American actor and director Walter Koenig was born on September 14, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois. The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, his family lived in Lithuania when he was a child. He later on earned a BA in psychology from UCLA, before going to act in one of his most well-known roles, navigator Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek television series. He also appeared on the sci-fi series Babylon 5 as the villainous telepath and Psi Cop Alfred Bester. Aside from his acting career, Koenig also teaches classes in acting and directing at the UCLA, Alliant International University, and the California School of Professional Psychology. He also worked on his own comic book series titled Raver, published by Malibu Comics in the early 90s.
Pavel Chekov is played by Walter Koenig in the cult classic science fiction TV series Star Trek. A young Russian ensign serving onboard the USS Enterprise, he serves mainly as the starship’s navigator throughout its five-year mission. He often tends to jokingly credit Mother Russia for numerous things, such as Cinderella, Scotch, and the Garden of Eden. Aside from his navigator duties, he also substitutes for Spock at the ship’s science officer station when the need arises. Chekov is later on promoted to commander and executive officer, serving aboard the USS Reliant, before also reaching the rank of Starfleet Captain himself.
(Image courtesy of StarTrek.com)