Actor Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Chekov on Star Trek, died Sunday at the age of 90. Joining the show in its second season, Koenig appeared in just 36 episodes of the original series, but soon became an indelible Enterprise crew member. Chekov would also appear in the first seven Star Trek feature films.
The Monkees TV series debuted the same year as Star Trek and enjoyed more commercial success, so it’s perhaps not surprising that Trek would add a youthful character with more than a passing resemblance to the Monkees’ Davy Jones. The 31-year-old Koenig first appears in the season two Star Trek classic “Amok Time,” sporting a laughably obvious wig, one intended for a woman. Koenig’s own hairline was already receding but he was able to compensate with a comb over and eventually abandon the lady’s wig that made him look more like Harpo Marx than Davy Jones. Soon, Koenig was drawing fan mail that rivaled stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.
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Pavel Chekov was more than just pandering to the “never trust anyone over 30” crowd. As the name clearly suggests, Chekov was Russian, and Star Trek was airing during the height of the Cold War, a period of escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The world existed on a knife’s edge of total war, so Americans watched The Monkees and I Dream of Jeannie to put their minds off potential nuclear annihilation.
Koenig’s parents were Russian Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union. (They’d shortened their surname from Königsberg to Koenig. Koenig’s father was a communist who ended up under the FBI’s microscope during the McCarthy era. A prevailing myth is that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry added Ensign Chekov to the show and cast Koenig after the Soviet propaganda outlet Pravda criticized Star Trek for not depicting Russian characters. After all, the Soviets had sent the first man (Yuri Gagarin) and woman (Valentina Tereshkova) into space, and President John F. Kennedy’s aspirational goal of putting a(n American) man on the moon was driven by this geopolitical competition. An Enterprise with an American captain and no Russian crew members suggested that the U.S. had won the Space Race.
This is all nonsense, of course. Chekov was introduced because the show wanted someone young for the teens. However, Roddenberry did leverage the commercial motivation for Chekov’s inclusion to promote his own utopian vision of the future, one reflected in a speech Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) gives to Enterprise crew in the first season episode “The Corbomite Manuever.”
“Those of you who have served for long on this vessel have encountered alien lifeforms. You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there’s no such thing as the unknown, only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood. In most cases we have found that intelligence capable of a civilization is capable of understanding peaceful gestures. Surely a lifeform advanced enough for space travel is advanced enough to eventually understand our motives. All decks stand by.”
Chekov represented a future where the Cold War had ended and tensions between America and Russia had significantly lessened. However, tensions still existed. Unlike later Trek series, Star Trek didn’t depict an Earth with a single unified government. Kirk was American and Chekov was very much Russian, even if Koenig’s accent was hilariously over-the-top (every obituary for the actor references “nuclear wessels”).
The Russia where Chekov grew up still practiced extreme propaganda. Chekov would often proudly declare — sometimes with a knowing wink but unusually in earnest — that a major invention or common aphorism originated in Russia. He even claimed that the Garden of Eden was located “just outside of Moscow.”
It was amusing to watch Chekov and Scotty (James Doohan) argue over their homeland’s alcohol of choice. When he sees Chekov drinking vodka, Scotty asks when he’s “gonna get off that milk diet, lad.” Dismissing vodka as mere “soda pop,” Scotty boasts that Scotch is a true “drink for a man.” Chekov jokes that “Scotch was created by a little old lady in Leningrad.” Our national and cultural differences still existed in the Star Trek future but we could enjoy a friendly laugh over them. (Watch below.)
When Roddenberry revived Star Trek in 1987 with The Next Generation, he added the Klingon Worf (Michael Dorn) to the Enterprise crew, revealing that the Federation had made peace with their longtime foes. Russians aren’t an imaginary species, though, so Chekov’s presence on the Enterprise bridge was a far bolder political statement.
Putting Chekov in perspective, imagine if Star Trek: Enterprise, which premiered right after 9/11, had introduced an openly Muslim officer in its second season. Typical with Trek of this era, Enterprise would address 9/11 only through metaphor.
My favorite Chekov moment from the original series is in the second season’s “The Deadly Years.” Spock, Kirk, McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty, and Lt. Dead Lady Walking (Beverly Washburn) have all contracted a rapid aging disease. Chekov, who was a member of the landing party, is somehow immune to the effects, so he’s become McCoy and Dr. Fashion Show’s (Sarah Marshall) ongoing test subject. Rather than feeling relieved that he’s not shriveling up like his comrades, Chekov complains about the process to Sulu (George Takei), “Give some more blood, Chekov. The needle won't hurt, Chekov. Take off your shirt, Chekov. Roll over, Chekov. Breathe deeply, Chekov. Blood sample, Chekov. Marrow sample, Chekov. Skin sample, Chekov. If-if I live long enough, I'm going to run out of samples.”
“You’ll live,” Sulu tells him, and he retorts, “Oh, yes, I’ll live, but I won’t enjoy it.”
The true standout moment though is when the episode’s Idiot Admiral has relieved an elderly Kirk of duty and taken command of the Enterprise. For reasons the defy all logic, he insists on taking a shortcut through the Neutral Zone. The Romulans respond in predictably poor fashion and proceed to deliver whip to ass. The Idiot Admiral suggests they surrender and Chekov responds ruefully, “Sir, the Romulans do not take captives.” Koenig delivers the line with a matter-of-factness that barely masks his contempt for this fool. At the moment all hope seems lost, a rejuvenated Kirk arrives to save the day, and Chekov flashes a bright smile, expressing the thrill the audience feels in that moment.
Chekov plays a key role in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Although Koenig wasn’t on the series when Khan (Ricardo Montalban) appeared in the first season’s “Space Seed” (though fans debate whether Chekov was on the Enterprise, just not on the bridge yet), Chekov is the first to encounter Khan on what he wrongly believes to be Ceti Alpha VI. A vengeful Khan infects Chekov and the doomed Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) with a mind-controlling space eel. The scene is gross and awesome. (Watch below.)
With Walter Koenig’s passing, the only surviving original Star Trek regulars are now William Shatner and George Takei. Koenig and Takei were quite close, and Takei posted a moving tribute to his cast mate and friend on social media.
“My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today.
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.
Walter 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.”
There were more tributes from Star Trek actors, crew, and fans across the franchise. Ensign Chekov reached the stars, but Walter Koenig touched our hearts.
RIP Walter Koenig, and thank you for your wonderful portrayal of Ensign Chekov.
Another stalwart of my childhood gone. Rest easy, Ensign.