Much like yesterday’s Celebrity Birthday boy, Walter Koenig is one of those great actors who hitched their wagon to a career-making role – in this case, that of Pavel Chekov from the original Star Trek TV series and the subsequent movies. In fact, as I write this, I’m finding myself overcome with the urge to write everything phonetically in Chekov’s trademark Russian accent, and to also somehow work in the phrase “We are looking for nuclear wessels.” Koenig was not, as many might think, born in Russia, but was in fact born in Chicago, Illinois to two Russian-Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union. He played several small roles in various television shows before his big break, but it was in 1967 that his acting career changed forever when he landed a major part on the original Star Trek series. Since then, he has gone on to act in no fewer than seven Star Trek movies, and a full sixteen of his credits in television, movies and video games have Star Trek in the title. Since I’m a huge Bruce Campbell fan, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t also mention Koenig’s role in the 1989 sci-fi film Moontrap, starring alongside Bruce. Koenig turns 75 today.