While many believe he played the first Star Trek doctor, DeForest Kelley actually played the third. He followed John Hoyt's Dr. Phillip Boyse from the first Star Trek pilot, The Cage and Paul Fix's Dr. Mark Piper from Where No Man Has Gone Before, the second pilot.
But it was DeForest Kelley’s portray of Dr. Leonard McCoy that has become iconic in popular culture. "Bones" was cantankerous, irritable, irascible, and even at times belligerent! But what would Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock be without Dr. McCoy?
The character regularly questioned Kirk’s or Spock’s stance on a topic and made them think about the moral and ethical implications of their decisions. His was the most human voice on the show.
The character is perhaps best remembered for the way he constantly needled Mr. Spock, making the point that logic was not always the correct answer for humans and that compassion deserved to be considered in any decision.
McCoy is also remembered for his "doctorisms." These took the form of a long-running gag that appeared throughout the series. When frustrated, McCoy would often say, "I'm a doctor, not a..." and then add some profession for which he felt he was being asked to comment. For example, he might say, "I'm a doctor, not an escalator!"
Bones was also famous for variations of the line, "He's dead, Jim."
But through all the different portrayals of McCoy, it was Kelley's acting ability that made him memorable. In fact, Kelley brought a unique quality to the character, something that would have been missing had another actor played the part.
De Kelley was the first of the original cast to pass. He died in 1999 from stomach cancer. After his death, Newsweek magazine published an obituary about Kelley. It started this way: "We’re not even going to try to resist. He’s dead Jim.”
