Walter Koenig Got Really Weird With One Of His Star Trek: The Motion Picture Co-Stars

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In his autobiographical book "Chicago Days, Hoboken Nights," author Daniel Pinkwater describes an unsettling and inexplicable incident from his early adulthood. The author recalled visiting a miniature museum, sparsely attended, that had a real-life mummy on display. The museum was small enough that there was no security around the mummy, and a visitor could easily touch it if they wanted to. Weirdly, there was a sign next to the mummy reading, "PLEASE DON'T TASTE THE MUMMY." Pinkwater couldn't imagine why such a sign was posted ... until he realized that he ... he also wanted to taste the mummy. Pinkwater leaned forward and extended his tongue, driven by some unusual urge.

A security guard caught the author before he was able to lick the mummy, shaking Pinkwater from his fugue state. He asked the guard if that was a big problem, and the guard explained that, yes, people came in to lick the mummy all the time. (Perhaps this will be a plot point in "The Mummy 4.")

The point of this story is that we are sometimes struck by very, very strange urges we cannot explain. That was certainly the case with Walter Koenig on the set of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" back in 1979. In that film, Koenig reprised his "Star Trek" role as Pavel Chekov and starred alongside a new entrant to the franchise, Indian model and actor Persis Khambatta. The latter actor starred in the movie as Ilia, a Deltan with a bald head. In his 1980 biography "Chekov's Enterprise," Koenig admitted that he once was struck by a weird urge — during the film's makeup and costume testing — to kiss his co-star on the top of her bald head. Not in a sexual or romantic way, but just because ... well, just because.

Koenig wrote about his experiences on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" as a daily diary, and his entry for August 2, 1978, was very odd indeed. He wrote:

"Today we screen-test for costume and makeup. Does the person fit the makeup? Does the costume fit the person? Does the makeup fit the costume? Will it all fit together? Will everyone have a fit?

"10:30 a.m. I discover Persis in the makeup room. I discover her bald head. Not bald. Naked. Intriguing, captivating. I want — no — need to kiss it. She says, 'Of course,' the way a mother does to her nine-year-old's timid request for a second cookie."

Unlike with Pinkwater tasting a mummy, Koenig's urge to kiss Khambatta's bald head was sated. Koenig, however, was immediately embarrassed. He theorized that a woman as beautiful as Khambatta likely had to field bizarre requests like his all the time. Koenig also wrote that the experience was:

"Not exactly what I expected. God knows what I expected! It's bumpy, prickly skull with Egyptian #8 base [makeup] on it."

Koenig eventually came to the conclusion that weird desires like kissing bald heads should perhaps be left in the "longing" phase. It's better to wonder about unusual bald head kisses than, in his words, "get makeup on your teeth." Khambatta never mentioned the incident with Koenig, so her feelings on the kiss are not a matter of public record. Koenig has since appeared in six additional "Star Trek" movies and still gives interviews to this day. Sadly, Khambatta passed away in 1998 due to smoking-related health problems.