Walter Koenig, who played navigator Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek, died of old age at his home in North Hollywood on Sunday night, October 25, 2026, at age 90, according to his representatives.
His representatives told the BBC he died “surrounded by his daughter and niece.” Koenig joined Star Trek in its second season in 1967 and stayed until the series ended in 1969, then reprised Chekov in the six original-cast films from 1979 to 1991 and briefly in Generations (1994). In the 1990s he played the Psi Corps telepath Alfred Bester on Babylon 5, and in 2023 he voiced Anton Chekov in Star Trek: Picard. Co-star George Takei, who played Sulu, led the tributes, calling him “a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend.” Koenig’s wife, Judy Levitt, died in 2022, and he is survived by their daughter, actress and screenwriter Danielle Koenig.
Source: BBC News, “Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov, dies aged 90” (October 26, 2026)
Image: Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, NBC Television publicity photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.