Walter Koenig, who played starship navigator Pavel Chekov on the classic 1960s sci-fi TV series Star Trek and its feature films, has passed away at the age of 90.
Koenig’s co-star and longtime friend, George Takei, shared the sad news on Facebook on Monday.
“My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today,” Takei shared.
Koenig died at his home in Los Angeles, according to his talent agent, as reported by the Associated Press.
The actor started his career with a few roles on television, before he was casted on the TV series by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who wanted to add a Russian character to the Starship Enterprise crew.
Koenig who was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, had used an inauthentic Russian accent that was sometimes played for laughs in the TV series.
His character was added to the racially and culturally diverse crew amid the real-world Cold War tensions of the era, with the original show running for three seasons in 1966 to 1969. Koenig also appeared in the seven feature films from 1979 to 1994.
“We were stating tacitly that peoples of all races and creeds, nationalities could not only co-exist but care for each other deeply, and in doing so we were heralding a future that was very optimistic,” Koenig said in a previous BBC interview.
The TV series grew a worldwide fanbase and is still a big part of pop culture.
“It seemed like an engagement that might work out over several episodes, but I had no idea that it would totally shape my career and my life,” Koenig told the Joplin Globe in 2008.
While there was a period of time the actor was out of work due to being typecast in similar roles, he eventually landed a regular role in Babylon 5 and was an author, script writer and occasional director.
Image: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com
