Before the late Walter Koenig starred in his most famous role as Pavel Chekov in the “Star Trek” franchise, he played a memorable one-off character in a 1964 episode of “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” a horror anthology series similar to “The Twilight Zone.” Koenig co-starred as the gang leader antagonist Tiger in the episode “Memo From Purgatory,” which was penned by renowned sci-fi author Harlan Ellison in one of his earliest TV writing credits. The protagonist, Jay (James Caan), is a writer who joins the gang to gather material for a book, and Tiger makes sure he regrets attempting an endeavor so reckless. Tiger is downright terrifying, so much so that it’s hard to recognize Koenig as the same guy who’d later play Chekov.
Koenig reflected on this early role in a 2013 interview with the Television Academy, telling them that it was a typical part for him at that stage in his career. “I did a lot of juvenile delinquents at the time, which was interesting because I’d gone from this persona of being the sensitive young guy to all of a sudden being the tough juvenile delinquent,” he said. The future “Star Trek” actor (whose favorite role was actually in another sci-fi franchise) also revealed that he accidentally struck Caan for real during a scene where his character slaps Jay across the face, cutting the star’s lip with his ring. “[Caan] loved it, the blood coming down his face,” Koenig said. “And so we finished the scene and it was a good episode.”
Koenig and Ellison became friends after Memo From Purgatory
Harlan Ellison adapted his own 1961 novel “Memos From Purgatory” for Walter Koenig’s episode of “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.” The first section of the book, which the episode focuses on, is based on Ellison’s real-life experience doing what Jay does: He really did join a street gang for the sake of making his debut novel (“Web of the City,” published in 1958) feel authentic, with similarly chaotic results.
Koenig revealed to the Television Academy that filming this episode was how he first met Ellison, and that this led to a long friendship between him and the author. “I think Harlan liked me because I was short,” Koenig joked, adding, “It’s been a mercurial relationship between Harlan and I that’s lasted about 40 years, with lots of turmoil through the intervening years. But [we’re] still friends, still friends.”
Ellison would go on to pen the acclaimed “Star Trek” episode “The City on the Edge of Forever,” which Koenig named as one of his favorite “Star Trek” episodes. He also wrote for the ’80s revival of “The Twilight Zone,” adapting a Stephen King short story. Ellison died at the age of 84 in 2018, while Koenig died at 90 on October 25, 2026.
