Walter Koenig (Actor), Chekov on the original 'Star Trek,' dies at 90

Walter Koenig was an actor best known for playing Ensign Pavel Chekov, the young Russian navigator of the starship Enterprise, on the original "Star Trek" TV series and in seven "Star Trek" movies.  He died Sunday, Oct. 25, at his home in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles at age 90, according to a statement from his representative, Zachery McGinnis of Galactic Productions, an agency that books actors for fan conventions.  The statement said he died of old age, with his daughter and niece at his side.

Koenig was born in Chicago on Sept. 14, 1936, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents and grew up in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan.  He started at Grinnell College in Iowa planning to study medicine, then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a psychology degree in 1958.  A professor pushed him toward acting, and he trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse, an acting school in New York.

He joined "Star Trek" in its second season, in 1967.  The show ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969 and later built a huge fan following.  Koenig played Chekov again in all six movies starring the original cast, starting in 1979, and in "Star Trek Generations" in 1994.  He also wrote an episode of the 1973 cartoon version, making him the first member of the original cast to write a "Star Trek" story for TV.

In the 1990s he played Alfred Bester, a mind-reading police officer, on the science fiction series "Babylon 5."  He wrote scripts for shows including "Land of the Lost" and "Family," taught acting and directing at UCLA and other schools, and wrote several books, including a memoir.  He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

Koenig is survived by his daughter, Danielle Koenig.  His wife, actress Judy Levitt, died before him, in 2022 at 83.  Their son, actor Andrew Koenig, died in 2010 at 41.