Yeoman Janice Rand, played by Grace Lee Whitney, is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series. She subsequently appears in several Star Trek films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Depiction[link]

Rand serves as yeoman to Captain James T. Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise in the first half of the first season of The Original Series. A mutual attraction is suggested between her and Captain Kirk in episodes such as "The Naked Time", "The Enemy Within", and "Miri". The most noticeable confession of their "feelings they've been hiding" was in "The Enemy Within" while Kirk, Spock, and McCoy ask her about her attack. Rand appeared in eight episodes.

She next appeared in the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture as a transporter operator and non-commissioned officer.^[1] Her next appearance was in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where she has been promoted to Chief Petty Officer and was stationed in San Francisco along with Christine Chapel. She served as a communications officer aboard the USS Excelsior in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and in the Voyager episode "Flashback".

Whitney had a cameo in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and was identified by fans as portraying Janice Rand, although the credits listed her as a red-haired "woman in cafeteria". Whitney, in her autobiography, maintained that she was not playing Rand in that movie.

Departure[link]

Grace Lee Whitney was released during the filming of the first season. The last episode in which she appeared as a primary character was "Miri", with "The Conscience of the King" being the final episode that included the character of "Yeoman Rand". Her appearance in this episode was quite brief, and she had no spoken lines.

The reasons for Whitney's departure from the show are unclear, although the most commonly cited cause was that her character limited romantic possibilities for Captain Kirk.^[2] Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's biography suggests that it was simply a budget cutback.^[3]

Whitney was suffering from alcoholism at the time, and according to some sources this affected her performance, which resulted in Rand's character being written out of certain episodes. Subsequently, this led to Rand being written out of the show altogether. Whitney in the 1980s identified these as possible causes for her dismissal,^[4] but in her autobiography, she steadfastly rejected the claims.

According to Whitney, in the first season, only William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were guaranteed to appear in every episode. Of the three episodes in which she did not appear, Rand's character was not written into two ("Mudd's Women" and "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"). The only episode that Rand was deliberately written out of was "Dagger of the Mind", which Whitney said was a creative decision made because the episode's storyline put the mutual and yet repressed attraction between Kirk and Rand too much out in the open.

In her autobiography, Whitney alleges that an unnamed television executive attempted to sexually assault her, and she draws a link between this and her sacking a few days later.^[5]

Star Trek novels[link]

Vonda N. McIntyre's novel Enterprise: The First Adventure suggests that Rand lied about her age in order to enlist in Starfleet and was only 17 at the start of Kirk's five-year mission. In Peter David's novel The Captain's Daughter, Rand tells Captain Sulu that she left Starfleet for a period of time to raise a daughter, Annie. The child's father was a "Starfleet officer on the fast track to greatness" who never knew about the child. Annie became ill and died at the age of two; after this traumatic event, Rand rejoined Starfleet.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Janice Rand at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

Grace Lee Whitney
Grace Lee Whitney at a Star Trek convention (circa 1980)
Born	Mary Ann Chase (1930-04-01) April 1, 1930 (age 82) Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1947–2007
Spouse	Jack Dale (1965–1991)

Grace Lee Whitney, also known as Ruth Whitney and Lee Whitney (born Mary Ann Chase; April 1, 1930) is an American actress and entertainer. She is best known for playing the role of Janice Rand on the Star Trek television series and subsequent films.

Early life[link]

Whitney was born as Mary Ann Chase in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was adopted by the Whitney family who named her Grace Elaine Whitney. After she moved out, she began to call herself Lee Whitney, and eventually, she became known as Grace Lee Whitney. Whitney started her entertainment career as a "girl singer" on Detroit's WJR radio at the age of fourteen. In her late teens, she moved to Chicago and started to open in nightclubs for such luminaries as Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich, and toured with the Spike Jones and Fred Waring Bands.

[edit] Star Trek

[edit] Star Trek television show

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry cast Whitney in the role of Yeoman Janice Rand, the personal assistant to Captain James T. Kirk, in 1966. Whitney said: "I was on diet pills trying to stay thin – and I was very thin. They wanted you to fit into the uniforms and I couldn't quite so I went on amphetamines."^[1] Whitney appeared in eight of the first thirteen episodes; then was released from contract. She had reported that, while still under contract, she was sexually assaulted by an executive associated with the series, and, later, in a public interview, she stated that Leonard Nimoy had been her main source of support during that time. She details the assault in her book The Longest Trek and refuses to name the executive. In a later interview, she said of her termination from the series:

They wanted William Shatner to have romances in each episode with a different person, because for him to be stuck with one woman was not good for him and it wasn't good for the audience. That's what they told me, so I was written out. There were two blonde girls and one black girl. Nichelle was a more important character and couldn't be written out. Everything's political in America. One of the blondes had to go. The other one was engaged to the boss, so guess who went? I just about killed myself. I drank, that's what we do, we drink to get rid of pain. I was really mad. My God, was I bitter.^[1]

[edit] Star Trek films

Whitney posing with a Star Trek prop at a science fiction convention in the mid-1970s

After DeForest Kelley saw Whitney on the unemployment line and told her that Trekkies had been asking for her at fan conventions, Whitney returned to the Star Trek franchise.^[2] Whitney reprised her role as Janice Rand, who had received a promotion to Chief Petty Officer (CPO), in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). She appeared again in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), with another promotion, as Lieutenant (JG) Janice Rand. Five years later, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the franchise, she returned to Star Trek in 1996 in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback" along with George Takei. She has filmed roles in two Internet Star Trek episodes: "Star Trek: New Voyages" and "Star Trek: Of Gods and Men" (reprising her role as Janice Rand in both). "New Voyages" premiered on August 24, 2007. "Of Gods and Men" made its debut in late 2007.

Career[link]

Theater[link]

Whitney debuted on Broadway in Top Banana with Phil Silvers and Kaye Ballard where she played Miss Holland. Following the successful run of the show, she joined the cast in Hollywood where she recreated the role in the 1954 movie of the same name. While in Los Angeles, Whitney auditioned and was cast in the starring role of Lucy Brown in the national tour of The Threepenny Opera, taking over the role from Bea Arthur who played the part in New York off-Broadway.

Film highlights[link]

Whitney was cast as a member of the all-female band in Billy Wilder's classic comedy Some Like It Hot, released in 1959. She shared several scenes with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, including the famed "upper berth" sequence. In her memoir, The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy, she maintains that as one of the only girls in the band with a speaking role, Billy Wilder hired her specifically for the role of Rosella. Various credit sources have listed another actress in the role, even though she is directly addressed by the name Rosella in two different scenes in the film; the first by band leader Sweet Sue (Joan Shawlee), and the second by a fellow band member.

Whitney had uncredited roles in House of Wax with Vincent Price, The Naked and the Dead with Cliff Robertson, Pocketful of Miracles with Bette Davis and Glenn Ford, and Critic's Choice with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. Whitney appeared in the credited role of Tracey Phillips in the 1962 drama A Public Affair. Billy Wilder subsequently gave her the featured role of "Kiki the Cossack" in the 1963 film Irma la Douce with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon.

Television[link]

Whitney has made more than a hundred television appearances since her television debut in Cowboy G-Men in 1953. She appeared on episodes of Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Bat Masterson, The Rifleman, 77 Sunset Strip, Bewitched, Mike Hammer, Batman, The Untouchables, and Hawaiian Eye.

She appeared in an episode of The Outer Limits, "Controlled Experiment", co-starring Barry Morse and Carroll O'Connor. In the late 1960s, Whitney appeared as guest star on Mannix, Death Valley Days, The Big Valley, and The Virginian. In 1962 she appeared in "The Rifleman" in the episode "The Tin Horn" as Rose Keeler. Also in 1964 she played the Marilyn Monroe lookalike character Babs Livingston on Bewitched in the episode "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog". 1970s roles included The Bold Ones, Cannon, and Hart to Hart. In 1983, she had a small part in the television film, The Kid with the 200 IQ with Gary Coleman. In 1998, she appeared on an episode of Diagnosis: Murder, which reunited her with her old Star Trek cast-mates George Takei, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett Roddenberry.

Music[link]

Grace Lee Whitney on December 5, 1976.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Whitney sang with a number of orchestras and bands, including the Keith Williams Orchestra. Later, she concentrated on jazz/pop vocalizing while fronting for the band "Star". In the 1970s, with her then-husband, Jack Dale, she wrote a number of Star Trek-related songs. A 45 rpm record was released in 1976 with the songs Disco Trekkin’ (A side) and Star Child (B side). She recorded such tunes as Charlie X, Miri, Enemy Within, and USS Enterprise. Many of these songs were released in the 1990s in cassette tape format: Light at the End of the Tunnel in 1996 and Yeoman Rand Sings! in 1999.

Books[link]

Whitney's autobiography, The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy, was released in 1998 (ISBN 1-884956-05-X). The book delves into her hiring and firing from Star Trek, her fight and eventual victory over alcohol and substance dependence, particularly marijuana. On page 36 there is a picture of her being the first Chicken of the Sea Mermaid, and the original mascot's hair bears a strong resemblance to her hairdo in preproduction Star Trek publicity photos like the one on the front cover of the book. This was before she received the basket-weave/beehive hairdo in the first season.

Filmography[link]

• The Texan Meets Calamity Jane (1950)
• House of Wax (1953)
• The Naked and the Dead (1958)
• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
• A Public Affair (1962)
• Irma la Douce (1963)
• Star Trek - Yeoman Janice Rand (1966)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Transporter Chief Janice Rand (1979)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - cameo, woman in cafeteria (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - MCPO Janice Rand (1986)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Lt. Commander Janice Rand (1991)
• Star Trek: Voyager - Lt. Commander Janice Rand (1996)

References[link]

3. Page 36, "The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy" by Grace Lee Whitney,Jim Denney, Foreword by Leonard Nimoy Publisher: Linden Publishing; 1st edition (July 1, 1998) ISBN 1-884956-03-3 ISBN 978-1884956034

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Grace Lee Whitney

• Grace Lee Whitney at the Internet Movie Database
• Grace Lee Whitney at AllRovi
• Grace Lee Whitney at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Grace Lee Whitney Official Autograph site
• Janice Rand history

Grace Lee (Korean: 이경희; born Lee Kyung Hee) is a Korean television host and radio disc jockey working in the Philippines. She is the third Korean expatriate to appear prominently in Philippine television, after Sandara Park, Ryan Bang and her fellow DJs Sam Oh and Jinri Park.^[1] She can speak Tagalog and English in addition to her native Korean.^[2]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Lee was born and raised in Seoul, but moved to the Philippines at the age of 10 because of her father's business, which involved importing Korean cars. She studied from second grade to senior high school at St. Paul College in Pasig City and graduated from Ateneo de Manila University, where she obtained her Communication Arts degree.^[2] Before becoming a TV host, she has been hosting events for Korean-Filipino communities as well as being an official interpreter for Malacañang.

Career[link]

Lee planned on becoming a journalist. She sent her résumé to major television studios in the Philippines and received a callback from GMA Network.^[2] She landed her first Philippine TV hosting job in March 2007 as a segment host on Q Network’s lifestyle-magazine show "The Sweet Life". Among her first assignments include featuring life in Korea where she gets to wear traditional female garb as well as interviewing prominent Korean celebrities such as Yoon Se Ah of Lovers in Prague and King Sejong the Great drama series.^[3][4]

She recently joined Magic 89.9's morning radio show Good Times With Mo with Mo Twister and Mojo Jojo as a replacement for Andi-9.^[2] Lee is also a Manila correspondent for Yonhap Television News in Korea, as well as teaches at the Manila New Life Church's Sunday school for preschool students and takes part in various outreach programs.^[3]

Grace Lee hosted a cooking reality show, "Eateria" that aired every Sunday mornings on GMA Network. Lee also hosted "Diz Iz It" that aired 6 days a week on GMA.

She is now a guest segment anchor both for Balitanghali on GMA News TV on weekdays, and 24 Oras Weekend Edition on Saturdays on GMA Network.

She is currently in a relationship with the president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III. She admitted to the relationship on her show stating in response to the presidents claim of their relationship, "what the president said is true.". ^[5] On March 6, 2012, Grace Lee reported in a formal and genial letter, stating that her time has come to exit. DJ Mo puts the blame on himself, saying that he was indirectly the cause for the recent breakdown of the show. Currently, they are now looking for a replacement. Grace Lee made her last appearance on THURSDAY, March 8, 2012. She has stated in the show that prior to common rumours, Grace Lee's decisions to leave the show had nothing to do with the President. In fact, Grace Lee only told PNoy during Wednesday. Surprisingly, Grace Lee was already planning on leaving the show last year. It has been said that she had been emotionally struggling, but although she will quit the show, she will still be part of the Magic 89.9 family

TV Shows[link]

See also[link]

• Sam Oh
• Sandara Park

References[link]

Pavel Andreievich Chekov (Russian: Павел Андреевич Чехов) is a Russian Starfleet officer in the Star Trek fictional universe. Walter Koenig portrayed Chekov in the original Star Trek series and first seven Star Trek films; Anton Yelchin portrayed the character in the 2009 film Star Trek.

Origin[link]

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to include a younger cast member, to appeal to teenage audiences. With a second season of Star Trek to be produced, Roddenberry interviewed Koenig on the recommendation of director Joseph Pevney.^[1] After casting Koenig, Roddenberry wrote a letter to Mikhail Zimyanin, editor of Pravda,^[2] informing him of the introduction of a Russian character, and an NBC press release announcing the character at the time stated that it was in response to a Pravda article.^[3][4] Koenig always denied the "Russian origin" story and said the character was added in response to the popularity of The Monkees' Davy Jones, and the character's hairstyle and appearance are a direct reference to this.^[5][6] Roddenberry had previously mentioned, in a memo to his casting director, a desire to have someone reminiscent of one of the Beatles or Monkees on the show.^[7]

The episode "Amok Time", which was the first episode aired during the second season, was Chekov's first television appearance. ("Catspaw", the first episode shot with the Chekov character, would be aired a month later to roughly coincide with Halloween). Because of budgetary constraints the character did not appear in Star Trek: The Animated Series.^[8]

Depiction[link]

Pavel Andreievich Chekov is a young and naïve ensign who first appeared on-screen in The Original Series’ second season as the Enterprise's navigator. However, The Wrath of Khan established that he had been assigned to the ship sometime before the first season episode "Space Seed", since Khan remembers him in the movie. Koenig joked that Khan remembered Chekov from the episode after he took too long in a restroom Khan wanted to use.^[9] In the book Adaptations: From Text to Screen, Screen to Text by Deborah Cartmell, Imelda Whelehan calls Khan's recognition of Chekov, despite Chekov not yet having appeared when Khan is introduced, "the apparent gaffe notorious throughout Star Trek fandom".^[10] It is also known that he joined after "Mudd's Women", since he does not recognize Mudd in the episode "I, Mudd".

Chekov also substitutes for Mr. Spock at the science officer station when necessary. His promotion to lieutenant for Star Trek: The Motion Picture brings with it his transfer as the ship's tactical officer and chief of security. By the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Chekov has been promoted to commander and executive officer aboard the USS Reliant. In that film, Khan Noonien Singh uses a creature that wraps itself around Chekov's cerebral cortex to control him and his captain. Chekov overcomes the creature's mind control and serves as Enterprise tactical officer in the film's climactic battle against Khan.

Chekov is an accomplice in Kirk's unsanctioned use of the Enterprise to rescue Spock (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) but is exonerated for his actions (Star Trek: The Voyage Home). He serves as navigator and second officer aboard the Enterprise-A during the events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The character's final film appearance is as a guest aboard the Enterprise-B on its maiden voyage (Star Trek Generations).

Star Trek novels show a continued career path, but these are not considered canon in the Star Trek universe. Novels written by William Shatner detail that Chekov reached the rank of Admiral, and even served as Commander in Chief of Starfleet.

Mirror universe[link]

In the mirror universe in the episode "Mirror, Mirror", Chekov is a cunning schemer who recruits several crew members to help him assassinate Kirk and take over the Enterprise. However, he is in turn betrayed by one of his own men, and sentenced to torture in the "agony booth."

Fan productions[link]

Walter Koenig would reprise his role as Chekov twelve years after Star Trek Generations in the fan series New Voyages, in the episode "To Serve All My Days". Andy Bray portrayed a younger Chekov in that episode. Koenig would return as Chekov one last time in the online mini-series Star Trek: Of Gods and Men which debuted on December 22, 2007.

[edit] Star Trek (2009)

In the eleventh Star Trek film, Anton Yelchin's portrayal presents the character as a 17-year-old prodigy, whose mathematical ability proves instrumental in a few events within the film, and whose accent provides some of the film's comic relief. In an early scene, the computer has trouble understanding his mispronunciations of the letter V--his efforts to pronounce "Victor" coming out "Wicktor" and "Vulcan" as "Wulcan." This can also be seen, however, as a direct reference to the character having these same problems in the original series, as well as the movies (notably his requests for "nuclear wessels" in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home). Yelchin is Russian-born himself, but does not have a Russian accent.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Pavel Chekov at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• "Pavel Chekov" at STARTREK.COM

Walter Koenig
Koenig at ComicCon in Dallas, Texas, 2007
Born	Walter Marvin Koenig (1936-09-14) September 14, 1936 (age 75) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Residence	North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Education	Grinnell College
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Years active	1962-present
Known for	Pavel Chekov, Mr. Bester
Home town	New York City, NY
Television	Star Trek
Spouse	Judy Levitt (1965-present)
Website
http://www.walterkoenigsite.com/

Walter Marvin Koenig ( /ˈkeɪnɪɡ/; born September 14, 1936) is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.

Early life[link]

Koenig was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of businessman Isadore Koenig and his wife Sarah (née Strauss).^[1][2] Koenig's parents were Russian Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union; his family lived in Lithuania when they emigrated, and shortened their surname from "Königsberg" to "Koenig".^[3] Koenig's father was a communist who was investigated by the FBI during the McCarthy era.^[4] Koenig attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa with a pre-med major. He transferred to UCLA and received a BA in psychology. After a professor encouraged Koenig to become an actor, he attended the Neighborhood Playhouse with fellow students Dabney Coleman, Christopher Lloyd, and James Caan.^[3]

Career[link]

[edit] Star Trek

Koenig played Ensign Pavel Chekov, navigator on the USS Enterprise, in the original Star Trek television series (starting in Season 2) and in several movies featuring the original cast. One of only two actors to audition, he was cast as Chekov almost immediately primarily because of his resemblance to British actor/musician Davy Jones of the Monkees, to attract a younger audience.^[5] As the 30-year old's hair was already receding, costume designers fashioned a Davy Jones-style "moptop" hairpiece for him. In later episodes, his own hair grew out enough to accomplish the look with a comb-over.^[6] (The studio's publicity department, however, falsely ascribed the inclusion of Chekov to an article in Pravda that complained about the lack of Russians in Star Trek.^[5]) Gene Roddenberry asked him to "ham up" his Russian accent to add a note of comic relief to the series. Chekov's accent has been criticized as inauthentic, in particular Koenig's substituting the "w" sound in place of a "v" sound (e.g., "wodka" for "vodka"). Koenig has said the accent was inspired by his father, who had the same difficulty with the "v" sound.^[4]

Having been told that Chekov would be a recurring role based on his popularity, Koenig was pleasantly surprised when he immediately became a regular cast member, and most of his fan mail indeed came from children.^[5] When the early Season 2 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series were shot, George Takei (who played Sulu) was delayed completing the movie The Green Berets, so Chekov is joined at the Enterprise helm by a different character. When Takei returned, the two had to share a dressing room and a single episode script. This reportedly angered Takei to the point where he nearly left the show. But the two actors have since become good friends, and the image of their two characters manning the helm of the Enterprise became iconic.^[7]

Koenig is also credited for writing the Star Trek: The Animated Series installment "The Infinite Vulcan", making him the first "original cast" member to write a Star Trek story for television. The character of Pavel Andreievich Chekov never appeared in the animated version of Star Trek due to budget reasons, so Koenig never got to reprise his character on the animated series.

He received Saturn Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Film for both Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Koenig reprised his role of Pavel Chekov for the fan webseries Star Trek: New Voyages, To Serve All My Days and the independent Sky Conway/Tim Russ film Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, both in 2006.

Later work[link]

After Chekov, Koenig had a starring role in a science fiction thriller Moontrap opposite Bruce Campbell and another as Psi Cop Alfred Bester on the television series Babylon 5. Koenig was the "Special Guest Star" in twelve episodes and, at the end of the third season, the production company applied for an Emmy nomination on his behalf. He was slated to play Bester on the spin-off series Crusade, but the series was cancelled before his episode was filmed. He also played "Oro" in two episodes of the Canadian science fiction television series The Starlost, which aired in 1973 on Canada's CTV television network. He also filmed a few FMV sequences for a re-released copy of the game Star Trek Starfleet Academy for PCs & Game Over, Control Alt Death for the Sega CD video game system.

Koenig's film, stage and TV roles span fifty years. He has played everything from a teenage gang leader (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) to Scandinavian fiance Gunnar (Gidget) to a Las Vegas entertainer (I Spy). He returned to space with a starring role in Moontrap and played a computer hard drive in Maximum Surge. In addition to acting, he has written several films (Actor, I Wish I May, You're Never Alone When You're a Schizophrenic), one-act plays, and a handful of episodes for TV shows: Star Trek: The Animated Series, Land of the Lost, Family and The Powers of Matthew Star. He has also written several books, including Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe (autobiography), Chekov's Enterprise (a journal kept during the filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture) and Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot (a science fiction novel), which was re-released in 2006 and also created his own comic book series called Raver, which was published by Malibu Comics in the early 1990s.

Koenig has taught classes in acting and directing at UCLA, the Sherwood Oaks Experiment Film College, the Actor's Alley Repertory Company in Los Angeles, and the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. In 2002, Koenig directed stage versions of two of the original Twilight Zone episodes for Letter Entertainment.^[8]

In 1987, Koenig directed his original one-act play The Secret Life of Lily Langtree — with his wife Judy Levitt directing her two one-acts, Tech Night: Hands on Demo and Encore: Long Distance Lady — all under the umbrella title Public Moments at the Theatre of N.O.T.E. in Los Angeles.

In 1997, Koenig starred in Drawing Down the Moon, an independent film about a Wiccan woman who attempts to open a homeless shelter in a small Pennsylvania town. Koenig played Joe Merchant, a local crime lord obsessed with chaos theory who sends his thugs to intimidate her into shutting down the shelter.

In 2004, Koenig co-starred in Mad Cowgirl, an independent movie about a meat-packing health inspector dying from a brain disorder in which he played televangelist Pastor Dylan, a character described as "a sleazy, slimy, sex-addict".^{[citation needed]} The movie played the SF Indiefest and the Silverlake Film Festival, followed by a limited release in major cities. Mad Cowgirl was released on DVD on December 5, 2006.

He is currently writing a new graphic novel to be entitled "Things To Come", about vampires after the apocalypse.^{[citation needed]}

Humanitarian work[link]

In 2007, Koenig was asked by the human rights group U.S. Campaign for Burma to help in their grassroots campaign about the humanitarian crisis in Burma. As detailed on his official website, he visited refugee camps along the Burma-Thailand border from July 16 to July 25, 2007.

Personal life[link]

Koenig married Judy Levitt in 1965; they are still together. They had a son, actor Andrew Koenig (1968–2010),^[9] who committed suicide in 2010. They also have a daughter, Danielle Koenig, who is married to comedian Jimmy Pardo, with whom she has one child. Koenig had a heart bypass surgery in 1993. His role in Babylon 5 came out of that incident, since his hospitalization forced him to bow out of a guest spot. The series producer promised to make it up to him for the lost opportunity, and he got the role later on.

In September 2008, Koenig served as best man at the wedding of his Star Trek co-star George Takei to Brad Altman.^[10]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Walter Koenig

External links[link]

• Walter Koenig Official Website
• Walter Koenig at the Internet Movie Database
• Walter Koenig at AllRovi
• Walter Koenig at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)