He couldnae change the laws of physics. Fond of a drop of Aldeberan whisky as well as the real stuff, 'Scotty' hailed from either Linlithgow or Aberdeen, depending upon which Trekorak you consult. His voice suggests Brigadoon as a more likely locatio
n. Once confined to quarters by Kirk for punching Korax the Klingon for mocking his accent, the USS Enterprise's chief Engineer was played by the late great James Doohan and will be played by Simon Pegg in the new Star Trek film. No-one ever actually said "Beam me up, Scotty". Avoid people who tell you this at social occasions.
2 GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIEBy his own admission, too poor to afford a surname, Springfield Elementary's inexplicably angry janitor has been voted fourth best peripheral character in the Simpsons. Engaged to nanny Sherry Bobbins until she regained her sight and discovered he was the ugliest man in Glasgow, Willie's muscular physique is particularly useful when he is greased up and pursuing stray dogs through heating ducts. How Willie arrived in America is unclear, though we know his father was hanged for stealing a pig.
3 STUART MCKENZIEOne of two roles played by Mike Myers in underrated comedy classic So I Married an Axe Murderer, Stuart is a man in the know. In particular he knows about the Pentavirate, the secret cabal involving Colonel Sanders that runs the world. A master of Scottish martial arts, the great man's version of Do ya think I'm sexy has been much admired.
4 SCROOGE MCDUCKCreated by Disney animator Carl Barks, Donald Duck's uncle is the Richest Duck in the World, though competition for this title is less than fierce. Scrooge is apparently based upon billionaire émigré Andrew Carnegie, and his ancestral castle is Dismal Downs on Rannoch Moor. In 2007 Forbes magazine named McDuck as the richest fictional character in history, with a fortune of $28.8 billion.
5 SHREKAgain voiced by Mike Myers, whose vocal versatility rivals that of Dick van Dyke, our ogre hero was originally to be voiced by Shrek-a-like Belushi-lite Chris Farley until his overdose. Myers had recorded most of his lines before a rethink meant that Shrek's squalid living conditions, No 1 buzz cut and obesity problem suggested only one place of origin for this Big Green Monster.
The full article contains 391 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
