Walter Koenig, beloved Chekov on ‘Star Trek,’ dead at 90

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Walter Koenig, who was best known for playing Ensign Pavel Chekov on Star Trek, has died at the age of 90.

Koenig played the character on the original series from 1967 to 1969 and reprised the role in six Star Trek movies featuring the original cast. He also appeared in 1994’s Star Trek Generations and had a voice cameo in a 2023 episode of Star Trek: Picard.

A rep for the actor told PEOPLE and Variety that he died “of old age at home in North Hollywood last night surrounded by his daughter and niece.”

“Best known for his iconic role as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek: The Original Series, Walter helped inspire audiences with his optimism, humour, and adventurous spirit. Beyond Star Trek, his long and distinguished career showcased his versatility as an actor and his genuine love for his craft,” his rep added. “His remarkable talent continued to shine in his later years, most recently with his performance in the short film Mr. Fleischmann, for which he received the Platinum Award for Best Actor at the 2026 Independent Shorts Awards — a fitting recognition of a lifetime devoted to his craft.”

Born in Chicago as the son of Lithuanian immigrants, Koenig said he hadn’t watched Star Trek before he joined the series in its second season.

“I’d flip through the channels and I’d see Styrofoam rocks — they were so obviously Styrofoam — and I said, ‘This has got to be phony.’ I didn’t give it a chance,” he recalled in a 2013 interview with the TV Academy Foundation. “I just went past it.”

But Chekov became a fan favourite among kids and teenagers.

“My (fan) mail was from people who were 8 to 14 years old,” he said. “I got hundreds and hundreds of letters. At one point I was getting the third most mail after Bill (Shatner) and Leonard (Nimoy).”

Chekov was later played by Anton Yelchin in J.J. Abrams’ rebooted Star Trek film series. Yelchin died in a tragic accident in 2016 at age 27.

‘Walter was more than Chekov’

Koenig’s castmate, George Takei, said in a post shared to Instagram that his “heart is heavy” as he paid tribute to his castmate.

“Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend,” Takei said.

Takei also recounted his first meeting with Koenig and how their friendship had lasted well after the show ended.

“Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad (Altman) 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.”

Koenig’s rep said the actor’s legacy extended beyond the screen and that “he shared his kindness, wit and appreciation with everyone fortunate enough to meet him.”

“He understood what Star Trek meant to people and embraced the community that grew around it,” they said. “Thank you, Walter, for the memories, the inspiration, and for boldly going where few have gone before.”

In a 2020 interview with Salon, Koenig, who also appeared on Babylon 5 in the 1990s, said his foray into acting didn’t come naturally, telling the outlet he was “shy” growing up.

“I go back to the sixth grade. I had a stutter until I took the lead in the school play and that killed the stutter. Then I went to private school, and I was still a type of background personality until I did the lead in my sophomore year high school play. That made me quite popular,” he recalled.

Koenig went to college in Iowa before transferring to UCLA, where he picked up acting once again.

“I ended up with an instructor who had a lot of faith in me,” he said. “He was the one that actually laid it out for me. He told me, ‘You’re not married. You don’t have kids. You have no responsibilities. Why don’t you give it a shot?'”

He went to New York and joined the Neighborhood Playhouse alongside Christopher Lloyd, Dabney Coleman, Brenda Vaccaro, Elizabeth Ashley and Jessica Walter, among others.

“I knew then that acting was it for me. There was no turning back. This is where I felt I had a home. I had no idea whether I would have any success. I’m confident that I was not one of those students who anybody anticipated might see some recognition,” he said.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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