("Trust Me, I'm a Doctor")
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DeForest Kelley was a real charmer on the convention stage. He was unassuming, liked to banter, had a great story-telling style, and was both at ease with and appreciative of the fans, taking their questions seriously and providing thoughtful and honest answers. His convention appearances usually went like this:
Upon making his entrance (generally with a cheering crowd on its feet, full of people madly taking flash pictures in his face), he would laboriously sort his left hand into a Vulcan salute and present it triumphantly to a laughing audience.
He would start his spiel by thanking the audience in general for the invitation, making any personal observations or connection to the locale that he had, and often thanking specific fans in attendance for gifts or messages received. He would then lead in to and read one or more of his Star Trek poems ("The Big Bird's Dream" - 1977; "The Dream Goes On" - 1986; "The Dream Goes On... and On.. and On" - 199?) - and would often fling the signed copy he had been reading from into the audience.
After the reading, Kelley would usually relate a couple of stories from his cowboy days, or an anecdote or two from the latest movie or project, and then go into a question and answer session until his time was up. At any opportunity during an appearance - say, while struggling with a microphone -- he would toss off an "I'm a doctor, not a..." line, and whenever he reached for his water glass, he'd tell the crowd he needed a sip of Saurian Brandy.
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