凯利第一次公开出演伦纳德·麦科伊医生是在《男性陷阱(英语:The Man Trap)》(1966年)中。尽管他的角色非常突出,但凯利的合同却只授予他“主演”(featuring)的名衔;直到第二季时,在制片人Robert Justman的强力主张下,他才成为“领衔主演”(starring)。[8]凯利对《星际旅行》的未来感到担忧,他对罗登伯里说,这个节目“不是上帝造万物以来最大的成功,就是最大的失败”。[9][10]凯利在整部初代《星际旅行》电视剧中都扮演麦科伊,并在后来的动画版《星际旅行》中继续为该角色配音。[1]
凯利年轻时曾希望成为一名医生,[11]他的生活经历在某种程度上帮助他塑造了麦科伊这一角色:一位医生曾经“语气平淡地”[12]将凯利母亲罹患癌症的消息告诉了他,这段经历成为了凯利塑造麦科伊形象的“磨料砂”。[13][14]《星际旅行》编剧D. C. Fontana曾提到,尽管罗登伯里创造了整个系列,但凯利才是麦科伊的实际创造者;这个角色的一举一动都是凯利心血的凝集。[10]对凯利而言,这项工作本身就是一场“折磨”(grueling)。[15]
^剧本:Harold Livingston,故事:Alan Dean Foster,导演:Robert Wise. Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 1979. Your revered Admiral Nogura invoked a little-known, seldom-used 'reserve activation clause.' In simpler language, Captain, they drafted me.
^Nemeck, Larry. Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion. 口袋书店. 2003-01-07. ISBN 978-0743457989.
^Burr, Ty. Star Trek. 波士顿环球报: 1. 2009-05-05 [2009-05-06]. (原始内容存档于2015-01-30).
^Porter, Jennifer E. Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture. Darcee L. McLaren. SUNY Press. 1999: p127. ISBN 0791443345. 引文格式1维护:冗余文本 (link)
^Amesly, Cassandra. How to Watch Star Trek. Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Number 3. John Fiske (ed.). Routledge. 1990: 68–69 [2009-04-07]. ISBN 0415037433. (原始内容存档于2015-03-26). 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…'
^ 48.048.1Kaplan, Anna L. Obituary: DeForest Kelley. Cinefantastique. October 1999, 31 (8): 62 [2009-04-07]. (原始内容存档于2015-03-26). 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.
^Butt, Miriam; Kyle Wohlmut. The Thousand Faces of Xena: Transculturality Through Multi-Identity. Globalization, Cultural Identities, and Media Representations. Natascha Gentz (ed.), Stefan Kramer (ed.). SUNY Press. 2006: 83 [2009-04-07]. ISBN 0791466833. (原始内容存档于2020-08-05). 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 . . .'引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^Lass, Martin; Rickie Hilder. The Discovery of Chiron. Musings of a Rogue Comet: Chiron, Planet of Healing 2nd. Galactic Publications. 2002: 212 [2009-04-07]. ISBN 097159242X. (原始内容存档于2020-08-04).引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助) 引文:“有一处经典场景(《黑夜魔鬼(英语:Devil in the Dark)》一集),当麦科伊要去执行一项挑战性的任务——去治愈一头主要由石块而不是血肉构成的生物时,他大叫到:‘我是医生,不是砖匠!’” 原文:“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!'”
^Van Heerden, Bill. Film and Television In-Jokes. McFarland. July 1998: 227 [2009-04-07]. ISBN 0786404566. (原始内容存档于2015-03-26). The Doctor has often used the "I'm a doctor, not a..." line popularized in the original Star Trek series by Dr. McCoy.
^The Brotherhood. Stargate: Atlantis. 第1季. 第14集. 2005-01-03. Sci Fi Channel.