By Captain Pyke | September 14, 2011 - 9:58 pm

We would like to wish a very happy birthday to our favorite navigator, Walter Koenig! As many of you know, Walter recently made the news with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and honestly it couldn't have happened sooner. The well deserved honor has got to make this day even more special. We had the chance to talk to Walter last year at Austin Comic-con and he mentioned a few projects that should be releasing soon. You can learn more info about his two graphic novels "Raver" & "Things to Come" by clicking their respective links. You can also check out his official website here.

Walter Marvin Koenig was born September 14, 1936 in Chicago, IL. Before landing the role of Ensign Pavel Chekov, Walter worked on many series in the early days of TV including: Combat!, The Untouchables, Ben Casey, plus many others. The most notable being the short lived series The Lieutenant created by none other than Gene Roddenberry. Walter credits his work on The Lieutenant for playing a small role in landing Star Trek, but he also credits the series Mr. Novak.

Walter tells the story: "I had played a defecting Russian student in high school. The casting director on that show was also the casting director on The Lieutenant... and was also the casting director on Star Trek. So, he suggested me for the role. Gene Roddenberry knew me from The Lieutenant so that was the second vote... So when I came in, it was pretty much a fait accompli. Nothing is that painless..."

We're really happy you landed the role that has provided us hours of entertainment. Happy birthday!