DeForest Kelley Net Worth

DeForest Kelley's Quotes

• [on why he chose to play Dr. McCoy instead of Mr. Spock on Star Trek (1966)] I wouldn't have been anywhere near Leonard Nimoy. He's marvelous.
• [on his life] I'd wanted to become a doctor and couldn't - yet became the best known doctor in the galaxy.
• [on the Star Trek (1966) fans] They're the most devoted group of people and contrary to what people think, they don't have antennae coming out of their heads.
• I'm very grateful for the career that I've had. And I'm very grateful for the experiences that Star Trek has afforded me along with my past background. When I look back and think how fortunate I've been to work with some wonderful people and had some marvelous experiences, then I can look at Star Trek and think it's almost like the cream on the coffee. I don't approach it as anything but a magnificent plus.
• I thoroughly enjoyed those years. I liked Westerns for two reasons: First, it took the actor outside. They were all very physical at that time and not limited to a stage. Second, they paid my rent an awful lot.

Interesting Facts about DeForest Kelley

1. Before landing the role of Dr. Leonard McCoy on "Star Trek" (1966), he was offered the choice to play Mr. Spock. Years later, he played both for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984).
2. One of 32 actors or actresses to have starred in both the original Star Trek (1966) up to and including Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and then in one of the spin-offs.
3. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
4. Made both his first (episode Star Trek: The Corbomite Maneuver (1966)) and last (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)) "Star Trek" appearances with Nichelle Nichols.
5. Shortly before his death, he won the "Golden Cowboy Boot" award, honoring his earlier work in Westerns.
6. Was the only cast member from the original Star Trek (1966) series never to write an autobiography.
7. The Enterprise (2001) character, Adm. Maxwell Forrest, played by Vaughn Armstrong, is named after him.
8. Of the four main Star Trek (1966) cast members (the others being William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan), he is the only one who never appeared in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Twilight Zone (1959) or The Outer Limits (1963).
9. Reportedly disliked doing Star Trek (1973) because he was never recording his lines at the same time as William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Kelley did not like this because he never got to interact with them and develop any rapport, which made reading his lines all the more difficult.
10. Told close friends that he always felt more comfortable in Westerns than science-fiction. In Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (1968)(#3.6) he got to do both.
11. Was the first primary cast member from the original Star Trek (1966) series to pass away. He was also the only one to pass away in the 20th century/second millennium.
12. A veteran of television and film Westerns, he has portrayed two different participants in the legendary 1881 O.K. Corral gunfight between the Earps and the Clantons. In 1955 he played Ike Clanton in an episode of the series You Are There (1953), and in 1957 he played Morgan Earp in the film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). On Star Trek (1966) the USS Enterprise away team beam onto a planet and he again finds himself at the O.K. Corral, playing Tom McLaury. This was in the third season, in Episode 6 entitled "Spectre of the Gun".
13. Shortly after his passing, "He's dead, Jim" was forever memorialized by being added in tribute to Dr. McCoy for two 1999 video games: StarCraft: Brood War (1998) and Shatner-oids, a spoof of the classic Atari game "Asteroids".
14. The tagline "I'm a doctor, not a..." has been quoted in almost every incarnation of Star Trek (1966) on film and television.
15. Had a great love of poetry, both reading and writing. Later in life he used to charm "Star Trek" convention audiences with three poems about Gene Roddenberry ("The Great Bird of the Galaxy") and the Star Trek franchise. They were called "The Big Bird's Dream", "The Dream Goes On" and "The Dream Forever".
16. Inspired many fans to take up medicine. He and his wife received an invitation to attend the graduation ceremony from medical school of one of them. They attended.
17. Played a medic in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956). Foreshadowing things to come, his character says, "This man is dead, Captain".
18. Often mistakenly billed as Kelly de Forrest.
19. His personal favorite Star Trek (1966) episode was Star Trek: The Empath (1968).
20. Attended Decatur High School in Decatur, GA, graduating in 1936.