Walter Koenig, Star Trek’s Pavel Chekov, Dies at 90

Walter Koenig, the actor who played Russian crew member Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek franchise, has died. He was 90.

Family and a representative for Koenig confirmed that he died of natural causes on Sunday, according to TMZ. His work on Star Trek, on television and in film, led to other sci-fi roles in projects such as Babylon 5, Futurama and Moontrap.

A career built around Chekov

Koenig was born in Chicago in 1936 and started acting in the early 1960s. He joined Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek crew as Ensign Pavel Chekov in the show’s second season. Between 1967 and 1969, he appeared in 36 of the 50 episodes that aired.

He returned as Chekov in seven Star Trek feature films, including Star Trek: Generations, the movie that handed the franchise off to a new cast. He also kept voicing the character in video games such as Star Trek Online and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Anton Yelchin took over the role in the 2009 Star Trek reboot and its two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. Yelchin died in 2016.

The original crew

Koenig was one of the last surviving actors from the original Star Trek crew. Several of his castmates died before him:

• DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy) in 1999
• James Doohan (Montgomery “Scotty” Scott) in 2005
• Majel Barrett (Nurse Christine Chapel) in 2008
• Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand) in 2015
• Nichelle Nichols (Nyota Uhura) in 2022

William Shatner, who played James T. Kirk, and George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu, survive them. They are now the last core members of the Star Trek: The Original Series crew.

Star Trek at 60

The franchise marked its 60th anniversary in September. The original series premiered on Sept. 6, 1966, and ran for three seasons on NBC. Star Trek has since spread across numerous live-action films and television series, plus animated spinoffs.

Two Star Trek series are still on the air. The final seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy are expected in 2027.

Related reading: Star Trek movie writers tease a drastic new setting for the reboot

Source: Polygon