According to Section31.com and reports from other Trek newsgroups many Star Trek fans have voiced their outrage at the Academy Awards. During the "Memoriam" part of the ceremony, the Academy paid many tributes to Actors who passed away in 1999. Such actors included the likes of Jim Varney (Ernest), Madeline Kahn, George C. Scott, and Desmond Lwewlyn(SP?) (James Bond). DeForest Kelley was completely forgotten. I have posted this information because I believe it is NECESSARY for us to inform people of this blatant error...or was it? Certainly the Academy is an elitest organization and had no right to simply forget DeKelley, he has been in films that span back into the 1940's. His career was too distinguished to have been "overlooked." Please post comments on your feelings about this "snubbery" and the Academy Awards. Perhaps eventually we'll be able to get a response (an honest one) from the Academy.

I didn't see the Awards and now I'm glad that I didn't. Shame, shame shame!

It's because of BS like this that I haven't watched the Oscars in years. They'll tout artsy-fartsy movies that put people to sleep, but totally snub the ones that make money or that people actually like. I'm sorry, but DeKelley was infinitely more popular than Jim Varney (who died in 2000, btw) Know what I mean?

I totally agree with the above post. (except the part about my fellow Kentuckian- Jim Varney. Know what I mean?)

Somehow I feel that Miklos Rosza was recognized either when he died.

And how about John Colicos?

Only ONE major newspaper in Chicago carried
the obit!

It's absolutely disgusting I tell ya'!

Yes, I noticed the omission, too. Kelley was infinitely more recognizable than some of the people featured. My guess was that the Academy felt it was something that the Emmy's should take care of this one. Of course, I disagree with that thinking. DeForest Kelley was in several movies, making him a movie star!

Can't believe that they left him out. I was half asleep when I watched the oscars and didn't notice that. How the Hell did they forget Deforest Kelley? He was the man. I can't believe that I didn't notice it. Screw those guys. At least the people who really care remember.

They did what?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Surely they know that Bones featured heavily in some of the most moving and well-acted scenes in any of the Trek movies? (Witness "The Wrath of Kahn," "The Search for Spock," "The Final Frontier," "The Undiscovered Country.")

De Forest Kelley's work will be remembered long after the work of Jim Varney has turned to dust.

Just a suggestion... perhaps it's the fact that De Kelly (bless him) predominantly did television work? (but that still doesn't explain Jim Varney - no offence intended to anyone)

Dee Kelley also did a lot of work in films, prior to his TV work, mostly as a heavy. I saw him at conventions in the '70's and early '80's. A wonderful guy.

One more really telling observation on Kelley: in recent years, nearly all of the original cast members have come out with biographies. At least a small portion of each of these biographies has included some carping: about their own role on the show, about things that happened on the show they were unhappy with, or about their relationship with the other cast members. De Forrest Kelley was conspicuously absent from this publishing slew of "tell-all" books. He preferred to let his work on the show speak for itself. I never knew him to have a bad word to say about his experience with the show, and if he did he kept it to himself. I think that really speaks volumes about the kind of man he was.

I was going to compile a list of my favorite McCoy moments in the original series and movies, but had to abandon this task in view of the fact that I was coming up with a priceless moment from nearly every episode. His performance and role in "The Empath" will always stand out in my mind, he was magnificent in that episode. Also the scene where he lets his father die in Star Trek V.
De Kelley in McCoy created a character who was plagued by inner demons yet still believed in humanity's basic goodness. He has a really memorable line in "The Omega Glory" delivered perfectly by Kelley: "I've found that evil usually triumphs unless good is very, very careful." That line gives us an insight into the soul of Dr. McCoy, a character as fully complex as either Kirk and Spock. And it was Kelley who gave that depth and complexity to him.

De Forrest Kelley and his character, were both, "very, very careful."

Goodness triumphs.

Bless you, De. And "Bones."

Deforest Kelley will surely be missed. I wish his family and friends my deepest sympathies.
He made McCoy great with his own greatness.

My own appreciation for him stems from:
-his scenes in ST III, especially the one with Spock near the end.
-his attempts to revive Gorkon in ST VI.
-his words in an interview with STM:
"Old actors don't fade away. They just die."
Here is a man much deserving of respect by all who see him in his plethora of guises in film and on television. He will be much missed, though through his Star Trek work, he will live on and on.

Sadly, tonight at the ACADEMY AWARDS during the Memorial sequence they failed to have even a BRIEF mention of DeForest Kelley despite his credits being listed on many, many films. How could an "Academy" make such a blatant, fowl error?

Has it really been a year since his death? It was weird. I was watching a Trek special I taped a few years ago, and it was weird. He actually joked, "That's probably gonna be on my tombstone...'He's death, Jim'". It was so weird to hear him speak of his tombstone.

I will remember DeForest Kelley as the soul of Trek. It has been 14 months since his death, and I still feel like I have lost one of the family. For 33 years, Star Trek WAS my second family. He is and always shall be missed.

Just been listening to the audio of Leonard Nimoy's 'I Am Spock', in which he can't speak highly enough about 'De' - crediting him as acting as a buffer between Nimoy and William Shatner. It's really a lovely tribute.

'Bones' McCoy, the conscience of the future, was and always will be the part of Star Trek I related to best. Here's to a real Southern gentleman with a marvelous perspective on Trek and life in general.

Here's a brainbuster trivia question for you all:

What project marked the last occassion that DeForrest Kelley offically "played" the role of McCoy?
(And, no, it wasn't STVI . . .)

Encounter At Farpoint---STTNG

No, that was in 1987, before STVI.

To give a hint: the answer is a commercial media release, though decidedly non-canonical.

2nd guess:

"Star Trek: Judgment Rites" video game (voice only)

If that's not it, I give up.

(This is what it says on IMDB.COM)

That's correct, John! I was wondering if anyone would get that. That game also features William Campbell reprising his role as Trelane.

I have that game. It's pretty cool. I wish they'd remake it for Windows 98 / ME so I don't have to use DOS anymore to play it!

Yesterday I saw an episode of Bonanza in which DeForrest Kelley guested. There were a couple of interesting Trek-related coincidences. The first was that Kelley's character was a doctor. Hoss Cartwright had been seriously injured and Pa Cartwright was seeking Kelley's help to treat him. The problem was that Kelley had been sentanced to hang for murder. The charge against him was doubtful, but had been laid down by a judge that had a grudge against Kelley.
The role of the vindictive judge was played by none other than John Hoyt, the first Enterprise doctor.

DeForest would have turned 91 this year on January 20.
I would have loved to meet him or see him at a convention-- he's the only original series cast member I never got to see.

I got to see him at a con. He was magnificent.

DeForest Kelley was a friend of George Reeves, who played Superman in the 1950's TV show.

De was one of the folks that didn't believe that Reeves committed suicide in 1959.

Courtesy of From Sawdust to Stardust : The Biography of DeForest Kelley by Terry Lee Rioux.

Mind boggling fact; our wonderful DeForest would turn 100 in a week a half, on January 20!

And today marks the centennial of the birth of DeForest Kelley.

The birth of DeForest starts with a single tree. ;-)

Actually, DeForest was his middle name. His first name was Jackson.

In From Sawdust to Stardust: The Biography of DeForest Kelley by Terry Lee Rioux, the author mentions a rumour that De went to a fortune teller when he was a kid.

Said fortune tell told him that he would be rich and famous sometime after he passed forty. Of course, he laughed it off.

He was forty-six when he was cast as McCoy on TOS.

De had good genes - he looked good for seventy-one in Star Trek VI. He even voiced McCoy one last time in a Star Trek computer game before his death.

Trivia time: DeForest Kelley shared his January 20th birthday with another famous Sci-Fi actor. Said actor is Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker.

De was born in 1920, and Tom was born 14 years later, in 1934.

The Two Doctors

Another "Two Doctors" is this: DeForest Kelley and Paul Fix (Dr. Piper in "Where No Man...") were in the 1972 horror flick Night of the Lepus. Along with Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun and L.A. newscaster Jerry Dunphy. The premise is...gigantic killer bunny rabbits run amuck. (Guess MGM didn't have much else going for it back in 1972. ) The pic turns up on TCM occasionally.

I've seen that movie.

All they needed was John Hoyt and they would have had the complete set (which was the case until 1987).

It ran last night on Svengoolie. I hadn't seen it in many years and boy was it bad. Apparently they spent all the budget on the actors and miniatures and had none left for better scriptwriters.

Saw it on "Svengoolie" last night as well; Sven intercut clips of when he last ran the flick 25 years ago with current inserts of Sven. He also noted that was DeForest Kelley's last non-Star Trek role.

Maybe if Svengoolie meant movie role, but IMDB shows a couple of other non-Star Trek roles.

He appeared on an episode of the Canadian made series, The Littlest Hobo.

Came across an interesting tidbit from the October 1947 American Legion Magazine about the start of DeForest Kelley's acting career. Page 65, section titled Our Vet-of-the-Month.

The picture quality isn't great, but a copy of the navy film Time To Kill that got DeForest his film career is up on YouTube.

It's a bit of an educational film and De doesn't have a big part (it's more of an ensemble film with different sailor's stories.) Just over 22 minutes long.

Interesting.