Walter Koenig

• Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
• Birthday: September 14, 1936

Diminutive, energetic, boyish-looking character player, mostly on TV, who has become known largely for one role: that of Russian-born Ensign Pavel Chekov, navigator for the starship Enterprise on the sci-fi cult phenomenon, "Star Trek". The character was created when the Soviet media criticized the series for failing to include a Russian character--series creator Gene Roddenberry agreed and transformed Keonig's planned British character (the actor resembled Monkee Davy Jones) designed to appeal to younger--and female--viewers into the now-famil…more