04:04 AM ET 06/12/99Actor DeForest Kelley Dead at 79
 Actor DeForest Kelley Dead at 79 By LYNN ELBER= AP Television Writer=
 	   LOS ANGELES (AP) _ DeForest Kelley, whose portrayal of the
 cantankerous and compassionate Dr. McCoy on the original ``Star
 Trek'' series highlighted an acting career dating to the 1950s, has
 died after a lengthy illness. He was 79.
 	   Kelley died shortly after noon Friday, said Carol Pfannkuche, a
 spokeswoman for the Motion Picture and Television Country Home and
 Hospital, a retirement facility in suburban Woodland Hills.
 	   Dr. Leonard ``Bones'' McCoy was one of the colorful crew of
 23rd-century space travelers that helped make the ``Star Trek''
 television series a lasting cult favorite. The program aired from
 1966-69 on NBC.
 	   The verbal sparring and the love-hate relationship between McCoy
 and the coldly logical Mr. Spock provided grist for many of the
 lighthearted moments in the series, its spinoffs and several ensuing films.
 	   ``I'm just a country doctor!'' McCoy would exclaim when called
 on to cope with the other-worldly illnesses and calamities that
 beset the USS Enterprise, but he would always come through for his captain.
 	   Bones hardly went an episode without arguing or complaining.
 	   ``I signed aboard this ship to practice medicine _ not to have
 my atoms scattered back and forth across space by this gadget,'' he
 growled in one episode. His exclamations included ``I'm a doctor,
 not a mechanic'' and ``I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer.''
 	   ``DeForest Kelley was a Southern gentleman all of his life _ a
 kind, good, wonderful friend,'' said William Shatner, who played
 Capt. James Kirk. ``I will miss him.''
 	   Added Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock: ``He represented
 humanity and it fitted him well. He was a decent, loving, caring
 partner and will be deeply missed.''
 	   Born Jackson DeForest Kelley on Jan. 20, 1920, in Atlanta, he
 played supporting roles in a number of movies, including ``The Man
 in the Gray Flannel Suit'' (1956); ``Gunfight at the O.K. Corral''
 and ``Raintree County'' (1957) and ``Apache Uprising'' (1966).
 	   He also made appearances on dozens of television shows,
 including ``Gunsmoke'' and ``Bonanza.''
 	   ``Star Trek,'' which was created by Gene Roddenberry, brought
 Kelley out of relative obscurity and into the limelight of popular
 culture. He played the role in six of the ``Star Trek'' films.
 	   Kelley didn't object to being typecast as McCoy.
 	   ``He loved it. He loved that series so much,'' said A.C. Lyles,
 a friend and longtime Paramount Studios producer who knew Kelley
 for five decades.
 	   Lyles recalled how Kelley went up for a leading role in ``This
 Gun for Hire'' in 1940, losing out to Alan Ladd but gaining a
 Paramount contract and regular roles in Westerns.
 	   ``I always used him as a heavy, a mean man, and he was marvelous
 at that,'' Lyles said. In real life, Kelley was known for his great
 sense of humor and a skill at growing roses.
 	   McCoy helped to round out the core characters of the original
 cast _ the macho Kirk, the ever-placid Spock and the spirited engineer Scotty.
 	   ``Despite the character he played, he was a very sweet, shy and
 gentle man,'' said George Takei, 62, who played Sulu in the series and movies.
 	   Kelley is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Carolyn. She
 was hospitalized at the Motion Picture facility with a broken leg
 and had been in the room next to her husband, Lyles said.
 	   Funeral plans were pending.