Editing Leonard McCoy (section)

==Cultural impact==
McCoy is someone to whom Kirk unburdens himself, but is a [[foil (literature)|foil]] to Spock.<ref name="Inside Star Trek pg 240" /> He is Kirk's "friend, personal bartender, confidant, counselor, and priest".<ref>{{cite book|page=84|first1=Grace Lee|last1=Whitney|author-link=Grace Lee Whitney|title=The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy|year=1998|isbn=978-1-884956-03-4|publisher=Quill Driver Books|first2=James D.|last2=Denney}}</ref> Spock and McCoy's bickering became so popular that Roddenberry wrote in a 1968 memo "we simply didn't realize ... how much the fans loved the bickering between our [[Arrowsmith (novel)|Arrowsmith]] and our Alien".<ref name="davis20130907">{{cite web | url=http://io9.com/gene-roddenberrys-1968-memo-on-improving-star-treks-c-1267131265 | title=Gene Roddenberry's 1968 memo on improving Star Trek's characters | work=io9 | date=2013-09-07 | access-date=2013-09-07 | last=Davis | first=Lauren | archive-date=September 9, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909021406/http://io9.com/gene-roddenberrys-1968-memo-on-improving-star-treks-c-1267131265 | url-status=live }}</ref> Urban said McCoy has a "sense of irascibility with real passion for life and doing the right thing", and that "Spock's logic and McCoy's moral standing gave Kirk the benefit of having three brains instead of just one."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scifipulse.net/?p=581 |publisher=Sci Fi Pulse |title=Urban On Star Trek & McCoy |access-date=2009-01-26 |date=2008-07-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205194252/http://scifipulse.net/?p=581 |archive-date=December 5, 2008 }}</ref>

Kelley said that his greatest thrill at ''Star Trek'' conventions was the number of people who told him they entered the medical profession because of the McCoy character.<ref>{{cite book|title=Up Till Now: The Autobiography|first=William|last=Shatner|author-link=William Shatner|page=[https://archive.org/details/uptillnowautobio00shat/page/149 149]|year=2008|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-37265-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/uptillnowautobio00shat/page/149}}</ref> He received two or three letters a month from others reporting similar experiences. A friend observed that despite not becoming a doctor as he had hoped, Kelley's portrayal of McCoy had helped create many doctors. According to Kelley, "You can win awards and that sort of thing, but to influence the youth of the country ... is an award that is not handed out by the industry".{{r|rioux2005}}{{rp|273}}

==="He's dead, Jim."===
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Twenty times on the original ''Star Trek'' series, McCoy declares someone or something deceased with the line, "He's dead", "He's dead, Jim", or something similar. The phrase so became a [[catchphrase]] of the character that Kelley joked that the line would appear on his tombstone<ref name="Porter">{{cite book | title = Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture | last = Porter | first = Jennifer E. | year = 1999 | publisher = SUNY Press | page = 127 | isbn = 978-0-7914-4334-7 | contribution = Darcee L. McLaren}}</ref><ref name="Amesly">{{cite book | last = Amesly | first = Cassandra | others = John Fiske (ed.) | title = Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Number 3 | year = 1990 | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 978-0-415-03743-3 | pages = 68–69 | chapter = How to Watch Star Trek | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5fPe1YuA_6MC&pg=PA63 | quote = Equally part of typical episodes are a series of lines that fans readily recognize: some that are favorites in particular episodes (such as the 'accoutrements' cited in the beginning commentary) and some which are closely identified with characters: Dr McCoy says, 'He's dead, Jim,' and 'I'm a doctor, not a — '; Spock remarks 'Fascinating' to occurrences which appear likely to kill or maim the crew...' | access-date = October 18, 2020 | archive-date = April 17, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210417175951/https://books.google.com/books?id=5fPe1YuA_6MC&pg=PA63 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Kaplan">{{cite journal | last = Kaplan | first = Anna L. | date = October 1999 | title = Obituary: DeForest Kelley | journal = Cinefantastique | volume = 31 | issue = 8 | page = 62 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CYJZAAAAMAAJ | access-date = 2009-04-07 | quote = Dr. McCoy's signature lines, "He's dead, Jim", and "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer", will never be forgotten. In fact, Kelley joked that the line, "He's dead, Jim", would be written on his tombstone. | archive-date = March 12, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170312131200/https://books.google.com/books?id=CYJZAAAAMAAJ | url-status = live }}</ref>—and it appeared in the first sentence of at least one obituary<ref name="independent19990613">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-deforest-kelley-1100057.html | title=Obituary: DeForest Kelley | work=The Independent | date=1999-06-13 | access-date=7 April 2016 | archive-date=August 22, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822113214/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-deforest-kelley-1100057.html | url-status=live }}</ref>—but disliked repeating the line.{{r|rioux2005}}{{rp|166}} During filming of ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'', when Spock is dying from radiation exposure, Kelley felt it would spoil the gravitas of the moment, so he and [[James Doohan]] agreed to swap their lines: McCoy warns Kirk not to open the chamber, and [[Scotty (Star Trek)|Scotty]] says, "He's dead already".{{r|rioux2005}}{{rp|249}}<ref name="greenberg199205">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=94 | title=Install Long and Prosper | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=May 1992 | access-date=2013-11-24 | last=Greenberg | first=Allen | page=46 | archive-date=December 3, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002514/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=94 | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[University of Southern California]] literature professor [[Henry Jenkins]] cites Dr. McCoy's "He's dead, Jim" line as an example of fans actively participating in the creation of an [[underground culture]] in which they derive pleasure by repeating memorable lines as part of constructing new mythologies and alternative social communities.<ref name="Jenkins">{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Henry |title=Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York, N.Y. |isbn=978-0-41-553328-7 |page=76 |edition=updated 20th anniversary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xxwAZj22IdoC&q=%22he%27s+dead%2C+jim%22 |access-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417190847/https://books.google.com/books?id=xxwAZj22IdoC&q=%22he%27s+dead%2C+jim%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> As an example, the line appears in [[The Firm (novelty band)|The Firm]]'s 1987 [[novelty song]] ''[[Star Trekkin']]'', which became a #1 hit in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Star Trekkin' – a number one hit! |date=August 27, 2020 |url=https://trekkingwithdennis.com/2020/08/27/star-trekkin/ |publisher=Trekkin' with Dennis |accessdate=March 4, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wester |first=Anine |title=Star Trekkin 2009 |date=2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUq9Hxqad24 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |accessdate=March 4, 2025}}</ref>

==="I'm a doctor, not a..."===
Another of McCoy's catchphrases is his "I'm a doctor, (Jim) not a(n)..." statements,<ref name="Butt">{{cite book|last1=Butt|first1=Miriam|first2=Kyle|last2=Wohlmut|others=Natascha Gentz (ed.), Stefan Kramer (ed.)|title=Globalization, Cultural Identities, and Media Representations|year=2006|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-6683-4|page=83|chapter=The Thousand Faces of Xena: Transculturality Through Multi-Identity|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GWyF18r-tR4C&pg=PA83|quote=each character's role is clearly defined by his or her position on the ship, so much so that one of the show's many catchphrases was Dr. McCoy's recurring line, 'I'm a doctor, not a ...'|access-date=September 24, 2016|archive-date=March 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315112524/http://books.google.com/books?id=GWyF18r-tR4C&pg=PA83|url-status=live}}</ref> delivered by Kelley 11 times,{{r|rioux2005}}{{rp|166}} and three times by [[Karl Urban]] in later films. McCoy repeats the line when he must perform some task beyond his medical skills, such as when he is asked to treat the unfamiliar [[silicon]]-based Horta alien in "[[The Devil in the Dark]]" (1967), saying, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer."<ref name="Lass">{{cite book|last1=Lass|first1=Martin|first2=Rickie|last2=Hilder|title=Musings of a Rogue Comet: Chiron, Planet of Healing|edition=2nd|year=2002|publisher=Galactic Publications|isbn=978-0-9715924-2-1|page=212|chapter=The Discovery of Chiron|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UiYNPFOnLLwC&pg=PA212|quote=In a classic moment (episode: "The Devil in the Dark"), McCoy, challenged with healing a being that was made more of rock than flesh, spouts out, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"|access-date=September 24, 2016|archive-date=March 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315101507/http://books.google.com/books?id=UiYNPFOnLLwC&pg=PA212|url-status=live}}</ref> Variations of the line have also been used by doctors in other ''Trek'' series, including [[Julian Bashir]], [[Phlox (Star Trek)|Phlox]], and the [[The Doctor (Star Trek: Voyager)|Emergency Medical Hologram]] stationed aboard ''[[USS Voyager (Star Trek)|Voyager]]''.

Kelley parodied the phrase in a 1992 commercial for [[Trivial Pursuit]]'s 10th Anniversary Edition, in which the question is asked, "How many chambers are there in a human heart?" replying "How should I know? I'm an actor, not a doctor!".<ref name="Fortean">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.forteantimes.com/specials/star-trek/1668/im_a_doctor_not_a.html |title=I'm a doctor, not a... Dr Leonard McCoy's much-parodied signature phrase |magazine=[[Fortean Times]] |access-date=2010-03-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607042552/http://www.forteantimes.com/specials/star-trek/1668/im_a_doctor_not_a.html |archive-date=June 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; Giving Familiar Brands a Second Chance |author=Stuart Elliott |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1992-09-22 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/22/business/the-media-business-advertising-giving-familiar-brands-a-second-chance.html?pagewanted=1 |access-date=2010-03-27 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009090943/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/22/business/the-media-business-advertising-giving-familiar-brands-a-second-chance.html?pagewanted=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

It is often believed that Kelley said "Damn it, Jim!" before the "I'm a doctor" line, but in reality "damn" was never said on the original show (although "damning" was used) because the word was considered taboo on TV in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-doctor-mccoy-damn-it-jim-doctor-not/ | title=Did Dr. McCoy Never Actually Give a 'Damn' on Star Trek? | date=August 27, 2019 }}</ref>

===In popular culture===
An audio clip of McCoy saying "It's worked so far, but we're not out yet." (taken from the episode "[[I, Mudd]]") was sampled by Minnesota-based New Wave band [[Information Society (band)|Information Society]] on their 1988 hit single "[[What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)]]".