• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Walter Koenig: Teen Idol?

Steve67

Steve67

Commander
Red Shirt
The original thread was "pruned" in the move to VBulletin, so I thought I'd start anew...

As we know , Chekov was brought on to Trek's second season to attract the "younger set" kind of like a Davy Jones for the phaser-wielding crowd and he even came complete with a bad hair helmet toupee and atrocious scream. Does anyone know how popular Koenig was with the pre-pubescent girls? Was he featured along with the Monkees and other teen idols on TIGER BEAT and magazines of that nature? Any "Win a date with Wally Koenig!!!" type articles? Any "candid" pictures of Walter playing the lute or "relaxing" on set between takes? How much fan mail did he receive in relation to the other cast members?

Let this thread be a portal into what was Walter Koenig's reign as a 1960s teen idol! And if anyone has any scans of Koenig in those teen mags, please share them with us!
 
I was a pre-teen (quite pre, actually) in those days, and I don't personally remember any hoopla at all. But then again, I seldom saw Tiger Beat, so maybe I just missed it.

I always prefered Spock, anyway. Really. Walter Koenig? Meh.
 
Last edited:
Every time I see Koenig in those first episodes he appeared on TOS with that ridiculous hair I can't help thinking " Hey, look at that little girl" :lol:
 
I was 13 when TOS premiered, and I had no crush on Walter. For my money, far more girls carried a torch for the hard-to-get Spock.
 
^ Oh, yes. Be still my pre-teen-beating heart! I believe I was...8 when it premiered? That's about right.

What can I say? I had good taste even then.
 
^ If you change that statement to...

Just because GR thought [insert anything here] doesn't mean GR was right.

That would really be broadly applicable to the Star Trek universe, I think. :)
 
Well, yeah - natch! But what I was referring to in this situation is that clearly GR had no particular insight into the teen-girl mind. It's kind of weird if he thought he did, actually.

But to be fair, I don't think the average male would have expected that Spock would be so popular. We females can be pretty inexplicable, or so I hear.
 
Last edited:
Jeri said:
I was 13 when TOS premiered, and I had no crush on Walter. For my money, far more girls carried a torch for the hard-to-get Spock.
Click to expand...

I wasn't yet alive for the first run of the show so I have no idea of his 60's heart throb status, but all I can say is how could women possibly resist Walty? It drives me perfectly wild to view his slumped over and perfectly rounded shoulders, his super flat ass gets me going EVERY TIME, his jarring accent is a complete turn on and how could we not pay homage to that poor innocent dead animal perched atop his head? Oh yeah...Walty the sex symbol...ALL THE WAY....:drool:
 
Do I detect a slight note of sarcasm, Cakes?

What was the deal with that hair, anyway? Wig or whatever...why did it look so odd?
 
Last edited:
JustKate said:
Do I detect a slight note of sarcasm, Cakes?

What was the deal with that hair, anyway? Wig or whatever...why did it look so odd?
Click to expand...

LOL LOL...yes just a hint, I see you picked up on that!
Well you know what they say about the budget constraints on Star Trek...they absolutely had no budget for any frivolous hairpieces (besides shatners of course). LOL
 
Yes, I did pick up on those subtle hints. I'm very sensitive that way. ;)

So...that was his actual hair? I mean, criminey, it looks like a comb-over, which surely wasn't necessary at Walter's tender age?

Whether it was a wig or his hair, why was it styled so weirdly? Davy Jones' hair didn't look like that.

This is going to bug me far more than it should, I can tell.
 
Last edited:
Personally, I always found Yarneg (the smoldering rock creature from The Savage Curtain) to be HOT! :drool:
 
JustKate said:
Well, yeah - natch! But what I was referring to in this situation is that clearly GR had no particular insight into the teen-girl mind. It's kind of weird if he thought he did, actually.

But to be fair, I don't think the average male would have expected that Spock would be so popular. We females can be pretty inexplicable, or so I hear.
Click to expand...

We're not really. Spock was unobtainable and seemed vulnerable. He was the perfect challenge. It didn't hurt that he was good-looking and extremely intelligent.

No offense to Koenig, who was decent (minus the Monkees mop-top,) but the poor guy didn't have a chance as long as Spock was around.
 
I have a theory, which I just made up, that girls who liked Spock best tended also to be the same ones who liked George Harrison best (a member of a famous musical group called "The Beatles," for those of you unfamiliar with ancient history ;) ).

Koenig was a decent-looking guy (minus the wig and the accent), but compared to Spock? Nah.
 
I always thought pairing up Chekov with Uhura was good fun, and I wish they'd have done more of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top