Walter Koenig, the actor best known for his role in the Star Trek franchise as Russian crew member Pavel Chekov, has died. Family and a representative for Koenig confirmed the actor's death of natural causes on Sunday, according to a report from TMZ. Koenig was best known for his work on Star Trek in television and film, a role that helped him earn other sci-fi roles in projects like Babylon 5, Futurama, and Moontrap.
Koenig was born in Chicago in 1936 and began his acting career in the early '60s. He joined Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek crew as Ensign Pavel Chekov for the show's second season and appeared in 36 of the 50 episodes that aired between 1967-1969. Koenig reprised his role as Chekov in seven Star Trek feature films, including the handoff film Star Trek: Generations.
He continued to voice the character in Star Trek video games such as Star Trek Online and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Actor Anton Yelchin took over the Chekov role in 2009's Star Trek reboot and its two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. Koenig was one of the last remaining surviving actors from the original Star Trek crew.
His death follows those of 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; and Nichelle Nichols (Nyota Uhura) in 2022. They're all survived by William Shatner, who played James T.
Kirk, and George Takei, who portrayed Hikaru Sulu, as the last remaining core members of the Star Trek: The Original Series crew. The Star Trek franchise celebrated its 60th anniversary in September. The original series premiered on Sept. 6, 1966 and ran for three seasons on NBC.
The franchise has endured across numerous live-action films and television series, as well as animated spinoffs. There are still two Star Trek series on the air, with the final seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy expected to arrive in 2027.
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