Walter Koenig Has Died at 90. He Played Chekov on ‘Star Trek.’
As the baby-faced Russian navigator of the U.S.S. Enterprise, he was a mainstay of the original television series and seven films.
Walter Koenig, the actor most renowned for portraying Pavel Chekov in the original "Star Trek" series and films, passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday due to natural causes. He breathed his last in his residence in North Hollywood. Born on September 14, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois, Koenig was the offspring of Russian Jewish immigrants who had fled from the Soviet Union to Lithuania before moving to the United States.
When he was still a child, his family relocated to Manhattan, where he completed his education. His father, a communist, faced an investigation by the FBI. Koenig initially enrolled at Grinnell College in Iowa as a pre-med student but transferred to UCLA to earn his Bachelor's degree in psychology. He later joined the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City upon the recommendation of a professor, alongside fellow alumni such as Dabney Coleman, James Caan, and Christopher Lloyd.
Koenig was cast as Chekov in the second season of the "Star Trek" sci-fi series. Over the late 1960s, he appeared in 36 episodes of the show and later reprised the role in the first seven "Star Trek" movies released between 1979 and 1991. Chekov was subsequently portrayed in Paramount's rebooted "Star Trek" films by the late Anton Yelchin.
Post "Star Trek," Koenig ventured into screenwriting, contributing to episodes of "The Powers of Matthew Star," "Family," "Land of the Lost," and "The Incredible Hulk." In the mid-1990s, he garnered another significant sci-fi role as Alfred Bester on "Babylon 5," appearing in one episode of the series' first season and having a recurring guest role in 12 episodes.
In July 1965, Koenig married actress Judy Levitt, with whom he remained until her death in December 2022 at the age of 83. They had a son, Andrew, who took his own life at the age of 41 in 2010. Koenig served as best man at the wedding of his "Star Trek" co-star George Takei to Brad Altman in 2008. He is survived by his daughter, actress and screenwriter Danielle Koenig.
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