Saturday, March 31, 2007

From Sawdust to Stardust: The Biography of DeForest Kelley, Star Trek's Dr. McCoy (Terry Lee Rioux)

[***] ISBN: 0743457625

This is a pretty decent account of the life of the actor that brought to life one of the great cultural icons of my time. After having read the autobiographies of many of the actors behind the other major characters of Star Trek, I had always wished that DeForest had written his as well. Since he did not, I was glad to find someone did it on his behalf.

There's plenty here to like. There are many details about his formative years and pre-Trek career in cowboy films and television. There's also an appropriate amount of detail about his later illness and passing. I really like how the author was able to elicit plenty of memories and opinions from De's neighbors and friends. Oh yeah, she also includes plenty of anecdotes about making the Star Trek television shows and movies.

What didn't work is expecting the reader to always remember the cast of unknown characters surrounding the Kelleys in their private life. I've never heard of these people, so it was hard to keep them straight. I needed a bit more structure so I could remember how they fit into the picture (was that someone he met at the Long Beach theater or is it the mail man?). One other annoyance for me was the occasional lapse into editorial by the author, as she waxed poetic about the meaning of Star Trek or DeForest Kelley's career. But this was usually excusable.

Recommended for anyone who loves Star Trek, or cowboy movies.

No comments: