Walter Koenig Net Worth

Walter Koenig's Quotes

• I didn't watch Star Trek (1966) the first year it was on, before I was on the show. I took one look at the Styrofoam rocks and said: "There's no way I'm going to watch this!".
• Star Trek (1966) has given me a considerable amount of satisfaction and a certain amount of respect in the industry community and among people who watch television and movies. I enjoy that. I enjoy feeling good about myself. God knows it's easy enough for me to feel bad about myself -- I need all the support I can get. Star Trek deserves the respect it has received. If I'm going to be aligned with something, it might as well be something that makes a worthwhile statement most of the time. No, I don't have any regrets about my involvement with Star Trek.
• [on being cast as Pavel Chekov] I was only one of two people who auditioned for the part, which is quite extraordinary. Considering that this has so materially effected the last 35 years of my life... a couple of hours after I auditioned, I heard that I had gotten the role.

Interesting Facts about Walter Koenig

1. Father of Andrew Koenig (1968-2010) and Danielle Koenig (1973-).
2. Underwent heart bypass surgery (1993).
3. Walter Koenig and his wife Judy Levitt appear together in the Babylon 5 (1993) episode "A Race Through Dark Places" which aired in 1995.
4. Has written episodes for What Really Happened to the Class of '65? (1977), Family (1976), Land of the Lost (1974), The Powers of Matthew Star (1982) and Star Trek (1973).
5. Walter Koenig is of Russian Jewish ancestry, which made him a good candidate for Chekov on Star Trek (1966). His family had emigrated from Lithuania, USSR and changed their original surname (Koenigsberg).
6. Attended and graduated from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa with a major in pre-med. Transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received his Bachelor's degree in psychology.
7. Is the only original Star Trek (1966) series actor not to provide voices for the animated version of the series, although he did write an episode for the series.
8. Was scheduled to reprise his role as the nefarious Bester in an episode of the Babylon 5 (1993) spin-off series Crusade (1999) entitled "Value Judgements". Unfortunately, the series was canceled weeks before the episode was to be filmed. Walter Koenig was terribly disappointed by this, as he has stated publicly that he considers this his favorite "Bester" screenplay.
9. Because his hair was too short, had to wear a wig in his first appearance on Star Trek (1966).
10. Was cast as Pavel Andreievich Chekov on Star Trek (1966) because of his resemblance to Davy Jones. The producers were hoping to attract a younger audience, including girls.
11. Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6679 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on September 10, 2012 (four days before his 76th birthday).
12. Has appeared in episodes of three different series with George Takei: Star Trek (1966), Diagnosis Murder (1993) and Futurama (1999).
13. Often complained about the character, Pavel Andreievich Chekov, he portrayed over the years as having no levity on Star Trek (1966). As well as getting hurt through the motion pictures and television series.
14. Is the author of the Raver comic book miniseries (1993).
15. Father-in-law of stand-up comedian Jimmy Pardo.
16. Is an avid collector: His collections include Star Trek Memorabilia (with a shelf completely devoted to the character Chekov) Buttons, Comic Cards, Pins and "Little Big Books". He gives us a brief tour of his collections in the segment "Life Beyond Star Trek" in the Season Two release of "Star Trek: The Original Series".
17. His Russian accent is faked on the series, albeit his parents really were from Russia.
18. Before becoming Chekov on the original Star Trek (1966) series, Walter Koenig auditioned for the role of hip surfer Stu Casey (later Riley) a character introduced for the 1965 (year two) season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964). Koenig lost the role to actor Allan Hunt, who only played the role for one year since he was drafted into service in Vietnam. But the two actors stayed in touch over the years and are the best of friends. Allan Hunt even directed a play that starred Walter Koenig and Hunt's fellow former Voyage co-star Del Monroe (Kowalski).
19. Was the only Enterprise crew member to interact face-to-face with Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Ironically, Khan recognizes him even though he did not appear on the original series episode "Space Seed".
20. His son, Andrew Koenig, committed suicide on February 14, 2010.