Chekov aka Koenig

Walter Koenig / Pavel Chekov

By Susan Chandler Kelley
Copyright 2009; do not reprint without permission

On this blog, I’ll discuss many unusual, quirky and interesting sites I’ve come across in my Web travels. Today the topic is Walter Koenig. His Website is maintained by a wonderful lady named Patty Wright (who also helps produce the Star Trek Phase II online episodes). It is the only authorized Website for Mr. Koenig and is available at: http://www.walterkoenigsite.com/

It is 9pm on a Friday night in 1967. A 10-year-old girl tunes in her favorite TV show, Star Trek, and notices a new character. This 20-something, attractive, mop-topped brunette guy speaks with an adorable (if sometimes inconsistent) Russian accent. The young girl melts. Fast-forward to Winter 1976. The now 19-year-old girl is in college and meets a 20-something, attractive, mop-topped brunette guy who speaks with an adorable accent. The young woman melts.

Not until a few months ago, when I  discovered Patty’s site and caught up with Walter Koenig via this site, did I realize what an incredible resemblance my first serious love object bore to Chekov. Her site contains many pics of Mr. Koenig and probably his best-known role, cheeky Chekov. These pics brought home my ‘transference’ of childhood infatuation for Chekov to his ‘lookalike’ that I met in college. ‘Tis a pleasant stroll down Memory Lane  and a  mother-lode of info on the multi-talented Mr. Koenig.

Patty’s Koenig site contains extensive info on Mr. Koenig, the actor. It also includes links to its sister site, devoted to all things Chekov (including some fun fanfiction). Mr. Koenig is best known for two polar opposite TV roles: Star Trek’s youthful Russian navigator,  Pavel Chekov (mentioned above), and Babylon 5’s ruthless Psi-Cop villain, Alfred Bester.

When I happened upon this site, I knew only these two roles. I had no idea how far Mr. Koenig’s talents ranged. He has performed in stage work as well as dozens of TV shows from ‘Day in Court’ to ‘The Starlost’.  (He played one particularly memorable role in ‘Alfred Hitchcock Hour’ as Tiger, a psychopathic gang leader in ‘Memo from Purgatory’, written by Harlan Ellison.)  Mr. Koenig not only performed in all the franchised Star Trek movies, but also has recently starred in 2 Star Trek Webisodes (accessible from Patty’s Koenig site):  “To Serve All My Days” and “Of Gods and Men”.

Mr. Koenig possesses many writing credits, many more than mentioned here. He penned a satirical SF novel, Buck Alice and the Actor Robot and an unusal play You’re Never Alone When You’re A Schizophrenic.  He published a very honest, informative autobiography, Warped Factors, that was so engrossing I sped thru it in 3 hours. It was by turns ROFL funny and heart-tuggingly touching. He has  recently written, produced and performed in movies including The Bone Eaters, Mad Cowgirl, and Inalienable. (All three of these movies are accessible from Patty’s Koenig site.) Amazingly, he still finds time to write, teach, and  work with charities and a human rights campaign, Free Burma.

Even more amazingly, Mr. Koenig is the only one of the original major Star Trek characters who has not received a star on the Walk of Fame. Patty’s site includes a section with info on the campaign to get Mr. Koenig his star and on how to petition the Walk of Fame committee to this end. I am writing another petition to the Walk of Fame committee and hope you will also.

Patty’s thorough,  fully fleshed, fun site includes sections for his bio, credits, petition for his Walk of Fame star, appearances, photo gallery, fan gallery, current news, the Burma campaign, and the sister site devoted to Pavel Chekov.

Additionally, there’s an excellent review of Mr. Koenig’s autobiography, Warped Factors, at: http://cromely.blogspot.com/2009/01/book-review-37-warped-factors-neurotics.html

Also, there’s a list of many other Koenig/Chekov/Bester (mostly fanfiction)  Websites at: http://www.geocities.com/milkywayfarer/koenig.html

[Please remember to write the Hollywood Walk of Fame Committee to ask them to award Walter Koenig a star on the Walk of Fame. See WOFS blog for more info: Walter Koenig's Star ]