Navigator on the original Starship Enterprise under the command of Captain James Kirk. Born in 2245, Chekov held the rank of ensign during his first mission aboard the ship. His Starfleet serial number was 656-5827B. Pavel Andreievich Chekov was an only child, although he once imagined he had a brother named Piotr while under the influence of the Beta XII-A entity. While at Starfleet Academy, Chekov became involved with a young woman named Irina Galliulin, but the relationship did not last because Galliulin was uncomfortable with the structured way of life required by Starfleet. Years later, the two met again when Galliulin sought the mythical planet Eden with Dr. Sevrin. In 2267, Chekov was the only member of an Enterprise landing party to Gamma Hydra IV who was not affected with an aging disease. During the mission, Chekov became startled at the sight of a dead colonist. The surge of adrenaline protected him from radiation sickness that caused the aging process. Chekov was promoted to lieutenant and assigned as security chief aboard the Enterprise following the conclusion of Kirk's first five-year mission. Chekov later served aboard the U.S.S. Reliant as first officer under Captain Clark Terrell, before returning to the Enterprise after the Reliantwas destroyed at the Mutara Nebula by Khan. Chekov was an honored guest during the maiden voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise-B in 2294.
Walter Koenig was born on September 14, 1936 in Chicago. He became interested in theater when he was attending high school. Along with his theatrical talents, he shared an equal interest in psychiatry. As a result his first two years at Grinell College in Iowa were in pre-med courses. During his summer vacations, he performed in summer stock in Vermont. At his father's death he moved to California and finished college at UCLA. He relocated to New York and enrolled at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He spent two years doing off-Broadway work, but finally decided to return to Los Angeles. Once in LA, he found that he was able to land a variety of roles in quite a variety of television shows. His first TV role was on the show Day In Court. His range as an actor was so great, that he was soon playing such characters as A Swedish businessman, an American grape picker, an Arabian rock-and-roll singer and a French resistance fighter. His television credits include appearances on Mr. Novak, The Great Adventure, Gidget, Jerrico, The Lieutenant, Ben Casey, Combat, Ironside, Mannix, Medical Center, The Men From Shiloh, The Untouchables and I-Spy. His most prominent television role in the sixties, outside of Star Trek, was in a one-hour episode of Alfred Hitchkock Presents titled "Memo From Purgatory'" In 1967 he joined the cast of Star Trek as Ensign Chekov. In 1969, after the cancellation of Star Trek, Koenig moved on, although his career momentum had slowed. He did appear in occasional TV shows and films but concentrated more on teaching acting. He appeared on an episode of Columbo and Goodbye Raggedy Ann. He also appeared in the unsold pilot The Questor Tapes. On stage Koenig played three roles in the highly acclaimed theater group production of "The Deputy." Koenig has extended his talents into the area of writing as well. His television writing credits include an episode of Land Of The Lost, and also the episode "The Infinite Vulcan" for the animated Star Trek. Koenig has also written scripts for such TV series as Class Of '65, The Powers Of Matthew Starr and Family. In the book field he wrote a behind-the-scenes log about his experiences making Star Trek The Motion Picture called Chekov's Enterprise. And in 1988 he had a science fiction novel published titled Buck Alice And The Actor Robot. His latest writing work is a comic book series, Raver. In films he also appeared in the movie Deadly Honeymoon and the six Star Trek movies. Other than Star Trek, his most recent film appearance was in the movie Moontrap. In recent years Koenig has toured with Mark Lenard in the Bernard Sabbath play "The Boys Of Autumn."
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by Mario Guatteri