Walter Koenig, who played navigator Pavel Chekov on the original “Star Trek” and became one of the franchise’s most recognizable faces, died Sunday at 90. His agent confirmed the death on Monday. George Takei, Koenig’s friend of nearly six decades, posted the news on Facebook the same day. “Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today,” Takei wrote, adding that his heart was heavy.
Koenig joined the NBC series at the start of its second season in 1967. He appeared in 36 of the 50 episodes that aired during the show’s second and third seasons. Creator Gene Roddenberry cast him partly to draw younger viewers, and the studio’s publicists falsely credited the Russian character to a complaint in the Soviet newspaper Pravda. The character carried a thick accent, a mop-top haircut and an unlikely amount of Cold War symbolism.
Chekov outlasted the series. Koenig reprised the role in seven feature films, from 1979’s “The Motion Picture” through 1994’s “Generations,” and returned in 2023 to voice President Anton Chekov in “Star Trek: Picard.” His representative said he never tired of the character and gladly spoke with fans at conventions.
Koenig built a second career outside Starfleet. He played the scheming telepath Alfred Bester on “Babylon 5.” He also wrote for television, with credits on “Land of the Lost” and “Family,” and published several memoirs. Born in Chicago and raised in Manhattan by Lithuanian immigrant parents, Koenig studied psychology at UCLA before turning to acting. His early work included “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” and “I Spy.”
His bond with Takei began awkwardly. When Takei returned from filming “The Green Berets,” the two had to share a dressing room, and Takei reportedly bristled at the arrangement. Both men later joked about it, and the friendship held. In 2008, Koenig served as best man at Takei’s wedding to Brad Altman. Koenig’s death leaves William Shatner and Takei as the last surviving members of the original series’ core cast. Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and, in 2022, Nichelle Nichols preceded him.
