So Long, Walter Koenig (1936-2026)

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It's been a tough 24 hours for all those into pop culture worldwide. I was remarking in the past that 2026 has been another year of a lot of famous folks leaving this mortal coil, and just yesterday, I got word that another three people passed away. 

First came the news that Scarborough-born (right in the Toronto area) voice actor Eric Bauza had passed away a couple of days ago at the age of 46 from heart disease. I didn't know his work very much but heard that he had been voicing a lot of beloved Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, characters that I had known as a child when they were being voiced by the legendary Mel Blanc.

Then this morning as I was watching NHK News, I found out that manga illustrator Tetsuya Chiba（ちばてつや） had died on the 22nd due to myelodysplastic syndrome at the age of 87. My anime buddy and I had been coincidentally talking about him and his tempestuous friendship with Leiji Matsumoto（松本零士）, the manga artist behind "Uchuu Senkan Yamaoto"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト） just last night. Chiba was responsible for a number of manga, especially "Ashita no Joe"（あしたのジョー）.

But the one obituary that hit me harder than the others was the one given for Walter Koenig who played Ensign Pavel Chekov on the original "Star Trek". He passed away from old age at 90 on the 25th. I was whistling or humming the famous theme by Alexander Courage from time to time yesterday on hearing the death of everyone's favorite Russian Starfleet officer.

When I first got into the original series as an elementary school student in the early 1970s, some years after it had been cancelled by NBC, some of the kids in my apartment building set up a "Star Trek" club. Joining it for a short while, I kept hearing the character's name of Ensign Chekov who I hadn't been aware of. I knew the captain, the pointy-eared science officer and the grouchy doctor nicknamed "Bones" but who was this Chekov? 

Well, I would eventually realize that Chekov was the fresh-faced junior officer brought onto the USS Enterprise to man the Navigation station from the second season onwards after several other navigators had their time there in the first season. Whether Koenig was brought on the series as a response to USSR complaints that there was no proper representation of a Russian on "Star Trek" or he was the new guy to attract the young female audience (Chekov kinda looked like a Beatle or a Monkee although Koenig was already in his thirties when he was hired), he as the newest and most adorable cast member made an impact as an officer who loved his Russian heritage to a fault and as a crew member who could scream his head off.

Following the original series, I remember seeing him guest star on the Canadian TV sci-fi series "The Starlost" and then he would show up in the "Star Trek" movies starring the original cast. I remember when Koenig, James ("Scotty") Doohan, George ("Sulu") Takei and Nichelle ("Uhura") Nichols were due to appear at a special 25th anniversary celebration in 1991 at Toronto's City Hall (the same year that the old cast's final movie together "The Undiscovered Country" was released). It seemed that thousands of Trekkies showed up at Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall but due to some airplane scheduling problem, the four "Star Trek" actors didn't show up on stage until several hours beyond their scheduled time of late afternoon. At one point, I was worried that the fans would erupt like many Vulcans during the worst of Pon Farr.

But they finally did show up at around sunset, much to everyone's joy and relief. I think one reason that I'm writing this heartfelt message about Koenig today is that out of the four who showed up at City Hall, Koenig was the one who struck me as being the most grounded and relatable. Not that there was anything wrong with the other three...it just seemed that they were a little flighty in the Hollywood way (maybe it was the plane problem and some extra alcohol). Doohan created quite a buzz when he gave out his old address in the Toronto neighbourhood of Don Mills to thousands of fans; all I could imagine was the current residents of the house looking horrified seeing Starfleet officers and Klingons all kneeling in front of their domicile.

When it was Koenig's turn to speak, he spoke in his own voice (it was the first time that I realized that he didn't speak in a Russian accent), and it was like listening to an old buddy at the bar. His imitation of William Shatner's gestures brought the house down and I just said to myself "Yeah, Koenig's my choice of Trek Cast Member of the Day."

I never got to meet Koenig in person although I was able to get that photo-op with Takei over ten years ago at the annual Fan Expo here. However, it was great to hear his voice one more time a couple of years ago on the final episode of "Picard" as he portrayed Chekov's son, United Federation of Planets President Anton Chekov. This he did in his real voice although he brought a little of the ol' Pav when quoting his father.

"Star Trek"-related YouTube channels are providing tribute to Koenig and I'm sure that folks in the Los Angeles area have been placing wreaths on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For me, I can only give my personal regards through this blog. My condolences go to Koenig's family, friends and many fans along with the two surviving cast members, Shatner and Takei.

With this special elegiac Reminiscings of Youth, I think I'll go with Japanese singers who shared the same birthday with Koenig: September 14th.

(1960) Pappara Kawai（パッパラー河合）of Bakufu Slump（爆風スランプ）

(1986) Ai Takahashi（高橋愛）of Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）

(1996) Motoki Ohmori（大森元貴）of Mrs. GREEN APPLE