Star Trek Actor’s Son Found Dead

VANCOUVER — The depressed son of the Jewish actor who played Chekhov on the 1960s Star Trek TV series was found dead in Vancouver’s Stanley Park last week of an apparent suicide.
Walter Koenig and his wife, Judy Levitt Koenig, had come to Vancouver to find  their son, actor Andrew Koenig, 41, – who was best know for playing the character Richard (Boner) Stabone on the 1980s TV series Growing Pains. He was last seen in the city near Stanley Park on Feb. 14 and missed his Feb. 16 flight home.
He suffered from depression and had stopped taking his medication. He had given also away his possessions and gave notice to his landlord before heading to visit friends in Toronto and Vancouver, his father said.
The younger Koenig lived in Vancouver from 1989 to 1992, after having guest-starred on an episode of the TV series 21 Jump Street, which was shot in the city.
Police focused their search on Stanley Park last week, because he was said to enjoy walking its paths and trails.
The last time he contacted his parents was Feb. 9. His cellphone last received a text Feb. 16, the same day there was “bank activity in Vancouver,” his father said.

Rabbi Gets City Key

OTTAWA — Former Canadian Jewish Congress President Rabbi Reuven Bulka has been given a key to the city by Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien. The mayor made the Feb. 18 presentation during Kindness Week, which Rabbi Bulka helped establish to promote positive feelings in the city. Rabbi Bulka has been spiritual leader of Congregation Machzikei Hadas since 1967 and has written more than 30 books. He also hosts a Sunday-night talk show on CFRA Radio in Ottawa.

Nobel Nod For Matas

OTTAWA — MP Boris Wrzesnewskyj has nominated Winnipeg human rights lawyer David Matas and former Liberal MP David Kilgour for the Nobel Peace Prize for their work related to investigating organ harvesting crimes against Falun Gong practitioners in China. In his nomination to the Nobel committee, Wrzesnewskyj said awarding the prize to Matas and Kilgour “would help the world realize that liberty, human rights, and the rule of law can be won by determined peaceful acts of conscience.”