Spectre of the Gun "; Star Trek: The Motion Picture ; TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ")

While technically only lieutenant commander in rank, McCoy was still the only person on the Enterprise besides Spock who could talk back to the captain and get away with it. Although not without apology when wrong, he displayed a unique individuality and plain-spoken character which certainly clashed with the service, considering himself a doctor first and an officer second. This pugnacious attitude surfaced on a number of missions. Despite his sardonic wit and curmudgeonly personality, McCoy was very compassionate and cared deeply about all living things.

While on Miri 's planet, McCoy discovered a vaccine for the deadly life prolongation project virus which had killed all the adults on the planet and left the children with impossibly long life spans. Although completely unsure of the dose, McCoy "shot from the hip," as it were, injecting himself with the vaccine and successfully providing the landing party with a cure. ( TOS : " Miri ")

McCoy and the beard he grew during his off time

Upon the conclusion of the historic five-year mission in 2270, then-Commander McCoy, always modestly proclaiming himself to be "just a good ol' country doctor," retired his commission and proceeded to grow a beard . He was heard saying he would never return to Starfleet. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

The Star Trek Chronology speculated that McCoy entered a private medical practice between 2270 and 2272. The novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture indicated that McCoy spent two and a half years spreading the Fabrinis' cure for xenopolycythemia.

Return to Starfleet [ ]

" Damn it, Bones. I need you. Badly!"

In the mid- 2270s , Fleet Admiral Nogura , using a "little-known, seldom-used, reserve activation clause " at the request of now Admiral James T. Kirk, reactivated McCoy's commission. True to form, he refused to use the transporter until the other five crewmembers passed through safely. Though initially indignant about his re-activation, McCoy calmed down and served as chief medical officer during the V'ger encounter, and afterward continued to serve with his shipmates in this capacity aboard the newly-refitted Enterprise . ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

Training cruise aboard the Enterprise [ ]

In March 2285 , McCoy was a participant in Saavik 's Kobayashi Maru scenario at Starfleet Training Command . After the scenario, he served aboard the Enterprise under the command of Captain Spock. He was the ship's chief medical officer for a three week training cruise. Upon receiving a call for help from Regula I , Starfleet Command ordered the Enterprise to investigate. With Rear Admiral Kirk assuming command, the cruise was cut short. The Enterprise became involved with Project Genesis and Khan Noonien Singh's attempt to steal the Genesis Device . McCoy accompanied Kirk in a landing party to rescue the surviving scientists of Project Genesis , and was able to witness the results of Carol Marcus ' work on the project beneath the Regula planetoid. Back aboard Enterprise , he continued to treat casualties during the Battle of the Mutara Nebula . He was present in main engineering when Captain Spock arrived with the intention of entering the highly radioactive dilithium chamber to reactivate the ship's warp drive , so that Enterprise could escape Khan's suicidal ploy to kill them all with the Genesis Device . McCoy objected, but Spock felled him with a Vulcan nerve pinch and (almost as an afterthought) deposited his katra within McCoy's mind. Following their escape and Spock's death, McCoy grieved with Kirk and the rest of the crew as Spock was laid to rest on the newly formed Genesis Planet . ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Hosting Spock's "soul" [ ]

On their return to Earth, as the rest of the crew found that Enterprise was to be decommissioned, McCoy began to suffer increasingly erratic behavior, making odd requests of Kirk to return to Vulcan, and even sounding like Spock at times. Although at first it was thought he was only under too much stress, McCoy soon found himself placed under protective custody after making several inquiries into securing transportation to the newly restricted Genesis Planet. Spock's father Sarek explained the significance of the Vulcan katra to Kirk. With their careers at stake, Kirk and his crew took it upon themselves to rescue McCoy, steal the Enterprise and take both to Genesis to recover Spock's body for return to Mount Seleya on Vulcan.

A melancholy McCoy looks down at an unconscious Spock, while carrying his katra

Although Enterprise was disabled then later destroyed, and rogue Klingons had killed Kirk's son, the crew managed to commandeer the attacking Klingon vessel and take McCoy and the rejuvenated Spock to Mount Seleya on Vulcan. En route to Vulcan, in the Klingon ship's infirmary, a melancholy McCoy admitted to his old rival, the unconscious Spock, that he missed him, and couldn't stand the thought of losing Spock again.

Spock's katra was restored via the fal-tor-pan , an ancient, legendary Vulcan technique. Although it was not generally known whether another species could serve as a "keeper of the Vulcan katra ", McCoy appeared to suffer no lasting ill effects from the incident. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

Saving Earth [ ]

While returning to Earth with his shipmates to stand trial for the many violations in Starfleet regulations committed in saving Spock, McCoy discovered with the others that an unknown probe was intent on sterilizing the planet after replies to its broadcasts went unanswered. Spock deduced that the intended recipients of the probe's transmissions were extinct Humpback whales , and McCoy soon found himself a somewhat reluctant participant in Kirk's plan to time travel back to 20th century San Francisco to recover a pair of whales and save their future. McCoy was included in Sulu 's and Captain Scott 's team to recover supplies for the construction of a whale tank aboard their ship.

McCoy finds himself in the "Dark Ages"

He later led a rescue team into a San Francisco hospital to save the critically-injured Chekov , pausing just enough to also provide an elderly lady suffering from kidney failure with some 23rd century medicine, and berate several 20th century physicians on their methods of practice. Accompanying his shipmates and the whales back through time to successfully save Earth from the Whale Probe , McCoy was acquitted with the rest of the crew for their offenses, and returned to duty aboard the newly commissioned USS Enterprise -A . ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

Chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise -A [ ]

Afterward, while enjoying a well-deserved leave with his close friends Kirk and Spock, McCoy also berated both the others (Kirk for taking unnecessary risks, Spock for apparently not completely becoming his old self after the re-fusion with his katra ). Underneath, McCoy's real lament was for lacking a true family, and always being "stuck", as it were, with the crew of the Enterprise . During the rescue mission that immediately followed to save the ambassadors of Nimbus III , the renegade Vulcan Sybok hijacked the Enterprise. Sybok later forced McCoy to reveal his secret pain, the loss of his father, to Kirk and Spock (see " Family and relationships " below). In the events that followed and their return to Earth, McCoy finally came to terms with his loss and accepted the love and camaraderie of his two friends, who remain his enduring family, as they began singing songs around a campfire. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

McCoy in 2293, after failing to save Gorkon's life

Shortly after stardate 9522 in 2293 , the Enterprise was sent on a diplomatic mission to escort a Klingon envoy to Federation space for peace talks. When the Enterprise mysteriously appeared to fire on the ship of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon , Dr. McCoy beamed aboard with Captain Kirk to assist with casualties. McCoy attempted to save the life of the critically wounded Gorkon, the victim of an assassin's phaser. McCoy's limited knowledge of Klingon anatomy and physiology hindered his efforts and the chancellor died. The Klingons arrested McCoy and Kirk and charged them with his assassination.

The Klingon Empire put Kirk and McCoy through a show trial, and although McCoy was able to draw a laugh from the assembled Klingons with an off-the-cuff quip, neither had much of a chance of defending their case. Handed a life sentence of hard labor they were then taken to the penal asteroid Rura Penthe to live it out. Luckily Spock rescued McCoy and Kirk in time to discover the roots of the Khitomer conspiracy and disrupt a second assassination attempt at the peace talks at Khitomer . It was McCoy who assisted Spock in modifying a photon torpedo with a plasma sensor, so that it would home in on Klingon General Chang 's attacking cloaked ship. McCoy then helped prevent the assassination of the Federation president, safeguarding a conference that fostered in an eighty-year era of peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Later career [ ]

Admiral McCoy touring the USS Enterprise -D with Data in 2364

On stardate 41153.7 , 71 years after the decommissioning of the Enterprise -A, the 137-year old Admiral Leonard McCoy inspected the medical layout of the USS Enterprise -D during its first mission; still refusing to use the transporter, he was ferried to the ship by shuttlecraft before he was escorted to the USS Hood by Lieutenant Commander Data . He commented on the great significance of the ship's name to Data, telling him, " You treat her like a lady... and she'll always bring you home. " ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ")

McCoy's promotion to Captain, while never seen on screen, has been stated in non-canon publications as having taken place sometime in the late 2290s. Several published works ( citation needed • edit ) have also indicated that McCoy later served as the head of Starfleet Medical School and as the Starfleet Medical Surgeon General . The reference manual Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual [ page number? • edit ] states that McCoy eventually became Chief of Starfleet Medical and held a special rank known as "branch admiral".

Fictional or exaggerated stories about McCoy [ ]

McCoy's big open-mouth grin

While in an argument with Montgomery Scott , Arex and M'Ress about the holodeck , D'Vana Tendi told Scotty that the rec room was a far cry from the holodeck . She references back to the time that McCoy, Sulu and Uhura were in the rec room experiencing a "boring snowstorm ," as she called it. ( VST : " Walk, Don't Run ")

During a song that was sung by a Post Mainframe Acid-Cardassian Ten Forwardcore band on the bridge of the USS Enterprise , Leonard McCoy could be seen in a variety of clips on the main viewer that were played .

The first clip showed Doctor McCoy beaming with a landing party consisting of himself, James T. Kirk , Montgomery Scott and Spock . They were all shown wearing life support belts , as they apparently beamed down to a location where it was impossible for them to breathe . The next clip shows McCoy with a big open- mouth grin on his face . ( VST : " Walk, Don't Run ")

• Commendations: Legion of Honor
• Awards of Valor: Decorated by Starfleet Surgeons
• Comparative Alien Physiology by Dr. McCoy was required reading at Starfleet Medical Academy through the 2370s
• Capellan Teer Leonard James Akaar was named after McCoy (and his captain), after McCoy delivered him in 2267
• Admiral McCoy was invited to tour the USS Enterprise -D , during her maiden voyage in 2364
• Holographic Doctors , under development in the late 24th century , included McCoy in their templates

Family and relationships [ ]

David McCoy

An early ancestor of McCoy's, his great-great-grandfather , was a noted gardener , having had one of the finest gardens in the South. He also was noted for having developed his own recipe for weed spray . ( TAS : " The Infinite Vulcan ")

A famous McCoy family recipe for Southern baked beans dated back several generations. McCoy prepared a batch for Kirk and Spock during their camping trip in 2287. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

McCoy suffered many family hardships early on in life, which helped mold him into the prominent individual he eventually became. It began when McCoy was forced to face the harsh reality of his father's bout with a painful, incurable disease.

His father pleaded with McCoy to release him from the pain, but McCoy could not, as he was adamant he could find a cure. Seeing his father suffer so painfully, however, moved McCoy to soon acquiesce and take his father off life support.

Only weeks later, a cure was discovered, and McCoy subsequently lived many years in regret for causing his father's apparently needless death. However, Spock's estranged half-brother Sybok was able to relieve McCoy of this regret by helping him realize that it wasn't his fault. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

McCoy eventually married and had a daughter named Joanna . Sadly, McCoy's marriage ended in a bitter divorce, separating him from his daughter and deepening his hardships. ( citation needed • edit ) His daughter eventually moved to the planet Cerberus to attend school, where she nearly died, in 2259 , when the planet experienced a crop failure. Fortunately, the kind actions of Carter Winston saved Cerberus. McCoy was grateful for this deed and expressed his most sincere thanks to Winston ten years later, when the Enterprise rescued him. ( TAS : " The Survivor ")

Natira McCoy

In 2254 , McCoy became romantically involved with the future Nancy Crater . Nancy nicknamed her beloved boyfriend " Plum ". They walked out of each other's lives in 2256 , and did not see each other again, although in 2266 , McCoy met a creature who mimicked Nancy. ( TOS : " The Man Trap ")

In 2268 (during his stay on the Yonada ), McCoy fell in love with and married Natira . Although the removal of his instrument of obedience technically annulled their marriage, McCoy and Natira still felt strongly for each other and he asked her to come with him when he left. She declined, indicating that her place was with her people.

The two planned to be reunited just over a year later, when Yonada reached the star system that was to be the new home for its people. ( TOS : " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky ")

Though not shown on screen, Kirk indicated that he felt certain that he could arrange for the Enterprise to be on hand when the Yonadans disembarked on their new planet. In the TOS novel Ex Machina , after a number of terrorist acts occurred on Daran IV, Natira requested assistance from McCoy and the Enterprise .

Friendship [ ]

Sharing a drink in 2266

McCoy was not above kicking back with a good drink with the captain now and again, regularly keeping stashes of vintage saurian brandy and other libations with the controlled substances in sickbay. He was the only Enterprise crewmember who routinely addressed Kirk by his first name, (though Spock did occasionally as well). ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " The Enemy Within ")

McCoy displayed a fondness for alcoholic beverages of his region of Earth, such as Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey , his favorite drink was believed to be the mint julep . ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ") He also made a Finagle's Folly "known from here to Orion ." ( TOS : " The Ultimate Computer ") He was even known to put whiskey in baked beans. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ) He also used his connections to procure quantities of prohibited alien drinks such as Romulan ale, which he says was used only for "medicinal purposes." ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

His closest friends aboard the Enterprise included Captain Kirk and, begrudgingly, Spock. McCoy's friendship with Kirk dated back well before Kirk took command of the Enterprise , and he often served as a sounding board and voice of conscience for the young captain.

His legendary feud with the half-Vulcan science officer (borne more from dispute over the merits of emotion versus logic rather than true prejudice) camouflaged the genuine mutual respect and friendship the two had. Over time, the three appeared to form nearly a single personality, with McCoy ever emotional and passionate, Spock ever objective and logical, and Kirk intuitive; the focus, direction and driving force combining the best of the other two.

While he and Kirk were observing Spock's marriage rites on Vulcan, McCoy suddenly found himself watching his two best friends in a fight to the death over the entranced Spock's betrothed. In a covert, underhandedly sneaky Human move, he tipped the scales of the fight and saved Kirk's life when he ostensibly injected Kirk with a tri-ox compound respiratory aid when he was actually injecting him with a neural paralyzer . When Kirk appeared dead, Spock snapped out of his trance and ended the marriage, only to gleefully find Kirk alive back on the Enterprise a short time later. ( TOS : " Amok Time ")

On Minara II, the Vians kidnapped Kirk, Spock, and McCoy and forced them to choose which one would die in their experiments. Sacrificing himself for the others against their will, McCoy submitted to a level of torture which nearly killed him. The empathic Gem, another of the Vian's prisoners, healed McCoy's injuries.

It was all a test, to determine if Gem's people were worthy of the Vian's salvation from Minara's own supernova. ( TOS : " The Empath ")

Memorable quotes [ ]

About mccoy [ ].

• "...the Admiral's a rather remarkable man." - Worf ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ")

By McCoy [ ]

• " I'm a doctor, not a... " (various episodes)
• " He/she's dead, Jim. " (various episodes)
• " My god, man! " (various episodes)
• " I never say that. " ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ")
• " What's the matter, Jim, don't you trust yourself? " ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ")
• " I signed aboard this ship to practice medicine, not to have my atoms scattered back and forth across space by this gadget. " ( TOS : " Space Seed ")
• " Shut up, Spock, we're rescuing you! " ( TOS : " The Immunity Syndrome ")
• " Hey, Jim-boy, y'all ever have a real cold, Georgia-style mint julep, huh? " ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")
• " Do you want to see just how fast I can put you in a hospital? " ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")
• " By golly, Jim – I'm beginning to think I can cure a rainy day! " ( TOS : " The Devil in the Dark ")
• " I'm trying to thank you, you pointed-eared hobgoblin! " ( TOS : " Bread and Circuses ")
• " A child could do it... a child could do it... " ( TOS : " Spock's Brain ")
• " Because I'm a doctor, that's how I know! " ( TOS : " Friday's Child ")
• " Spock, I've found that evil usually triumphs - unless good is very, very careful. " ( TOS : " The Omega Glory ")
• " Just a moment, Captain, Sir, I'll explain what happened. Your revered Admiral Nogura invoked a little-known, seldom-used reserve activation clause. In simpler language, Captain, they drafted me! " ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )
• " Well, Jim, I hear Chapel's an MD now. Well, I'm gonna need a top nurse, not a doctor who'll argue every little diagnosis with me. And they probably redesigned the whole sickbay too! I know engineers, they love to change things! " ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )
• " Jim, I'm your doctor and I'm your friend. Get back your command. Get it back before you turn into part of this collection. Before you really do grow old. " ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )
• (Upon learning he was the recipient of Spock's katra via a mind-meld) " That green-blooded son-of-a-bitch. It's his revenge for all those arguments he lost. " ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )
• (As Kirk watches the hulk of the Enterprise burn up and asks McCoy: " My God Bones what have I done "?) " What you had to do, what you always do; turn death into a fighting chance to live. " ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )
• " Sounds like a Goddamn SPANISH INQUISITION to me! " ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )
• (Arguing with a 20th century surgeon over treatment of Pavel Chekov) " My God man! Drilling holes in his head is not the answer! The artery must be repaired! Now put away your butcher knives and let me SAVE this patient! " ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )
• " My God, Jim, where are we? " ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )
• " The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe . We'll get a freighter . " ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )
• " You really piss me off, Jim. " ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )
• " Jim, you don't ask the Almighty for His ID! " ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )
• " What's so damn troublesome about not having died?! " ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ")
• " You treat her like a lady... and she'll always bring you home. " ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ")

See also [ ]

• " I'm a doctor, not a... "
• " He's dead, Jim "

Chronology [ ]

• 2227 : Born on Earth .
• 2245 : Medical practice begins on or before this date
• 2249 : Daughter, Joanna , is born
• 2251 : Heads a massive inoculation program on Dramia II
• 2253 : Develops revolutionary surgical procedure, a cerebral-cortex/brain-tissue graft
• 2254 : Becomes romantically involved with Nancy Crater
• 2256 : Ends relationship with Nancy
• 2260s : As a lieutenant commander , visits Capella IV briefly before joining the Enterprise
• 2268 : Contracts xenopolycythemia ; briefly wed to Fabrini high priestess Natira
• 2269 : Promoted to commander
• 2270 : Retires from Starfleet at conclusion of Kirk 's five year mission
• 2270s : His commission is re-activated at Kirk's insistence, during V'ger crisis
• 2285 : On Enterprise , chief medical officer on a training cruise. Is a repository of Spock's katra.
• 2286 : Chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise -A
• 2293 : Imprisoned on Rura Penthe and subsequent escape helps to uncover the Khitomer conspiracy
• 2364 : Tours newly commissioned USS Enterprise -D

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " The Corbomite Maneuver "
• " Mudd's Women "
• " The Enemy Within "
• " The Man Trap "
• " The Naked Time "
• " Charlie X "
• " Balance of Terror "
• " Dagger of the Mind "
• " The Conscience of the King "
• " The Galileo Seven "
• " Court Martial "
• " The Menagerie, Part I "
• " Shore Leave "
• " The Squire of Gothos "
• " The Alternative Factor "
• " Tomorrow is Yesterday "
• " The Return of the Archons "
• " A Taste of Armageddon "
• " Space Seed "
• " This Side of Paradise "
• " The Devil in the Dark "
• " The City on the Edge of Forever "
• " Operation -- Annihilate! "
• " Catspaw "
• " Metamorphosis "
• " Friday's Child "
• " Who Mourns for Adonais? "
• " Amok Time "
• " The Doomsday Machine "
• " Wolf in the Fold "
• " The Changeling "
• " The Apple "
• " Mirror, Mirror "
• " The Deadly Years "
• " I, Mudd "
• " The Trouble with Tribbles "
• " Bread and Circuses "
• " Journey to Babel "
• " A Private Little War "
• " The Gamesters of Triskelion "
• " Obsession "
• " The Immunity Syndrome "
• " A Piece of the Action "
• " By Any Other Name "
• " Return to Tomorrow "
• " Patterns of Force "
• " The Ultimate Computer "
• " The Omega Glory "
• " Assignment: Earth "
• " Spectre of the Gun "
• " Elaan of Troyius "
• " The Paradise Syndrome "
• " The Enterprise Incident "
• " And the Children Shall Lead "
• " Spock's Brain "
• " Is There in Truth No Beauty? "
• " The Empath "
• " The Tholian Web "
• " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky "
• " Day of the Dove "
• " Plato's Stepchildren "
• " Wink of an Eye "
• " That Which Survives "
• " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield "
• " Whom Gods Destroy "
• " The Mark of Gideon "
• " The Lights of Zetar "
• " The Cloud Minders "
• " The Way to Eden "
• " Requiem for Methuselah "
• " The Savage Curtain "
• " All Our Yesterdays "
• " Turnabout Intruder "
• " Beyond the Farthest Star "
• " Yesteryear "
• " One of Our Planets Is Missing "
• " The Lorelei Signal "
• " More Tribbles, More Troubles "
• " The Survivor "
• " The Infinite Vulcan "
• " The Magicks of Megas-Tu "
• " Once Upon a Planet "
• " Mudd's Passion "
• " The Terratin Incident "
• " The Time Trap "
• " The Ambergris Element "
• " The Eye of the Beholder "
• " The Pirates of Orion "
• " The Practical Joker "
• " Albatross "
• " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth "
• " The Counter-Clock Incident "
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek Beyond (photograph only)
• TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint "
• DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations " (archive footage)
• ST : " Ephraim and Dot "
• VST : " Walk, Don't Run " (archive footage)

Background information [ ]

Kelley in a screen test for his appearance in " Encounter at Farpoint "

Leonard McCoy was played by actor DeForest Kelley . In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , a couple of lines spoken by McCoy while he was possessed by and in possession of Spock's katra were voiced by Leonard Nimoy .

An ultimately unused stage direction from the final revised draft script of TOS : " The Conscience of the King " described McCoy thus; " McCoy is tart in manner and somewhat privileged in behavior. "

Although McCoy doesn't appear in " The Menagerie, Part II ", he did feature in the script for that episode. Initially, there were a couple of incidences where he was mentioned, without having any lines of dialogue, entering the Enterprise 's hearing room , such as at the end of the episode's teaser , when he accompanied Scott into the room, eager to help Captain Kirk but unable to. When Christopher Pike needed rest later in the script, McCoy alone arrived to maneuver him, in his wheelchair , out of the room. McCoy also appeared in a deleted scene from "The Menagerie, Part II". In it, after again accompanying Scott into the hearing room, he was credited, by Scott, as having thought of a way to determine which of the Enterprise 's computer tapes Spock had jammed in order to lock the ship on a course to Talos IV . The solution McCoy had devised involved using a spectrograph beam to detect traces of copper salt from Vulcan sweat on the tapes Spock had touched. However, McCoy wished he'd thought of the method earlier than he had, as he considered it "elementary body chemistry." [1]

The Star Trek Concordance established that his daughter Joanna was born around 2249 , and was in training to become a nurse. It also established that although they wrote each other often, Dr. McCoy's duties aboard the USS Enterprise kept the two apart. The Star Trek Chronology provided additional background information on his divorce and his daughter. This scenario established that as a result of the divorce McCoy left the private practice (which he apparently rejoined in 2270 ) to join Starfleet. " The Way to Eden " was originally written for and titled "Joanna", but was however rewritten and Joanna became Irina Galliulin .

The Star Trek Encyclopedia speculated that Emony Dax and McCoy met around 2245 , this based on the fact that McCoy appeared to have not yet entered (or at least not yet completed) medical school when they knew each other. Jadzia Dax strongly implied that Bones and Emony were physically intimate, if only for a short time.

The animation for Star Trek: The Animated Series depicted McCoy as a full commander in both promotional artwork and in episode photography, although more than a few erroneous sequences of him with lieutenant commander insignia cropped up during the course of the series.

He was one of at least five Starfleet officers (along with Spock, Scott, Sulu, and Uhura) who had at some point served under James T. Kirk to have attained a rank of captain or above, as he was a retired admiral during the events of " Encounter at Farpoint ".

Apocrypha [ ]

The novels Provenance of Shadows and The Assassination Game have identified McCoy's middle name as "Horatio", but this was never established on screen. The novels The Romulan Way and Spock's World claim that his middle name is "Edward".

In David Gerrold 's Encounter at Farpoint novelization, McCoy served on three vessels named Enterprise before being promoted to admiral and head of Starfleet Medical . He finally retired from this position in 2354 and moved to a farm in present-day Georgia to live his old days peacefully. By 2364 , he had at least one great-great-grandchild from his daughter, Joanna.

According to Star Trek II: Biographies , McCoy was born in 24 October 2119 in Atlanta, Georgia to parents Robert Edward Lee McCoy and Maureen Abney. He has two brothers named Henry Clay McCoy and Landor Abney McCoy, and two sisters named Melissa Jane McCoy and Elizabeth Ashley McCoy. His ex-wife was named Elinor Lee.

Other novels and comics have given different names for McCoy's parents: David Andrew McCoy ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier novelization) and Eleanora McCoy ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock novelization). McCoy's ex-wife has variously been called Gillian ( Who's Who in Star Trek 1 ), Joann Zauber ( The Real McCoy ), Jocelyn Treadway ( Shadows on the Sun ) and Pamela Branch ( Bones ).

In the novel Crisis on Centaurus , McCoy has a sister named Donna Withers.

Michael Jan Friedman 's novel Shadows on the Sun elaborated on much of McCoy's backstory, particularly his marriage to Joanna's mother, Jocelyn Treadway ( β ).

The novel Shadows on the Sun had, as one of its subplots, the story of his marriage and divorce, when his ex-wife arrived on the Enterprise -A to help them deal with a crisis on a world that McCoy visited fresh out of medical school, only to die in the course of the mission – killed, ironically, by someone whose life McCoy saved on his first visit.

According to the video game Star Trek: Starship Creator , McCoy's mother is named Louise and his ex-wife is named Miriam.

In David R. George III 's novel, Provenance of Shadows , McCoy was portrayed as passing away peacefully in 2366 , at home on Earth in present-day Georgia. In this story, he was married to Tonia Barrows , who was also still alive at advanced age during the story. Although they had been married for decades, when they married isn't exactly known.

In William Shatner 's novels, McCoy was alive and well in 2379 thanks to the use of artificial body parts, many of which he developed (he claims to be on his third heart, has a new set of lungs grown each month, and had around ten meters of cloned intestines inside him). He helped Julian Bashir remove a Borg implant from Kirk's brain, advising the young physician as to what to do due to his elderly condition, and was subsequently the first person Kirk saw upon regaining consciousness.

Leonard McCoy in the 2380s

In the IDW Publishing comic Star Trek Special: Flesh and Stone , McCoy is still alive in the 2380s , living at the Viirre-5 Agricultural Cultivation Facility, and using a wheelchair similar to that of Christopher Pike .

In Star Trek Cats , McCoy is depicted as a gray-and-white longhair cat .

External links [ ]

• Leonard McCoy at Wikipedia
• Leonard McCoy at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Leonard McCoy at the Star Trek Online Wiki
• 1 Bell Riots
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

DeForest Kelley, Actor Beloved as Dr. McCoy on ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 79

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DeForest Kelley, who played the irascible but wise Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the “Star Trek” television series and movies, died Friday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills. He was 79.

Kelley entered the convalescent home three months ago and died after a lingering illness, said A.C. Lyles, a longtime producer at Paramount Studios, where the original series was shot. Kelley’s wife of 55 years, Carolyn, who was recuperating from a broken leg in the home, was by his side when he died.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. June 18, 1999 For the Record Los Angeles Times Friday June 18, 1999 Home Edition Part A Page 30 Metro Desk 4 inches; 123 words Type of Material: Correction Kelley movies--In Saturday’s Times, the obituary of DeForest Kelley, the actor who played Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the “Star Trek” television series and movies, incorrectly stated that Kelley appeared in all of the first seven “Star Trek” movies. He did not appear in the 1994 release “Star Trek: Generations.” Also, the story stated that the original series was produced at Paramount. The production originated at the old Desilu studio, shifting to Paramount after Gulf & Western, then the parent company of Paramount, bought Desilu in 1967. Of the first seven “Star Trek” movies, the most successful was the first, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which grossed $138.8 million worldwide, according to Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks box-office receipts. The story also gave an incorrect year for the film “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” which was released in 1957.

Kelley was a supporting actor on film, stage and television for 20 years before landing his distinctive role on what would become a cult science fiction series.

“Star Trek,” which aired on NBC from 1966 to 1969, was director Gene Roddenberry’s saga of the star ship Enterprise, a 23rd century spacecraft with a mission to study unexplored worlds and transport supplies to Earth colonies in space.

On the Enterprise’s motley crew, Kelley was the resident surgeon, diagnostician and humanist, the perfect foil for the coldly logical Mr. Spock played by Leonard Nimoy and the macho Capt. James Kirk played by William Shatner.

“He was one of a kind, a great friend and a very important part of a collection of personalities,” Nimoy said Friday. “He had the humanist point of view in the show. It fit him very well. He brought a decency and sensibility that made you want to have him around.”

The son of a Baptist minister, Kelley was born in 1920 in Atlanta, where he sang in the church choir. He left Atlanta after high school to visit an uncle in Long Beach, and joined a theater group.

In the mid-1940s he was discovered by a Paramount talent scout who saw him in a Navy training film. The scout offered him a screen test and later a contract. He made his film debut as a man who may have committed murder while under hypnosis in a 1947 film noir called “Fear in the Night,” which showcased Kelley’s distinctive arched eyebrows and occasional wild-eyed expressions.

He appeared in several more films before moving to New York, where he worked in theater and in early television anthology dramas such as “Schlitz Playhouse of Stars.”

He returned to Hollywood in 1955 to resume his film work, appearing in director Sam Fuller’s “House of Bamboo” and “Tension at Table Rock.” He had a slight Southern drawl and a weathered face that he parlayed into roles as ranchers, town folk and minor villains in westerns such as “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” in 1956.

In 1960 he landed more television roles, including the lead in a pilot written and produced by Roddenberry. Although Roddenberry later cast another actor, Edmond O’Brien, in the series “Sam Benedict,” he did not forget about Kelley.

Kelley was not a fan of science fiction. But when Roddenberry invited him to a screening of the original pilot for “Star Trek,” which starred Jeffrey Hunter, he did not turn him down.

After the screening, Roddenberry said: “Well, cowboy, what did you think?” Kelley replied: “Gene, that will be the biggest hit or the biggest miss ever.”

Over lunch in the studio commissary, Roddenberry offered him a choice of two roles, one of which he described as “this green-painted alien.”

Kelley chose the other role. “I’m glad it turned out that way,” he told the Chicago Tribune some years ago, “because I wouldn’t have been anywhere near Leonard [Nimoy]. He’s been marvelous.”

Although his character often clashed with Nimoy’s character, the two were united in loyalty to Shatner’s Kirk. He was often beamed down to hostile spots in the galaxy along with the other members of the show’s trinity, but was most at home in the high-tech dispensary aboard the Enterprise.

McCoy’s sarcasm endeared him to fans. “Did you see the love light in Spock’s eyes? The right computer finally came along,” McCoy said in an episode called “The Ultimate Computer,” in which the Enterprise tests a computer designed to run the ship without a crew. Kelley stalwarts loved his trademark lines: “I’m just a country doctor,” uttered when he was faced with some ghastly outer-space malady, and, “He’s dead, Jim.”

Few could have predicted the extraordinary longevity of the “Star Trek” craze. The original series, premiering on Sept. 8, 1966, was a ratings failure. It routinely lost in its time period. At its peak in 1966-67, it still ranked 52nd among all series. NBC canceled the show in 1969.

But a legion of “Star Trek” fanatics lobbied fiercely to return the program to network television. It achieved cult status in the 1970s and succeeded in reruns. Annual “Star Trek” conventions were held in the United States and abroad. An animated version ran on NBC from 1973 to 1975, with original cast members, including Kelley, supplying the voices.

Kelley developed his own loyal following over the years, welcomed by “Trekkies” at confabs around the world.

In 1989, the year Paramount released “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He reprised the role of McCoy in all seven “Star Trek” movies made with Shatner and Nimoy, beginning with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” in 1979 and ending with “Star Trek: Generations” in 1994.

(A new generation of Enterprise officers was featured in the 1996 release “Star Trek: First Contact,” which starred Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes.)

Most of the movies were roundly panned, and the endless sequels became targets for late-night television show jokes. The last in the series fared best at the box office, grossing $70 million.

After a while, Kelley came to dread the critics’ words.

“The one thing I always dread about critics’ reviews of the ‘Star Trek’ movies is they first review us,” Kelley said in 1991, when “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” was released. “We’ve heard it a hundred times, that Bill’s getting fat and I’m looking like death.” At the time, Kelley was 71, Shatner and Nimoy both 60.

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Elaine Woo is a Los Angeles native who has written for her hometown paper since 1983. She covered public education and filled a variety of editing assignments before joining “the dead beat” – news obituaries – where she has produced artful pieces on celebrated local, national and international figures, including Norman Mailer, Julia Child and Rosa Parks. She left The Times in 2015.

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Making peace with Spock: Adam Nimoy on reconciling with his famous father

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Published Jan 19, 2011

Remembering DeForest Kelley

DeForest Kelley – born on January 20, 1920 -- was that rarest of Hollywood rarities, a true gentleman, an old-school Southern fella who hailed from Georgia. He always insisted that anyone who met him call him “De.” He treated everyone – lifelong friends and newbie Star Trek fans excited just to be in his presence – with equal grace and warmth. And more than anything in the universe, he absolutely adored his beloved Carolyn, who’d been Mrs. DeForest Kelley for nearly 55 years when Kelley passed away on June 11, 1999. Oddly enough, before he landed his iconic Star Trek role as the cranky-but-goodhearted “country doctor,” Dr. Leonard “Bones" McCoy , Kelley had spent much of his career portraying nasty, humorless, tough-as-nails villains.

Ironic, right?

Now, it’d be too easy to sit here and list Kelley’s credits or recount Dr. McCoy’s most memorable lines or most infamous sparring matches with Spock . So we’re not going to do that. If you’re interested, though, we highly recommend From Sawdust to Stardust: The Biography of DeForest Kelley, Star Trek’s Dr. McCoy, a comprehensive and Kelley-sanctioned biography penned by Terry Lee Rioux and released in 2005. We also suggest checking out DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories, by Kristine M. Smith, a Kelley fan who became his personal assistant and, eventually, his caretaker as the actor lived out his last days. And, of course, there’s a plethora of information to be found online.

Instead, let’s remember a few comments made by Kelley himself:

“It wouldn’t have worked with me as Spock. I still remember Gene ( Roddenberry ) saying there were two roles in Star Trek he thought I’d be right for. One of them was (Spock) and one of them was what I called High Noon (Dr. McCoy). I thought it over and I said, ‘I’ll take High Noon, Gene.’ High Noon worked out just fine for me, wouldn’t you agree?” – Star Trek Monthly

“My absolute favorite memory (of Star Trek )? I don’t know. One that stands out, though, was something that happened during our third year of the series. We knew we’d be dropped at the end of the season, but we were still shooting the show. There was a television set around and we watched one of the NASA missions, maybe the one where they landed on the moon. Here we were, standing there in our far-out costumes, filming a show about the future, watching the astronauts walking around for real. That always amazes me, that memory.” – Star Trek Monthly

And lastly, his New York Times obituary quoted Kelley contemplating his legacy:

“These people are doctors now, all kinds of doctors who save lives. That’s something very few people can say they’ve done. I’m proud to say that I have.”

Happy 91st birthday, De.

Fans -- What's your favorite Dr. McCoy moment?

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DeForest Kelley, 79, Creator Of Dr. McCoy on 'Star Trek'

By Andrew Jacobs

• June 12, 1999

DeForest Kelley, the crotchety country doctor who healed countless human and nonhuman patients as Dr. Leonard McCoy on the science fiction series ''Star Trek,'' died yesterday at the Motion Pictures and Television Fund Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 79, and had last donned a space uniform in 1991 for yet another ''Star Trek'' film sequel.

Although he appeared in 150 earth-bound films and television shows, including roles in the ''Lone Ranger,'' ''Gunsmoke'' and ''Bonanza,'' Mr. Kelley was best known as the crusty physician on the U.S.S. Enterprise, known by Trekkies as ''Bones,'' who was Captain Kirk's confidante and Mr. Spock's occasional sparring partner.

Most viewers remember him for a single phrase, addressed to Captain Kirk when asked to perform feats beyond his job description: ''Damn it Jim,'' he would say with exasperation, ''I'm a just a country doctor.'' The other line viewers could count on was ''He's dead, Jim.''

Through three decades of reruns and the six film sequels, Dr. McCoy remained one of the most popular characters on the show and fans appreciated his plain-spoken humanity, especially as a foil to Mr. Spock's cool Vulcan logic.

Before Gene Roddenberry cast him in the first Star Trek episode in 1966, Mr. Kelley often played bad guys in police dramas or Westerns with titles like ''Town Tamer'' and ''Apache Uprising.''

Born on Jan. 20, 1920, in Atlanta as the son of a Baptist minister, Mr. Kelley had planned on becoming a doctor just like the uncle who had delivered him. But his family could not afford to send him to medical school and he began singing on local radio shows.

As a teen-ager he moved to Long Beach, Calif., where he lived with an uncle. He worked as an elevator operator and an usher and later performed in theater groups and on the radio.

In 1941, he lost out to Alan Ladd for the part of the baby-faced killer in ''This Gun for Hire.''

A year later, while playing a beach bum in ''The Innocent Young Man'' with the Long Beach Theater Group, he met the woman he would marry, Carolyn Dowling, who co-starred in the play. The couple celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary last year. She is his only survivor.

After serving in the Army Air Forces in New Mexico during World War II, he was transferred to Culver City to act in a Navy training film, ''Time to Kill.''

It turned into one of the biggest breaks of Mr. Kelley's career. A Paramount scout spotted him in the film, which led to a three-year contract with the studio producing low-budget movies.

A decade later, he appeared in a television pilot written by a former police officer, Mr. Roddenberry. It did not sell, but it led to the ''Star Trek'' series.

After the last episode was made in 1969 when the series was canceled by NBC because of poor ratings, Mr. Kelley appeared in the six film sequels and delighted his fans by showing up at innumerable Star Trek conventions.

After the last of the series, ''The Undiscovered Country,'' he retired from acting.

In an interview with The Houston Chronicle last year, Mr. Kelley admitted that he never liked the science fiction genre and that he never watched the sequel to the television series.

Asked what he thought his legacy would be, he said that had inspired a great number of people to enter the medical profession.

''These people are doctors now, all kinds of doctors who save lives,'' he said. ''That's something that very few people can say they've done. I'm proud to say that I have.''

Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Dr Leonard 'Bones' McCoy

He's not a bricklayer, an engineer, or a coal miner. He's a doctor and his name is McCoy.

Leonard 'Bones' McCoy was one of the most celebrated doctors in Starfleet history. He was skilled in both surgery and psychology, and, during his time on the Enterprise, invented several new medical techniques and saved the ship on many occasions.

He also had a unique no-nonsense attitude that mixed well with Kirk and Spock's personalities. The three of them had a very interesting dynamic, but the other two got most of the attention. Sadly, McCoy rarely got a lot of time focused on him specifically. His backstory was mostly told in small parts, scattered across different episodes and films.

In this list, we're going to look at ten things that you might not know about Doctor McCoy's history, family, and personal life. Bones was far more than just the guy they hired to say 'he's dead, Jim' every episode, he was actually a very deep and complex character with a dark history.

10. He Didn't Attend The Academy

A lot of the confusion here comes from the 2009 Star Trek film, in which McCoy joined Starfleet Academy right at the same time as Kirk. In the prime timeline, McCoy never attended the Academy. Instead, he got a medical degree from the University of Mississippi and was commissioned to join the Starfleet ranks, and later the Enterprise, because of his talents in the field.

Many don't realise that the Academy is not the only path toward serving on a Federation starship. McCoy always saw himself as more of a doctor than a Starfleet officer, so, for him, medical school was the way to go.

Why he decided to attend the Academy in the alternate universe is unknown, but it could have something to do with how much more militarised Starfleet became after the USS Kelvin was destroyed by the Romulans. Maybe this caused Starfleet to be more picky with who they let on their ships.

Marcia Fry is a writer for WhatCulture and an amateur filmmaker.

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Star Trek’s DeForest Kelley: His Life and Legacy

“I have deep feelings for the welfare and comfort of others.” – DeForest Kelley  

Celestis, the world’s iconic global leader in memorial spaceflights, is proud to announce that DeForest Kelley – best known as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the original Star Trek®  series – will join his fellow series luminaries and fly aboard its Enterprise Flight , which will establish the first outpost of humanity in deep space carrying ashes, DNA, and Celestis MindFiles™ . 

Celestis is honored to share a memoir of Kelley by Kris M. Smith, a close personal friend of “De,” as he was known to friends and family, remembering a titan of film and television – and medicine. Smith is the author of DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best , a memoir about her 30-year friendship with Kelley and his wife, Carolyn. Smith was Kelley’s assistant and caregiver at the end of his life and secured two locks of his hair for his wife and herself upon Carolyn’s request. Kelley’s DNA will be extracted from one of the hair samples and flown aboard Celestis’ Enterprise Flight . 

Jackson DeForest Kelley, 1920 – 1999, Curated by Kris M. Smith

Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999), known to his friends and colleagues as "De,” was an American actor, poet, and singer. He was best known for his roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and motion picture series Star Trek® (1966–1991). 

Studio portrait of DeForest Kelley. Photo courtesy of Kris M. Smith

Born in Toccoa, Georgia, Kelley was raised in Atlanta and Conyers, where he first used his talents in the church choir. Later, a radio performance on stage at WSB earned him an engagement with Lew Forbes and his orchestra at the Atlanta Paramount Theater. 

After moving to California as a young man, he joined the Long Beach Theater Group. During World War II, a Paramount talent scout noticed him in a Navy training film. This resulted in a screen test and a contract. DeForest remained with Paramount for 2 ½ years, making his motion picture debut in Fear in the Night .

Among his hundreds of performances are Gunfight at the OK Corral , Raintree County , Warlock , Where Love Has Gone , The Law and Jake Wade , and a myriad of television appearances, including Schlitz Theatre , Playhouse 90 , Zane Grey Theater , Rawhide , and Bonanza .

Kelley made his debut in the Star Trek® television series in 1966. He gave freely of his time and talents to humanitarian efforts, including many hospital visits to children and veterans. 

De served during WWII in the Army Air Corps in Roswell, New Mexico, and at Fort Roach in Culver City, CA, where he made training films to educate service members and helped create a huge relief map of targeted areas to help pilots navigate precisely to their destinations.

On September 7th, 1945, he married Carolyn Meagher Dowling. They were married 54 years until De’s passing in 1999. They had no children.

Kelley and his wife, Carolyn. Photo courtesy of Kris M. Smith

Among the awards De received were the Gene Roddenberry Award and the Golden Boot Award.

A confirmed animal lover, Kelley’s favorite animal charities were The North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, NY, and Shambala/The ROAR Foundation in Acton, CA. He also contributed to veterans groups and children’s hospitals. De’s star is located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. 

Everyone who knew De loved him without limit. He was as much a personal treasure as he was an international treasure.

DeForest Kelley Tribute (Video credit: Kris M. Smith)

Dr. McCoy’s Legacy

Fun fact: DeForest Kelley was initially considered for the role of Spock, but he refused that role. He then became Gene Roddenberry’s first choice to play USS Enterprise’s brusque chief medical officer, having worked extensively with Roddenberry on other television projects. The rest, as they say, is history: Kelley is now inextricably linked with Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, the sometimes abrasive but caring confidant to Captain James T. Kirk. It was perhaps for the best since Kelley’s compassion toward the welfare of others was reflected in his portrayal of Dr. McCoy.

Spock, of course, would be played by the equally iconic Leonard Nimoy. Kelley later remarked, “When Gene first contacted me for Star Trek , he gave me the part of Spock to read! I'm glad I didn't take it because I don't think anyone could have played Spock better than Leonard Nimoy.”

When Kelley was cast as “Bones” on Star Trek® during the mid-1960s, he couldn’t have predicted his character’s impact on pop culture and space medicine. At least twenty times in the original series, Dr. McCoy stated in his matter-of-fact tone, “He’s dead, Jim!” whenever an auxiliary character died [“Jim” being Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner). “He’s dead, Jim” became a famous catchphrase that entered the lexicon thanks to the cult popularity of the series. In addition, McCoy’s other saying, “I’m a doctor, Jim, not a…” also was (and is) oft-repeated by series fans.

In April 1967, Star Trek®'s cast visited NASA's Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center. In the top photo, DeForest Kelley chats with X-15 pilot Bill Dana. At bottom, Kelley and series creator Gene Roddenberry view the X-15's cockpit layout. Photo credits: NASA

During the 1970s, years after the original series had been canceled and before the debut of feature-length movies based on the series, Kelley began attending Star Trek® fan conventions. He found that many times at these events, fans would walk up to him and tell him how McCoy had inspired them to enter the medical profession, just as many women and minority fans were inspired by the examples set by Lt. Uhura and Mr. Sulu (played by Nichelle Nichols and George Takei, respectively). This greatly touched Kelley; several times a month in the following decades, he received letters stating the same sentiments – that his television (and movie) character had led fans to become doctors or nurses. “I'd wanted to become a doctor and couldn't - yet became the best-known doctor in the galaxy,” Kelley once proudly mused. 

The 1970s also saw American medical doctors enter space. In May 1973, U.S. astronaut-scientist Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin became the first American physician to reach Earth orbit during the Skylab 2 mission, which took place aboard NASA’s first space station. Kerwin was sometimes humorously referred to as “Bones” by NASA colleagues. His presence aboard Skylab proved that a medical doctor could monitor the human condition in a foreign environment, undertake medical experiments, and do “surgery” on broken hardware in space; in June 1973, Kerwin and Skylab 2 mission commander Charles “Pete” Conrad successfully unjammed a stuck solar wing that imperiled the space station. Since 1973, many medical doctors have followed in Kerwin’s – and Bones’ – footsteps to become space travelers, many undoubtedly inspired by the example Kelley’s character set on Star Trek® .

Now you or your loved one can join Star Trek® royalty such as DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols , Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the DNA of their son Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, and James “Mr. Scott” Doohan on a deep space voyage like none other – Celestis Memorial Spaceflights’ Enterprise Flight . For more information about the Enterprise Flight , which will establish humanity's first outpost in the deeper cosmos, please check out the flight website .

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DNA of DeForest Kelley, Dr. 'Bones' McCoy from 'Star Trek,' will fly to space with original cast on memorial spaceflight

Kelley's DNA will join Nichelle Nichols and others on this bold Celestis space mission

Last month we delivered news of an upcoming memorial space flight from the space burial firm Celestis that was going to be carrying the cremated remains and DNA of "Star Trek's" Nichelle Nichols, who died on July 30 at the ripe age of 89.

Now there's been word of another beloved " Star Trek " alumni hitching a ride aboard Celestis' remembrance Enterprise Flight along with other well-known deceased "Trek" luminaries as the reunion will now include the late DeForest Kelley's DNA. 

The Texas-based company provides respectful "memorial spaceflight services" for persons who hope to celebrate and honor the life of loved ones with an extraordinary off-Earth experience. 

On August 25 it was revealed that Nichelle Nichols was selected to fly on the first-ever Celestis deep space mission. Official announcements of Kelley’s addition were made on Thursday in honor of Star Trek Day .

“I donated the lock of hair so 'De' could join his shipmates on their eternal journey into interstellar space," said Kris M. Smith, Kelley's friend who submitted the DNA sample via a lock of his hair. "The mission just didn't feel complete without Dr. McCoy aboard. I think 'De' would have loved to 'go hopping galaxies' again with his cast and crew mates. So, "second star to the right and straight on 'til morning,” De! Loving you was easier than anything we will ever do again!"

Launching later this year inside United Launch Alliance 's appropriately named Vulcan Centaur rocket , Kelley's DNA will be accompanied by remains of Nichelle Nichols, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry, "Star Trek" engineer James "Scotty" Doohan, and "2001: A Space Odyssey" VFX wizard Douglas Trumbull, among many others.

Kelley passed away on June 11, 1999 and made his debut on "Star Trek" in 1966 where he played  the irascible Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on NBC's hit sci-fi series for three seasons and co-starred in six "Star Trek" feature films. Beyond his physician's duties aboard the USS Enterprise , Kelley was a distinguished Hollywood veteran of dozens of TV shows and films, especially westerns.

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"It's particularly notable that we announce DeForest Kelley's addition to our Enterprise Flight on Star Trek Day," said Charles M. Chafer Co-founder & CEO of Celestis, Inc. "No mission to deep space would be complete without a ship’s doctor."

Looking at the trajectory of this Enterprise Flight, the spacecraft will journey from 93 million miles to 186 million miles (150 million to 300 million kilometers) into deep space outside the Earth-moon system. The memorial mission will haul more than 150 flight capsules containing cremated ash remains, personal messages and greetings, and DNA samples from global clients on a timeless odyssey into space. 

Besides shuttling this precious cargo out beyond Earth orbit, the primary purpose of the Vulcan flight will be directing the Pittsburgh aerospace company Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander in the direction of the moon . The Vulcan Centaur's upper stage will continue into deep space, entering an orbit around the sun , becoming humanity's most remote outpost, to be renamed Enterprise Station.

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Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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Star Trek's Most Popular Show Is About To Rebuild TOS Canon

Will we see Bones and Sulu again very soon?

With a possible reboot “origin story” feature film in the works and a new future-tense Starfleet Academy series focused on brand-new characters, the original 1960s continuity of Star Trek might seem very distant from the current franchise offerings. And yet, in Star Trek’s most popular show — Strange New Worlds — the canon and vibes of TOS are suddenly more prominent than ever. Going into Season 3 and beyond, it seems that Strange New Worlds is readying to redefine the backstory not just of Spock, Uhura, and Kirk, but the rest of the classic gang, too.

Speaking to multiple outlets, and as reported by TrekMovie , following San Diego Comic-Con, Strange New Worlds showrunners, cast, and crew have laid down quite a bit of information about what’s to come in Season 3 and, hypothetically, the already-greenlit Season 4. For serious Trekkies, the biggest development isn’t that Strange New Worlds will hint at or reference TOS a bit more. Instead, this prequel show is basically going to “drive right into” the start of the first Trek ever.

Scotty becomes a regular — Bones and Sulu next?

Martin Quinn as Scotty in the finale of Strange New Worlds Season 2.

While many Strange New Worlds fans were probably aware that Martin Quinn’s take on Scotty would return for SNW Season 3, it was recently confirmed that Quinn would be part of the regular cast, not just a recurring character. (I.E. Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk is not a regular cast member of SNW , despite appearing in three episodes of Season 2.) Scotty’s appearance at the end of Season 2 in the cliffhanger “Hegemony” was a well-kept secret in the Star Trek camp, which makes fans and pundits wonder if new versions of Hikaru Sulu and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy are next.

While not confirming Bones and Sulu appearances in Strange New Worlds Season 3, co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers told Variety :

“These characters are not the people that they will become when we get to The Original Series . They are still younger. They are going through things. They have a lot of life and lessons to go through. They have some growth to do so you don’t see them exactly the way that you would see them later on.”

While the Prime Universe version of Pavel Chekov will be canonically far too young to appear in Strange New Worlds , Bones, and Sulu are very good bets. In two episodes of TOS , Bones works side-by-side with Dr. M'Benga, who in SNW is the current chief medical officer of the Enterprise . M’Benga was a guest character played by Booker Bradshaw in TOS , but Babs Olusanmokun’s performance has utterly redefined the character. So looking at the way SNW handles the rest of the legacy characters (like Paul Wesley’s Kirk and Celia Rose Gooding’s Uhura) is probably a good indication as to how a young Sulu and Bones could appear.

One fun canon note on Bones in Strange New Worlds : If he does appear, it could create a Deep Space Nine crossover. In the 1996 DS9 episode “Trials and Tribble-ations,” Jadzia Dax(Terry Farrell) insinuated one of her previous Trill hosts, Emony Dax, was romantically involved with Bones when he was a younger man. So via Bones, could we get a retro version of Dax?

How Strange New Worlds Could Become the new TOS

Kirk (Paul Wesley) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) strike a very classic pose in Season 2.

The biggest takeaway from the various post-San Diego Comic-Con interviews with Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman is that Strange New Worlds is not shying away from its fidelity to The Original Series . Nurse Chapel’s former fiance turned-robot in TOS, Roger Korby, will appear in SNW Season 3, now played by Cillian O’Sullivan. Both Goldsman and Myers noted that his relationship with Chapel (Jess Bush) will be complicated in Season 3, and that “[he] is going to travel a long path before he gets to be the Roger Korby that you see in The Original Series .”

With Season 4 already in the planning stages, Myers and Goldsman know that they’re getting closer and closer to the timeline of The Original Series, around the year 2265. Season 2 of Strange New Worlds was firmly in 2260, which suddenly feels much closer to the classic era than Discovery Season 2 did when it introduced Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and the Enterprise in the year 2258. So as SNW keeps going, even if fictional years don’t pass every single season, the showrunners are very aware that they’re inching closer and closer to that classic era.

Speaking to Collider , Goldsman said, “Left to our own devices, which really means if Paramount will, we’ll keep going into the TOS era.”

This notion that Strange New Worlds could overlap with TOS has a massive canon precedent. Chronologically, the very first regular episode of The Original Series (not counting the unaired pilot “The Cage”) is “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which takes place in 2265. But the funny thing is, all the other Season 1 TOS episodes mostly take place in 2266, meaning that not only do we not know what happened in the years leading up to Kirk taking command of the Enterprise , but we also know almost nothing about what happened during Kirks’ first year, other than that one episode.

Outside of providing great standalone episodes of Star Trek, this detail is perhaps the most interesting for longtime Trekkies. Because at some point, Strange New Worlds could turn into The Original Series Year 1.

Or, as Goldsman told Variety, “We will continue on for as long as Paramount lets us. We will drive right into The Original Series .”

Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds both stream on Paramount+.

• Science Fiction

Screen Rant

“he’s dead, jim”: how many times star trek’s dr. mccoy says his iconic line.

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Every Time Star Trek's Dr. McCoy Said “I’m A Doctor, Not A…”

“beam me up, scotty”: star trek’s most famous (& incorrect) catchphrase explained, star trek’s last tos movie unexpectedly foreshadows chris pine kirk’s favorite song.

• "He's dead, Jim" is a famous phrase from Star Trek spoken by Dr. Leonard McCoy, used bluntly to report deaths.
• McCoy said this iconic line only four times on Star Trek: The Original Series, though it became well-known.
• Some variations of "He's dead" were spoken more frequently, often by McCoy, the ship's Chief Medical Officer.

Several iconic phrases from Star Trek: The Original Series have made their way into the pop culture lexicon, including, "He's dead, Jim." Most often spoken by Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), this phrase was Bones' rather blunt way of reporting a death to Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). While "Live long and prosper" and "Beam me up, Scotty" may be the most famous of the phrases to originate from Star Trek, some variation of "He's dead" was spoken more times throughout the series than either of those lines.

With his gruff personality, Dr. McCoy was not known for his good bedside manner, so it's not surprising he would report deaths rather bluntly. Although the phrase, "He's dead, Jim," is often associated with the death of so-called red shirts , Dr. McCoy never actually used this exact wording in that way. Surprisingly, the exact phrase, "He's dead, Jim," was only spoken by Dr. McCoy four times on Star Trek: The Original Series, although he used some variation of "He's dead" many more times. Here is every time McCoy uttered this now iconic phrase.

A look at every time the distinguished and much-loved Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy used his famous "I'm a doctor, not a ..." catchphrase in Star Trek.

5 About Alfa 177 Canine

In star trek: the original series season 1, episode 5 - "the enemy within".

The first time Dr. Leonard McCoy says, "He's dead, Jim," comes in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 5, "The Enemy Within." When a transporter malfunction causes Captain Kirk to be split into two people, Dr. McCoy and the Enterprise crew must find a way to recombine the two Kirk doppelgangers . One of the Kirks is "good," but struggles to make difficult decisions, while the other one is "evil" and lacks impulse control.

Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Scotty (James Doohan) reconfigure the transporter to reverse the malfunction, sending an alien dog that had also been split through the transporter. Although the transporter does recombine the two dogs into one, the poor animal does not survive the process. When the dog reappears on the transporter pad, McCoy reports that, "He's dead, Jim," and surmises that the creature died of shock. Despite this, Spock hypothesizes that Kirk would survive the process as his brain could better handle the stress.

4 About Lt. Montgomery Scott

In star trek: the original series season 2, episode 3 - "the changeling".

When the USS Enterprise investigates a distress call from the Malurian star system, they determine that a powerful space probe known as Nomad wiped out all life in the system. Nomad is brought aboard the Enterprise, and it incorrectly identifies Captain Kirk as its creator. When Nomad hears Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) singing, it probes her mind, erasing all of her memories. As Nomad attacks Uhura, Scotty jumps in to help her, and Nomad lashes out with a blast of energy, killing him.

Dr. McCoy rushes over to aid Scotty, only to report that "He's dead, Jim." When Nomad realizes that Dr. McCoy cannot "repair" Scotty, the probe offers to "repair the unit." Nomad then brings Scotty back to life, much to the shock and relief of Kirk and McCoy. Nomad kills multiple security officers before Kirk talks the probe into destroying itself. Star Trek' s "The Changeling" contains one of the only instances when McCoy uses the phrase, "He's dead, Jim," to refer to one of the main characters , although thankfully, Scotty does not remain dead.

3 About Hengist, Kara, & Karen Tracy

In star trek: the original series season 2, episode 14 - "wolf in the fold".

Several murders occur in Star Trek: The Original Series ' "Wolf in the Fold," giving Dr. McCoy numerous times to announce that someone "is dead, Jim." When Scotty is found near one of the murder victims with a bloody knife, he becomes the prime suspect, but he has no memory of the event. The Chief Administrator of Argelius II, Mr. Hengist (John Fiedler), takes over the investigation, and two more women are murdered.

Although Scotty remains the prime suspect, Kirk and his crew eventually determine that a malevolent, non-corporeal entity may be behind the murders. In fact, Hengist was the actual murderer, although he was possessed by the non-corporeal lifeform, which was known as Jack the Ripper on Earth. Throughout "Wolf in the Fold," Dr. McCoy reports that, "She's dead, Jim," twice , about a dancer named Kara (Tania Lemani) and Lt. Karen Tracy (Virginia Aldridge). McCoy also says, "He's dead, Jim," once when the entity kills Hengist.

"Beam me up, Scotty" has become one of Star Trek's most famous catchphrases in pop culture despite no Star Trek character ever actually saying it.

2 About Larry Marvick

In star trek: the original series season 3, episode 5 - "is there in truth no beauty".

In Star Trek: The Original Series ' "Is There in Truth No Beauty?," the Medusan Ambassador Kollos comes aboard the Enterprise, accompanied by the telepathic Dr. Miranda Jones (Diana Muldaur) and her associate, Larry Marvick (David Frankham). Marvick is in love with Jones, but she does not return the feeling. Out of rage and jealousy, Marvick attempts to kill Kollos, but he is driven mad by the sight of the Medusan.

Marvick then runs to the Enterprise engine room and accelerates the ship to an unknown location beyond the galactic barrier. Although security rushes in to restrain Marvick, he continues to rave about Dr. Jones until he dies, unable to live with the sight of Kollos. When Marvick collapses, Dr. McCoy scans him with his tricorder and pronounces that "He's dead, Jim." Spock then mind melds with Kollos, who helps direct the Enterprise back to known space with his superior navigation abilities.

1 Other Variations

Numerous episodes of star trek: the original series.

Throughout Star Trek: The Original Series , Dr. McCoy and several other characters use variations of the phrase "He's dead," such as "He's dead, Captain" and "He's dead, sir." Although Nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett) , Lt. Uhura, Spock, and Captain Kirk all utter some version of the phrase, the words are most often said by Dr. McCoy. As the ship's Chief Medical Officer, McCoy is usually the one scanning fallen crew members or guests with his medical tricorder, so it makes sense he would be the one who most often pronounces people dead.

Surprisingly, Dr. McCoy does not utter the exact phrase, "He's dead, Jim," in any of the Star Trek films, although, again, some similar words are used.

According to a biography of DeForest Kelley entitled From Sawdust to Stardust by Terry Lee Rioux, Dr. McCoy was originally meant to say, "He's dead, Jim," after Spock's sacrifice in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Kelley, however, felt that this would be inappropriate as it would add humor to the tragic moment. In the final film, Scotty delivers the line, "He's dead already," to Captain Kirk. Despite only technically being spoken a handful of times on Star Trek: The Original Series, "He's dead, Jim," remains one of Dr. McCoy's most iconic lines.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Not available

Star Trek should continue the Original Series concept with the Strange New World crew

S tar Trek: The Original Series left a lot of meat on the bone. The show was envisioned, more or less, as a five-season affair. The whole concept of the show was that the U.S.S. Enterprise was exploring space on a five-year mission. The show would get three seasons, with established lore bringing the mission to a close about a year before it was supposed to.

The cancelation after season likely two hastened series creator Gene Roddenberry to tell the whole story. He rushed from the third year at the end of the second season to the end of the fourth year for the revival third season. There is still meat on this bone that can be further explored. While the Animated Series did try and tell some more of the story, there are doubts and conflicting opinions on the show's canon.

A new version of the original series could help fix that. Not only that but it would give new and old fans a chance to catch up with and see more of our favorite characters that helped start the whole thing.

The show has already given us the building blocks for the needed cast. We have Paul Wesley as James Kirk, Ethan Peck as Spock, Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura, Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel, and more recently Martin Quinn as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott. We just need our Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov, and Leonard "Bones" McCoy.

Now there is admittedly going to be pushback for this. The original show is iconic and the stars that brought the show to life are larger than life. It's impossible to replace them, but it's also important to remember that they've already seen their characters recast once before. The Kelvin Timeline series of films already did what we're proposing, but not as well and often with tons of issues.

They're mostly good films if nothing like Star Trek at all, but enjoyable nonetheless. Yet we're not talking about continuing with an alternate universe. We're talking about finishing the story, so to speak. So we expect pushback. That said, fans already did this exact task with the non-canon "Star Trek Continues" and no one tried to burn down the franchise over that.

So why not an official completion of the original story, but with the Strange New Worlds actors? There are legs to this idea and one that would seriously entice fans old and new. Especially if everyone who appears in the new continuation of the old Star Trek show is introduced in Strange New Worlds.

If that happens, this could be a genuine hit. However, you're asking the creators of said show to be able to walk a tightrope that they may not be up for.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as Star Trek should continue the Original Series concept with the Strange New World crew .

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The City on the Edge of Forever

• Episode aired Apr 6, 1967

When a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high. When a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high. When a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high.

• Joseph Pevney
• Harlan Ellison
• Gene Roddenberry
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• Joan Collins
• 77 User reviews
• 16 Critic reviews

Top cast 25

• Captain James T. Kirk

• Sister Edith Keeler

• Transporter Chief

• (as Bartell La Rue)
• Onlooker on Street
• (uncredited)
• Lieutenant Hadley

• Passerby on Sidewalk

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia To emphasize on the extremely high age of the Guardian in the upper millions, or well into the billions, the starfield of its planet is surrounded by red dwarfs and red giants.
• Goofs In establishing scenes, the completed Empire State Building can be seen as part of the NYC skyline. Construction on the building didn't begin until early 1930, and wasn't finished until mid-1931.

Dr. McCoy : You deliberately stopped me, Jim. I could have saved her. Do you know what you just did?

Spock : He knows, Doctor. He knows.

• Crazy credits Script Supervisor George Rutter is written as "SCPIPT SUPERVISOR...GEORGE A. RUTTER" in the credits. This happened on numerous other episodes in season one.
• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Edited from TrekCulture: 10 Greatest Final Lines In Star Trek Episodes (2022)
• Soundtracks Theme From Star Trek Written by and credited to Alexander Courage

User reviews 77

• Aug 4, 2006
• April 6, 1967 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
• Desilu Productions
• Norway Corporation
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 50 minutes

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Doug Jones Thought the "Ship Had Sailed" To Be in Star Trek Before He Landed 'Discovery'

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The Big Picture

• The Blu-ray and DVD collections for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 are now available with over 2 hours of bonus content.
• Doug Jones, who played Saru, shares his hopes for Discovery 's legacy and reveals some special moments from filming the series.
• Saru's final arc in Season 5 includes a heartwarming love story that brings his character to a happily-ever-after ending.

Star Trek: Discovery may have come to an end with its fifth and final season earlier this year, but the adventure continues as the Blu-ray and DVD collections for Season 5 hit shelves today. With over two hours of bonus content, the journey doesn't have to end and the new gag reel and audio commentaries just might make the wait for Starfleet Academy a little bit easier. To celebrate the home release of Discovery Season 5 I sat down with Doug Jones , known for his many creature roles in a vast range of movies and television series.

Jones, who played Saru, the Kelpian first officer turned diplomat throughout Discovery 's five seasons , shared his hopes for the legacy of the series within the eternal Star Trek franchise as well as his reasons for why you absolutely need to bring the Blu-ray or DVD version of Season 5 home. He also shared a heartwarming story about his first and last moments in the series and the romantic happily ever after for Saru in the show's series finale. You can read the transcript of our conversation below or watch it in the player above.

Star Trek: Discovery

Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

COLLIDER: Saru goes on such a beautiful journey across the five seasons of this show and with this crew. With the series wrapped now and coming to this lovely home release, what do you hope the legacy of Discovery will be in five years, 10 years, within this hopefully eternal franchise?

DOUG JONES: I think with 58 years under our belt, it's on its way to being an eternal franchise. [Laughs] With Discovery 's place in the Star Trek universe, I hope the takeaway fans take from our show is hope. The word hope seems to be what drove us all, from the writers to us actors, and the film crew — offering hope for a future that makes sense, a hope for a future where conflict can be resolved with peaceful, diplomatic discussion as opposed to war. I'm hoping that our takeaway will be a future that is peaceful and makes sense to all of us. And that seems to be what the fans’ feedback has given me.

When I'm out there on the convention circuit meeting people one at a time, I keep hearing about, “Oh my gosh, this show has meant so much to me.” And the thing about art is that people take different things away from a piece of art. There can be a sculpture on a stand, and four different people looking at it can take away four different things from that piece of art. So, our show has been controversial because some people have taken away different things from it, but the ones who get a story and find themselves on film find a story they can relate to. In the entire Star Trek Universe, the whole franchise, there is a character for everyone and there's a storyline for everyone if you wanna find yourself and find something you can relate to in that show. So, Discovery has tapped a whole demographic.

Absolutely. One of my favorite things about collecting physical media is the bonus features. With this home release, can we expect to see you on some of the bonus features? Did you pop in for any commentaries or the gag reel?

JONES: There will be, indeed, an audio commentary that I'm not a part of, but there are so many features that are only on the DVD and Blu-ray collection, including some character backstories and character development behind the scenes, especially for Michael Burnham's character. Also, interviews from all of us that will only be on the DVD release. My favorite part of the bonus features that will only be on the DVD and Blu-ray is the gag reel. I love me some gag reel every year, and I make my way into it every time. [Laughs] I've already seen the gag reel for Season 5 and I'm in there, and I did hit the approval button on that one, like, “Yes, love it!”

Doug Jones Felt the "Responsibility and Gravity" of Joining Star Trek

"it made sense that i would have been in star trek at some point during my career.".

Amazing. I can't wait to see it. Looking back at the show, can you tell me about the first and last moments when you really felt the magic of the series?

JONES: The first moment of, “Oh my gosh,” was, “I am part of the Star Trek franchise now.” As an actor who's worn lots of rubber bits over the years, it made sense that I would have been in Star Trek at some point during my career — didn't happen until I was 56 years old. I thought that ship had sailed, but turns out that ship was a starship, and it finally docked and said, “Get on.” [Laughs] So, my first day on the set of Season 1, Episode 1 was like, “Oh, we're really here. I'm on the bridge of a freaking starship in Starfleet in the Federation. Oh my gosh! And I'm playing a species that's never been seen in this franchise ever before.” What a responsibility and gravity that I felt for that, as well.

At the end of the series, it was like, “Wow, have I been on a journey with this character and with this team of people.” It was a very emotional day, our final day, hugging each other and everyone fighting back tears and having a very happily-ever-after for my character. Saru went through such a journey, professionally. Upward mobility. Every promotion he got was like one more step up for a Kelpien for the first time, one more step up for a character who lived in fear and now is living in confidence and courage, getting over anxiety, and then finding love for the first time in his life, ending the series in a marriage. They get to live happily ever after romantically , and he gets to live happily ever after professionally. It couldn't have been better. I could not ever have imagined a better finality for this character.

I know that Season 5 wasn't originally planned to be the end, but with it coming to this really beautiful full-circle moment. Can you talk a bit about Saru’s final arc being that love story?

JONES: Again, it was kind of like this really, really good luck that Saru’s love story came to that sort of happily-ever-after in Season 5, not knowing that that was gonna be… We thought we had seven seasons to go, or a couple more. So, when I got the news that Season 5 was our final one, I thought back to what we filmed in Season 5 and I thought, “That feels pretty right to me.” That's a great jump-off point for Saru, I think. I was sad to leave all my friends and this family that we built, but at the same time, story-wise, I felt pretty satisfied.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. You can stream the entire series on Paramount+.

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