Walter Koenig

Appearing July 1-3

Walter Koenig will be appearing on Friday July 1, Saturday July 2, and Sunday July 3 at booth C24. Walter Koenig is an actor, writer, teacher and director, best known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5.

Walter Koenig starred as Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek television series, as well Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and Star Trek: Generations. He was nominated for Saturn Awards by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his work on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Walter has appeared as Chekov in multiple other projects, including the fan productions of Star Trek: New Voyages: To Serve All My Days, Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, and Star Trek: Renegades, the video games Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Star Trek: Judgment Rites, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and Star Trek: Shattered Universe, as well as the short film created for the theme park attraction Star Trek Adventure.

Koenig has written two books describing his experiences working on Star Trek: Chekov’s Enterprise: A Personal Journal of the Making of Star Trek – The Motion Picture, published in 1980, and Warped Factors, published in 1998. He has also participated in a number of Star Trek-related specials and documentaries, including William Shatner’s Star Trek Memories, Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special, Trekkies, and How William Shatner Changed the World.

Koenig made guest appearances on such television series as Medical Center, The Virginian, and Ironside. He also had a supporting role in the Emmy Award-nominated TV movie Goodbye, Raggedy Ann. In 1973, Koenig appeared in the film Nightmare Honeymoon. That same year, he played the alien Oro in two episodes of Harlan Ellison’s science fiction series The Starlost.

Koenig wrote an episode of the fantasy series Land of the Lost entitled “The Stranger,” which aired in 1974. Also in 1974, Koenig appeared in the unsold TV pilot movie The Questor Tapes, written by Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon. In 1976, Koenig reunited with TOS co-star William Shatner in the Columbo movie “Fade in to Murder”. In 1982, Koenig appeared on the short-lived adventure series Bring ‘Em Back Alive. In 1983, Koenig played the role of Pompey in a TV movie adaptation of William Shakepeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.

Koenig starred in the 1989 independent science fiction/action film Moontrap, in which he played Col. Jason Grant, an astronaut who takes on sentient machines from the moon that have been programmed to conquer Earth. Koenig appeared in another science fiction film in 1989 called Deadly Weapon.

Besides his work on Star Trek, Koenig is also well known for his role as villainous Psi Cop Alfred Bester on the acclaimed science fiction series, Babylon 5.

Koenig had a supporting role in the 1996 martial arts film Sworn to Justice, and starred in the 1997 independent film Drawing Down the Moon. In 1998, Koenig made a gag appearance on an episode of Diagnosis Murder which involved a possible alien abduction. The episode also featured his TOS co-stars Majel Barrett, George Takei, and Grace Lee Whitney, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Wil Wheaton, and Lost in Space and Babylon 5 star Bill Mumy.

Koenig made an appearance in the independent science fiction movie/pilot, The Privateers, in which he acted alongside Karl Urban. Koenig later made a guest appearance as a Russian submarine commander on the comedy series Son of the Beach.

Koenig and his Star Trek castmates voiced caricatures of themselves in the 2002 episode of Futurama entitled “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”. This episode parodied many aspects of Star Trek, and thus contained numerous Star Trek-related references, gags, and in-jokes. Some of the references related to Koenig included his delivery of “nuclear wessels” in Star Trek IV and his having to share scripts with George Takei on the set of Star Trek.

In 2003, Koenig played the role of “Mr. Lofcheck” in the short film Roddenberry on Patrol. This short film, directed by and co-starring Voyager regular Tim Russ, offers a comedic look at how Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek. It also featured Star Trek alumni Robert Beltran, Richard Herd, Nichelle Nichols, Robert O’Reilly, Robert Picardo, and George Takei.

Koenig recently wrote, starred in, and executive produced a science fiction film called InAlienable. TNG actress Marina Sirtis also stars in the film; among the other performers who appear are fellow Star Trek alumni Erick Avari, Gary Graham, Richard Herd, J.G. Hertzler, Judy Levitt, Lisa LoCicero, Courtney Peldon, Alan Ruck, Patricia Tallman, and Koenig’s son, Andrew.

Other recent acting credits from Koenig include a supporting role in the 2006 film Mad Cowgirl and an appearance in the 2007 TV movie Bone Eater. In 2006, he published his first novel, Buck Alice And the Actor-robot, in which survivors of an alien invasion vie for the hand of the last fertile woman on Earth.

In 2013, Koenig ventured into the steampunk genre, starring in the short film Cowboys & Engines alongside Malcolm McDowell and Richard Hatch. He also played an evil newspaper tycoon in Blue Dream from director Gregory Hatanaka.