Walter Koenig, Chekov in the original Star Trek, dies at 90
Walter Koenig, who played navigator Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek series and six films, has died at his home in North Hollywood aged 90, his representatives said. He also starred as Alfred Bester in Babylon 5.
Walter Koenig, the actor best known as the young Russian navigator Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek, has died aged 90. His representatives said he died of old age at his home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, on Sunday night, surrounded by his daughter and niece.
Koenig joined Star Trek in its second season, in 1967, and stayed until the series ended in 1969. He played Chekov again in the six films with the original cast, from 1979 to 1991, and briefly in Star Trek Generations in 1994. In 2023 he voiced an older Chekov, now a president, in Star Trek: Picard. In the 1990s he played a very different role, the ruthless telepath Alfred Bester, in the series Babylon 5.
Born in Chicago to Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union and raised in New York, Koenig trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He was also a writer: he wrote an episode of the animated Star Trek series in 1973 and published books.
His Star Trek co-star George Takei, who played Sulu, led the tributes: "Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend." Koenig's representatives said his talent and warmth "left a lasting mark on generations of fans around the world".
Koenig was married to actress Judy Levitt from 1965 until her death in 2022. Their son Andrew, an actor known for the sitcom Growing Pains, died in 2010. He is survived by his daughter, actress and screenwriter Danielle Koenig.