Warped Factors:
A Neurotic's Guide
to the Universe
by Walter Koenig
Taylor, US $22.95 Hardcover


Cost/page:

7.55 cents.

In a word:

Spacy.

Big break:

Lands the role of Ensign Pavel Chekov on Star Trek.

Overcoming adversity:

• Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, his family escapes Hitler's invasion of Poland by two years and his invasion of Paris by a year.
• Claims that his leftist father's McCarthy-era paranoia instilled long-term neurotic behavior in him; leads him, short-term, to "at a moment's notice be prepared to run [from Manhattan] to Canada."
• At the start of Star Trek's second season, George "Mr. Sulu" Takei's delayed return from another acting project leads to the expansion of the Chekov role — Takei blames Koenig for Sulu's sudden diminishment.

Tainted love (bad marriages, etc.):

• None; has been married to actress Judy Levitt since 1965.

Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll (incidents pertaining to):

• At 24, engages in a "relationship that was extremely short on conversation" with a former Miss USA.
• "In the absence of a taste of alcohol and drugs, the one narcotic available... is the smell of the greasepaint and, most emphatically, the roar of the crowd."

Divine inspiration:

"Don't look for... the hand of God in any of this. It simply isn't there."

Oddities:

• Koenig, a childhood stutterer, suffers sporadically from a "rapid eye blink" nervous tic which can make keeping his eyes open difficult.
• Although his heterosexuality is "carved in testosterone," he claims there was a time he had "cause to suspect otherwise."
• On the set of Koenig's first TV show appearance, Lee Marvin tells him, "Fuck you," when Koenig asks the star to tell their director he's running a bit late.

Cameo appearances (by other famous persons):

• Forges lasting friendship with Vic Tayback (Mel from Alice).
• Appears with James Caan in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
• While a young actor, Koenig is advised by acclaimed director Sydney Pollack, "You're not commercial...you'll never get to kiss the girl."

Manifesto for living/advice to fans:

"I'm pretty much like everybody else out there, so I really think it's a kick in the ass that I'm actually getting paid to put this all down on paper."

Intro | Suzanne Somers | Peter Fonda | Delta Burke
Christopher Reeve | Walter Koenig | Marilyn Manson