Fellow Star Trek Actor George Takei has posted that his long-time friend and colleague Walter Koenig passed away early this morning. Koenig was 90, and died of natural causes in his home in North Hollywood, California.
Said Takei in a social media post:
My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today.
Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad and I married in 2008, Walter stood beside us as our best man. Just last month, on Sept. 14, he turned 90, on the same day Brad and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. I will always treasure that he and I shared that date.
Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend. To the fans who loved him for so many years, thank you. He loved you too.
Rest well, my dear friend. Keep navigating a steady course.
– George
For most of his professional career as an actor and a writer, he was associated with science fiction. In the 1960s, he played Ensign Pavel Chekhov on Star Trek, and reprised the role in movies and video games. In the 1990s he reinvented himself with a recurring role on Babylon Five as PsiCop Alfred Bester.
It was the Star Trek fan mailing campaign to NBC that saved the show for a third season, led by John and BJo Trimble, which was the magic number that got the show into syndication. If not for that, Star Trek would have been just some odd show from the 1960’s that few would ever have seen, and the world would be a very different place today.
Raised in Manhattan as a son of Lithuanian immigrants, Koenig joined Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek for the start of its second season and appeared on 36 of the 50 episodes that aired in 1967-69. There were 78 episodes in all, including the first season.
Walter Koenig went on to portray Pavel Andreievich Chekov in the first seven Star Trek movies from Paramount, released from 1979 through 1991.
He was also a screenwriter of notable skill. As a writer, he wrote scripts for Star Trek: The Animated Series, The Powers of Matthew Star, and Land of the Lost, as well as an unproduced script for The Incredible Hulk.
He also appeared in the sci-fi movie The Privateers (2000), and had a supporting role in Gene Roddenberry’s failed pilot The Questor Tapes.
Walter Marvin Koenig was born September14, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to complete his degree. After one of his professors recommended he try his hand at acting, he moved to New York to attend Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater in New York City.
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Roles
- Pavel Andreivich Chekhov, Star Trek
- Alfred Bester, Babylon 5
- Deputy sheriff, Nightmare Honeymoon (1974)
- The alien Oro from the Planet Xar, The Starlost
- Coogan, Bone Eater
- Dr. Shilling, InAlienable 92007)
- Professor Timeon, Cowboys and Engines (2015)
- Ray Nabroski, Neil Stryker and the Tyrant of Time (2017)
- Frank Mooney, Nobility (2017)
- The admiral, The Renegades
- Milton Green, Diminuendo (2018)
- Admiral Harlan Sobol, Star Trek: Captain Pike
- Fireman Frank, Unbelievable (2020)
- Dr, David Freedman, Manhattan Transfer
Koenig was twice nominated for Saturn Awards, both times as Best Supporting Actor for playing Chekhov in Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
He is survived by his daughter Danielle. His son, Andrew Koenig predeceased him in 2010. His wife, actress Judy Levitt died in 2022 at the age of 83.
Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows. Her nonfiction book THEY ENDURED will be published by B Cubed Press in 2025 or 2026.
