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Walter KoenigActor, producer, screenwriter, novelist, teacher and comic book creator
Date of Birth: 14.09.1936
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Acting Career
- Other Notable Roles
- Writing and Comics
- Teaching
- Activism
- Personal Life
Early Life and Education
Walter Marvin Koenig was born on September 14, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia who had lived in Lithuania before emigrating and shortening their surname "Koenigsberg" (like the city of Königsberg in Germany) to "Koenig." Koenig attended Grinnell College in Iowa and later transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a degree in psychology.
Acting Career
"Star Trek"Koenig played Pavel Chekov, navigator of the USS Enterprise, in the original "Star Trek" television series and several subsequent films. The role of Chekov was based on the popularity of British singer and actor Davy Jones of the pop-rock band The Monkees, as a way to appeal to younger audiences, particularly girls. Screenwriter Gene Roddenberry had Koenig "ham up" Chekov's Russian accent for comedic effect. Chekov was played by an uncredited stunt double in the animated "Star Trek" series.
Koenig was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." He reprised the role of Chekov for the fan-produced web series "Star Trek: New Voyages" and the 2006 direct-to-video film "Star Trek: Of Gods and Men."
Other Notable Roles
After Chekov, Koenig played Psi-Cop Alfred Bester in the television series "Babylon 5." He appeared as a special guest star in 12 episodes, beginning in the third season. He was also cast as Bester for the spin-off series "Crusade," but it was canceled shortly after production began.
Koenig made two appearances as "Oro" in the Canadian science fiction series "The Starlost," which aired on CTV in 1973. He has had a long and varied acting career, spanning over 50 years, in both film and television, playing roles ranging from a teenage gang leader in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" to an older Tom Sawyer in "The Boys in Autumn." He returned to the science fiction genre in Robert Dyke's "Moontrap" and Jason Bourque's "Maximum Surge."
Writing and Comics
In addition to acting, Koenig has worked as a writer on several projects, including "The Actor," "I Wish I May," and "You're Never Alone When You're a Schizophrenic." He wrote several episodes of "Star Trek: The Animated Series," "Land of the Lost," and "The Powers of Matthew Star."
Koenig has also written several books, including his autobiography "Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe," a journal he kept on the set of "Star Trek" called "Chekov's Enterprise," and the science fiction novel "Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot" (reissued in 2006). He created the comic book series "Raver," which was published by Malibu Comics in the early 1990s.
Teaching
Koenig has taught acting and directing at UCLA, Sherwood Oaks College of Experimental Film, the Actor's Alley Repertory Company in Los Angeles, and the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. In 2002, he directed stage adaptations of two episodes of "The Twilight Zone" for Letter Entertainment.
Activism
In 2004, Koenig co-starred in the independent film "Mad Cowgirl," about a meat inspector who dies of a brain disorder. He played the slimy, repulsive, and sexually predatory televangelist "Pastor Dylan." The film screened at the SF Indiefest and Silverlake film festivals and had limited theatrical releases in major cities (including New York City and Seattle). It was released on DVD on December 5, 2006.
In 2007, Koenig joined the human rights group Burma Campaign UK. He took part in a fact-finding mission to refugee camps on the Burma-Thailand border from July 16-25, 2007, to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Burma.
Personal Life
Koenig has been married to Judy Levitt since 1965. They have two children, Josh Andrew Koenig and Danielle Koenig (who is married to comedian Jimmy Pardo). In 1993, Koenig underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery, but the producers of "Babylon 5" waited for him to recover and brought him back to the show.
