(Image credit: Getty Images - Left: Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images, Right: Photo by �� John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

A Variety report says that Walter Koenig, known to the world as Star Trek's Russian hothead Pavel Chekhov, has died.

Koenig's big break in show biz came in 1967, when he was cast as Chekhov in the second season of the original Star Trek series. He portrayed the character until the show's cancellation, and then through seven feature films; he had a particularly memorable scene in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, when a Ceti eel burrowed its way into his brain.

Even now, it's pretty gnarly.

Ear Bug Scene - Star Trek 2 Wrath of Khan - YouTube

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The downside of that early-career fame is that Koenig was typecast, and acting roles following the end of the Star Trek series were sparse.…