Actor DeForest Kelley, loved around the world for his portrayal of cranky-but-sympathetic Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy on Star Trek, dies at the age of 79 from cancer. A mainstay of western movies and TV guest roles since the 1940s, Kelley had first crossed paths with Gene Roddenberry guest starring in an episode of Boots and Saddles written by Gene; Kelley later starred as the lead in an unsold Roddenberry legal drama pilot, 333 Montgomery. He made enough of an impression that Roddenberry lobbied for him to be cast in Star Trek, though Desilu didn’t hire the actor for either of the pilot episodes. Kelley’s most recent appearance in the role of Dr. McCoy had been in 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; he declined to take part in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations, though a role had been written for him. (He had already handed the baton off to The Next Generation in an unannounced cameo appearance in that series’ pilot.)
