Today we'd like to celebrate the birthday of our favorite country doctor, black hat cowboy, and consummate actor DeForest Kelley.  De would have been 93 years-young today and the Trek universe hasn't been the same since his untimely passing in 1999. De started his career in Hollywood with a role in the film noir classic Fear in the Night which starred Paul Kelly & Ann Doran. Shortly after that role, De served his country during World War II in the First Motion Picture Unit, making propaganda & training films for the US Armed Forces.  During his time with FMPU, De was spotted by a paramount talent scout and the rest, as they say, is history.

While cruising the tubes (the late Senator Stevens would be proud) I ran across a really cool video from 1990 featuring DeForest Kelley & the TNG cast / crew. Described as a news segment for Primetime Live, the video features Dee giving us a tour of the inner workings of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The video quality is pretty terrible, but it's definitely worth a watch. Man, Dee, we miss you.

We want to wish a very happy birthday to the dearly departed DeForest Kelley. De would have been 91 years-old today and it's been nearly 45 years since he first took on the role of the simply country doctor, Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy. De had quite a career before landing his role in Trek that included several westerns and TV guest spots. He even served his country during WWII in the Army's First Motion Picture Unit, making training films.

De was also a great lover of animals, he and his wife Carolyn had a wide variety ranging from the normal birds and dogs to a giant box turtle named "Myrtle".

It's been almost 12 years since De lost his battle with cancer and we wish we could make the trip to Hollywood and visit his star on the walk of fame.

First off, if you're reading this right after it hits the web and you live in the Mountain or Pacific time zones, you still have time to catch it. Tonight at 9pm, wonder boy and nerd impresario Wil Wheaton will be returning to TNT's hit show "Leverage". So, run, set your DVR and then come back and read the rest of the article. We set? Good. Wil's not the only TNG alumni to be returning to the small screen. Number One, or Jonathan Frakes as some folks call him, will be guest starring on "NCIS: Los Angeles" this Tuesday (December 14th) at 9/8central. As many of you know, Jonathan Frakes has been behind the camera for several years with only the sporadic appearance in the limelight. Keep an eye out for him as Navy Commander Dr. Stanfill. Unfortunately there's no news on how large the role will be or if Frakes will see much screen time, but if you miss the airing, you can always catch it streaming on CBS.com.

Before reality TV, scifi, or sitcoms ruled the small screen, westerns we're the studio's cash-cow. Almost every actor in Hollywood played a role on "Bonanza", "The Lone Ranger", "The Outlaws", etc., including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, & James Doohan. Now, a brand new DVD set called "Trek Stars Head West", features the original Enterprise crew in pre-Trek TV westerns from the 50s & 60s. The episodes also include guest starring roles by Robert Redford, Cloris Leachman, & Lon Chaney Jr. Check out the episode list below.

DeForest Kelley lost his battle to cancer in the summer of 1999.  It's amazing that time passes so quickly and it's been over 10 years since his passing.  De (as his friends would call him), spent his final days at The Motion Picture Country House.  The home was setup nearly six decades ago to look after elderly actors and unsung industry heroes including soundmen, lighting technicians and grips and is supported by The Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Yesterday on our Facebook page we posted a link to a Deforest Kelley video montage of his pre-Trek days as a cowboy and western movie star. This got us to thinking, that it's time for another edition of our famous Star Trek Youtube Video Round-up series.

Our favorite spacefaring country doctor is the focus of this episode. We found lots of great videos and fond memories of De Kelley, from a 1976 interview on Tom Snyder's Tomorrow program to rare footage from the 1995 Creation Grand Slam in L.A.. Check out the Videos below and, we sure do miss you De!

DeForest Kelley's gun-slinging days

A newly-released e-book, The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend, written by Kelley's former personal assistant Kristine M Smith, skyrocketed immediately to first place in the non-fiction category at Payloadz.com upon its May 1st release, where it has resolutely remained for three weeks.