Oct. 26 (UPI) — Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Chekov on the original Star Trek television series in the late 1960s, has died, his representatives announced Monday. He was 90.
Koenig, who was also known for playing the villain Alfred Bester on another science fiction show, Babylon 5, died at his home in Los Angeles, his spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times.
Born in Chicago on Sept. 14, 1936, to Russian Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, Koenig started his career with a few bit TV roles in the early 1960s before he landed the job as Ensign Pavel Chekov in Star Trek’s original series, beginning with its second season in 1967.
After playing the Russian character in 36 of series’ episodes, he went on to reprise the role in all seven of the original Star Trek movies, starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.
As Chekov, the USS Enterprise’s navigator, he became part of the world’s pop iconography, delivering such memorable lines as “Captain, I have the coordinates locked. We are ready to engage warp drive on your command.”
He also had a memorable recurring role as the “quintessential scoundrel” Bester on Babylon 5 in the 1990s, in which he is listed as “special guest star” for 12 episodes.
His second marriage came in 1965 to actress Judy Levitt, who appeared in three of the original Star Trek films. She died in 2022 and Koenig is survived by their daughter, Danielle Koenig, and a grandson, according to the Times.
Fellow original Star Trek cast member George Takei remembered Koening with a social media post on Monday.
“My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today,” he wrote.
“Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad 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, he added, “was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend. To the fans who loved him for so many years, thank you. He loved you too.
“Rest well, my dear friend. Keep navigating a steady course.”