“Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend.”
Star Trek icon Walter Koenig died on Sunday, Oct. 25, of natural causes at the age of 90. And now fellow Trek legend George Takei remembers his good friend by sharing a touching photo (below) of them both on Instagram. Takei wrote the following in the post to honor Mr. Koenig:
“Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad and I married in 2008, Walter stood beside us as our best man. Just last month, on Sept. 14, he turned 90, on the same day Brad and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary.”
Takei, who began working with Koenig during season 2 of Star Trek: The Original Series nearly 60 years ago, continued by writing:
“I will always treasure that he and I shared that date. Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend. To the fans who loved him for so many years, thank you. He loved you too. Rest well, my dear friend. Keep navigating a steady course.”
I love the picture that Takei shared to honor his friend, and it always pleases me to hear him speak so fondly of Koenig. After all, Takei and Koenig could have just as easily ended up bitter enemies given that the latter was given most the former’s material during season 2 of The Original Series.
While Mr. Sulu actor George Takei was away shooting the John Wayne film The Green Berets, Koenig had been hired to portray a new character, who made his debut during season 2 of The Original Series: Pavel Chekov. And with Sulu away from the bridge of the USS Enterprise, Koenig ended up with most of that character’s teleplays, lines, and screen time.
In fact, fans who are new to the Star Trek fandom can watch Takei discussing how his relationship started and later evolved with Koenig, into becoming close friends, courtesy of the Foundation Interviews YouTube channel below and in a more recent clip (per GalaxyCon) from the new documentary The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World at the bottom of this page.
For more Star Trek content and to remember Walter Koenig, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
Add us as a preferred source on Google