WALTER KOENIG, the actor who played Pavel Chekov during decades of Star Trek (as well playing his own descendant, 24th-century Federation president Anton Chekov in Star Trek: Picard) and also thrilled fans as the evil-but-very-complex Alfred Bester in the TV series Babylon 5, has passed away from natural causes at the age of 90. Only WILLIAM SHATNER (95) and GEORGE TAKEI (89) remain from the original TOS cast.
The son of Russian Jewish parents who immigrated to the U.S. before he was born, Walter himself was a “Russian inwention,” but he was always unique, refreshing, and friendly to his fans.
What many Trekkers might not know is that Walter appeared on television more than 100 times in no less than 42 separate roles, playing everything from a teenage gang leader in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents to a middle-aged Tom Sawyer in The Boys in Autumn. He appeared in countless theatrical performances, including a production of a play by Russian author ANTON PAVLOVICH CHEKHOV that I saw in a tiny theater in West Hollywood back in the mid-1990s…because someday I wanted to say, “I saw Chekov doing Chekhov!” And now I have said it.
Walter was also a writer, having published nearly half a dozen books and comic/graphic novels:
- Chekov’s Enterprise (1980) — A personal journal about making Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
- Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot (1988) — A science-fiction novel.
- Warped Factors: A Neurotic’s Guide to the Universe (1998) — His memoir about his life and career, including Star Trek and Babylon 5.
- Walter Koenig’s Things to Come (2012) — A science-fiction graphic novel.
- Raver — A comic-book project associated with Koenig.
Walter was always accessible to fans, and indeed, he was the first TOS cast member I ever saw at a convention, in New York City way back in 1983, when Creation was still affordable and no one charged for photos yet. I still remember hearing that “Chekov was in the bathroom when Khan met him” story for the first time during that con…a story I would hear Walter tell two or three dozen MORE times over the course of the next many years. And honestly, I never got tired of hearing him tell it.
As this is a fan film blog, I wanted to acknowledge Walter’s willingness to lend his talents to fan productions. He was one of the first TOS actors (along with GEORGE “Sulu” TAKEI) to reprise his role of Chekov in a fan project, specifically “TO SERVE ALL MY DAYS” from STAR TREK: NEW VOYAGES in 2006 and also in STAR TREK: RENEGADES almost a decade later.
But it wasn’t just that Walter agreed to help out fans with their amateur films. Walter always—always!—brought his A-game to each fan project. Indeed, this led to what I personally believe was one of his all-time best performances (including Bester on B5!) in the 2008 fan film STAR TREK: OF GODS AND MEN. I’ve cued it up for you; take a look and see if you agree…
Thank you, Walter, for everything that you gave to Star Trek and to your many, many fans.