A beloved star from the original Star Trek series was spotted enjoying a rare and sprightly outing in Los Angeles on Monday.
The veteran actor, now 89, looked impressively energetic as he stepped out for fresh air – a far cry from the USS Enterprise corridors that first made him famous.
He portrayed Pavel Chekov on the iconic sci-fi series from 1966 to 1969 and went on to reprise the role in seven Star Trek feature films.
Dressed casually in a zip-up fleece jacket and trousers, he appeared worlds away from his Starfleet uniform – and from the on-set tensions that once sparked a famously frosty feud with William Shatner.
The rivalry reportedly flared during Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when the actor jokingly accused Shatner of edging him out of frame, only to be met with an icy stare that left him shaken for the rest of the day.
Things didn’t thaw years later, either, when Shatner allegedly referred to him at a 1989 press conference as ‘the gentleman who plays Chekov,’ forgetting his name entirely.
A beloved star from the original Star Trek series was spotted enjoying a rare and sprightly outing in Los Angeles on Monday
At 89, the veteran actor looked surprisingly spry during a rare outing
Later, he was spotted in a robe – a far cry from his Starfleet uniform and the on-set tensions that once fueled his famously frosty feud with William Shatner
Still, fans will instantly recognize the Babylon 5 alum – and if you guessed Walter Koenig, beam yourself up.
While the friction between Koenig and Shatner never exploded into an all-out feud, Koenig has long traced the tension to what he once called a rigid Hollywood ‘caste system.’
He has said the show’s leading men were treated like royalty in the 1960s, while supporting players were made to feel expendable – more like ‘moving furniture’ than collaborators.
That imbalance reportedly came to a head during filming on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, when Koenig jokingly teased Shatner for edging him out of a shot to grab more screen time.
Koenig once recalled, “I said, ‘I’m just doing what you would do, Bill.’ … Bill looked at me and said, ‘That’s neurotic’… I went home and I had a severe gut pain for the rest of the evening”.
Regarding the 1989 press conference where Shatner forgot his name, Koenig reflected on their later work together on Columbo: ‘I don’t think he remembered my name… he didn’t talk to me’.
Despite the slights, Koenig has been careful not to label the situation a feud – and has made efforts over the years to move on.
He even appeared on Shatner’s talk show Raw Nerve in 2011, where the two openly addressed their history, with Koenig later defending Shatner’s acting and brushing off claims that he overplayed Captain Kirk.
Still, fans will instantly recognize the Babylon 5 alum – and if you guessed Walter Koenig, beam yourself up; (pictured 1966)
While the friction between Koenig and Shatner never exploded into an all-out feud, Koenig has long traced the tension to what he once called a rigid Hollywood ‘caste system’; (Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, Koenig as Chekov, William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu and James Doohan as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise in 1968)
Despite the slights, Koenig has been careful not to label the situation a feud – and has made efforts over the years to move on
In his 2020 memoir, Koenig wrote that if Shatner ‘chose to ignore me, that was okay… I didn’t take it personally’.
Still, he conceded the relationship never fully healed.
Speaking to TrekMovie in 2020, Koenig explained: ‘No, we don’t have closure. Mr. Shatner comes from a different place and a different philosophy and different set of values.
‘He argues that he is not at fault and not guilty of any social misdemeanor – and I say misdemeanor and not felony because it never achieved that status.
‘They were just little things along the way that were disappointing and disillusioning, but not enough to change my life or go to bed tossing and turning thinking about Bill Shatner.’
Shatner’s chilly dynamic with Koenig was hardly an outlier, as his relationships with several Star Trek co-stars have long been marked by tension.
His once-close friendship with Leonard Nimoy famously unraveled in the 1970s after Shatner published personal details about Nimoy without his consent, triggering years of silence that lasted until a partial reconciliation shortly before Nimoy’s death in 2015.
He has also been locked in a decades-long and very public war of words with George Takei, who has accused Shatner of being dismissive and self-centered on set – allegations Shatner has consistently brushed off.
Speaking to TrekMovie in 2020, Koenig explained: ‘No, we don’t have closure. Mr. Shatner comes from a different place and a different philosophy and different set of values
Shatner’s chilly dynamic with Koenig was hardly an outlier, as his relationships with several Star Trek co-stars, including Leonard Nimoy and George Takei, have long been marked by tension; (Shatner in March 2025)
The bad blood only intensified in recent years, with Takei taking aim at Shatner’s politics and conduct, while Shatner dismissed the feud as entirely one-sided and fueled by lingering resentment.
Beyond Star Trek, Koenig carved out a lasting career in sci-fi, memorably starring as Alfred Bester on Babylon 5 and continuing to take on voice work, convention appearances, and select screen projects well into his later years.
Even now, he remains active in the fandom and creative world, recently returning to the Star Trek universe with a voice role and continuing to write and develop projects of his own.
His personal life, however, has been marked by profound tragedy.
In 2010, Koenig’s son Andrew, a former child actor on Growing Pains and a television writer who had worked on My Name Is Earl, tragically died by suicide after struggling with mental illness.
Koenig has since spoken candidly about the loss, becoming an advocate for mental health awareness and honoring his son’s legacy through openness and compassion.
