I usually like to keep things positive on this blog. This is a blog that celebrates the geeky fandoms that I have. However, when difficult things happen within my fandom, I have to acknowledge them. My Star Trek fandom took a hit this week when two major actors passed away. Walter Koenig on October 25th and Sir Patrick Stewart on October 28th.
Walter Koenig joined the cast of the original Star Trek series in the second season. He played the part of Pavel Chekov and quickly became one of the fan favorites. His fascination with his Russian heritage (along with his accent) made him one of the examples of diversity on the show. Later, Walter was offered the role of Bester on Babylon 5. As a foil to the B5 crew, Walter was able to display a wide range of his acting talents. I also enjoyed his work on the sci-fi movie Moontrap. Walter was also a writer of TV, books, and comics, including Warped Factors: A Neurotic’s Guide to the Universe, Beaming Up and Getting Off: Life Before and Beyond Star Trek and Chekov’s Enterprise: A Personal Journal of the Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This last book was released before many of his co-stars realized that he was writing it. I had heard that they were really nervous when they first heard about it.
I had several occasions to meet Walter Koenig during my activities within fandom. In 2003 I traveled to Denver to see him on stage at Starfest. This was the first time that I had the opportunity to get his autograph. The group photo shown below is from Mountain-Con II. A small fan-run convention that I helped with in 2006, and Walter agreed to be one of our guests of honor. We were not a professional convention company, and he was very gracious with us. It was a moment that I’ll never forget.
Captain Picard was probably Sir Patrick Stewart’s most famous role. I did enjoy his portrayal of Professor Xavier in the X-Men movies. Since I grew up in a family of Dune fans, I recall seeing him in the 1984 theatrical release of Dune as Gurney Halleck. I wish I could have seen one of the stage performances he was so well known for.
The 1994 Starfest in Denver was my first opportunity to see Sir Patrick Stewart at a convention. One of the most memorable moments was when a young fan (probably seven or eight years old) asked if he really didn’t like children. To prove that he was not the same as Captain Picard, Patrick invited the young fan to join him on stage and gave her a big hug and explained that the actor was different than the character. It was a sweet moment. In 2014 Sir Patrick Stewart made an appearance at the Salt Lake Comic Con (now known as FanX: The Salt Lake Comic Convention). Unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to personally interact with him at either event for a photo or an autograph. While looking through my collection (just to make sure I didn’t have an autograph) I did come across some artwork that I had purchased in Artists’ Alley at the 2017 FanX of all four Star Trek captains with their vessels. The artist did sign the artwork (which is why it was in my autograph book) but I couldn’t read the name. If anyone knows the artist (or is the artist), please let me know so that I can properly credit them.
To Walter and Patrick, thank you both from the bottom of this fan’s heart for bringing these characters to life. Losing both of you in such a short time was hard. But it only reminded me that we should appreciate those around us for the value that they bring into our lives. You lived long and prospered, and you made a lot of people happy.
Do you have any memories of these two fine actors that you’d like to share? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.
