De once said he was husky during Star Trek. I’d never describe him as husky (Shatner yes), but maybe the above time is when De meant. I’m swooning over his smile here… and the little flyaway hair.❤️❤️❤️❤️
1979
Everyone is looking trim for the first movie. Shatner said he started starving himself as soon as the movie was announced and Leonard was already thin. De is perfect— loving the gray hair at the temples (but you know how partial I am about him).
Cute article about De from the Lansing (Michigan) State Journal in January 1968. This was a United Press International (UPI) article that was re-printed in hundreds of newspapers across the country.
This is the first (and only time) I’ve ever heard that De had a fish named Bones, body surfed this late in his life or had property near the Palm Springs, CA desert. I simply love finding new information about him.
After two doctors from two pilots failed to take, it was obvious that the role of chief medical officer on the Enterprise was going to have to get a serious re-examination. DeForest Kelley had actually been at the top of Roddenberry’s short list for the position dating back to “The Cage,” but director Robert Butler suggested John Hoyt for the role of Dr Phil Boyce. By the time a second pilot was in the early stages of production, Kelley was filming the pilot of the other show that Roddenberry was working on, Police Story.
Police Story didn’t get picked up, so both Kelley and Grace Lee Whitney found themselves hired for Star Trek. Kelley would replace Paul Fix, whose Dr. Piper had failed to make much of an impression. In Leonard “Bones” McCoy, the producers, writers and directors had found the missing piece of the puzzle, a personality and character that would balance out Kirk’s commanding drive and Spock’s cool, alien detachment. Bones acted as an everyman, and his place outside of the traditional command structure meant that he could be more frank and even provide a voice for the audience on occasion.
Watching the show now, it’s remarkable how effortless Kelley’s performance looks, even by modern viewer’s standards; there’s nary a moment that isn’t pitch-perfect. His avuncular nature and friendliness were apparent on-screen and his very human reactions to the more outrageous moments of the series helped sell the unbelievable. Sadly, he wasn’t well-compensated for his sterling work, especially in the first season, when he made $800 per episode. His agent worked hard, though, and the second season’s star billing came with a hefty raise to match Nimoy’s $2,500 per installment. (Shatner was getting $5,000.)
“What I want, as a co-star, is to be counted in fully. I’ve had to fight for everything I’ve gotten at Star Trek from a parking space at the studio to an unshared dressing room, and sometimes the patience wears raw,” he said in a 1968 TV Guideinterview.
Even as Kelley was taken for granted by accountants, producers and the media — Roddenberry attempted to send him along with Nimoy and Shatner to the Today show in 1967, only to be told that he “wasn’t needed” — his reputation on the set was nothing short of stellar. Always happy to do another take, unfailingly polite to the various craftsmen around the soundstage and seldom heard complaining openly, Dee Kelley was widely considered the best-liked member of the cast, even as the series moved into film and beyond.
A few things others and also a few things I’ve noticed about De Kelley in any role he plays:
1. He’s always bouncing
2. He bats his eyes
3. The way he tilts his head to one side
4. The little cute smirk thing he does
5. He has one leg hiked up
6. The cute little I guess nervous tic thing he does with his mouth, especially when he’s playing Dr. McCoy
7. At times he has nervous hands
8. The way he raises both eyebrows when talking.
9. He has a certain sway when he walks
10. The way he turns his head to look at something or someone.
11. The way he stares.
I’m sure there’s more but those are the few things I can think of off the top of my head.
Great post. Love everyone’s lists!
Here’s mine:
When he crosses his arms against his chest, one hand has two fingers on the other arm (rather than four like I think most people). Being the DeForest-obsessive person I am, I started doing this as a kid to emulate him.
De pats or holds his stomach. He does this in real life too.
His inclination to mispronounce words (the name of the monster in “A Private Little War” was changed from Gumato to Mugato because De couldn’t say Gumato correctly).
He once said “akkerit” for “accurate”, but that’s a Southern accent thing (Andy Griffith said the same word on his show).
After watching every Star Trek TOS episode a thousand times—give or take (except the three episodes De isn’t in), I started to notice off-the-wall things. See how De carried his medical kit with one loop around his finger? That’s all.
