Josh Andrew Koenig
Encyclopedia
Joshua Andrew Koenig
also known as Josh Andrew Koenig or Andrew Koenig, was an American character actor
, film director, editor
, writer, and human rights activist. He was the son of actor Walter Koenig
and actress Judy Koenig (née Levitt).
's character Mike Seaver in the first four seasons of the ABC
sitcom Growing Pains
. During the same period, he guest starred on episodes of the sitcoms My Sister Sam
and My Two Dads
as well as the drama 21 Jump Street
. In the early 1990s he provided a voice for the animated series G.I. Joe
as Ambush and Night Creeper Leader, and had a minor role as Tumak in the 1993 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
episode "Sanctuary
".
Koenig played the role of The Joker
in the critically successful 2003 fan film
Batman: Dead End
. Directed by commercial director Sandy Collora
, the short received its first screening at the San Diego Comic-Con International. Director Kevin Smith
called it "possibly the truest, best Batman movie ever made".
Onstage, he starred as the M.C. in the 2007 interactive theater
play The Boomerang Kid and performed with the improv group Charles Whitman Reilly and Friends.
Though he continued his performing career in the 2006 independent film The Theory of Everything (2006), Koenig worked increasingly behind the scenes. He wrote, produced and/or directed the shorts Good Boy (2003) and Woman in a Green Dress and Instinct vs. Reason (2004). Most recently he was working as an editor on a number of films and had been a video producer for the podcast Never Not Funny
(2006–2010). His final role was in the film DaZe: Vol. Too – NonSeNse, in post-production at the time of his death, with Koenig portraying the role of Vice Chancellor.
.
Writer Harlan Ellison
spoke of the young Andrew – by his given first name of Josh – as being the inspiration for his story Jeffty Is Five
.
The story went on to win the 1977 Nebula Award
and the 1978 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
.
He was a vegan.
. The following January, he protested the Communist Party of China
's political and financial support of the military dictatorship
in Burma during the 119th Tournament of Roses Parade
, entering the parade and standing in front of a Chinese float promoting the 2008 Beijing Olympics after a pre-parade human rights march agreed to by parade officials was allegedly stifled by them. Koenig, who carried a sign reading "China: Free Burma" in both English and Chinese, was arrested and briefly held for his act of civil disobedience
. Koenig's defense attorney was Bill Paparian
, a fellow protester and former mayor of Pasadena, California
, where the parade is held.
"China sits on the UN Security Council and they have refused to condemn Burma. China purchases gas from Burma and sells them weapons that the military uses on the Burmese people. So they are really quite complicit, and that was the whole point of protesting the China float," Koenig explained. Koenig also noted the Chinese government's implicit support of genocidal
forces in Sudan
, sweatshops and tainted export products, saying of the float, "China is putting on a good face because of the Olympics, but [it’s time to] send a message to the Chinese government that they have to not just change their face, but change the way they do things.” The Pasadena Weekly quoted Koenig as stating, "Their free speech rights have been totally censored. As a country with a Constitution and a Bill of Rights, we need to continue to support and enforce ours, and [use it to] recognize the rights of human beings all over the world."
in downtown Vancouver. Police later confirmed Koenig's body was found earlier in the day, and Koenig's father told reporters at an evening press conference that his son "took his own life". The 41-year-old was found hanging from a tree of a "densely wooded area...unseen from the path" of Vancouver's Stanley Park, on February 25, 2010.
also known as Josh Andrew Koenig or Andrew Koenig, was an American character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
, film director, editor
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
, writer, and human rights activist. He was the son of actor Walter Koenig
Walter Koenig
Walter Marvin Koenig is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.-Early life:...
and actress Judy Koenig (née Levitt).
Career
From 1985 to 1989, Koenig played a recurring role as Richard "Boner" Stabone, best friend to Kirk CameronKirk Cameron
Kirk Thomas Cameron is an American actor best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains , as well as several other television and film appearances as a child actor...
's character Mike Seaver in the first four seasons of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
. During the same period, he guest starred on episodes of the sitcoms My Sister Sam
My Sister Sam
My Sister Sam is an American situation comedy series that aired on CBS from 1986 to 1988. It was created by Stephen Fischer and executive produced by Diane English.-Synopsis:...
and My Two Dads
My Two Dads
My Two Dads is an American sitcom that starred Staci Keanan, Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan. It aired on NBC from 1987 to 1990 and was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with TriStar Television and distributed by TeleVentures.-Show synopsis:The show begins when Marcy Bradford , the...
as well as the drama 21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,...
. In the early 1990s he provided a voice for the animated series G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989 TV series)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a half-hour American animated television series based on the successful toyline from Hasbro and the comic book series from Marvel Comics. The series was produced by DIC Entertainment and ran from 1989 to 1991....
as Ambush and Night Creeper Leader, and had a minor role as Tumak in the 1993 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
episode "Sanctuary
Sanctuary (DS9 episode)
"Sanctuary" is the 30th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Overview:Displaced humanoids from the Gamma Quadrant claim Bajor as their home.-Plot:...
".
Koenig played the role of The Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
in the critically successful 2003 fan film
Fan film
A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by...
Batman: Dead End
Batman: Dead End
Batman: Dead End is a fan film made by Sandy Collora that premiered July 19, 2003 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and on the internet shortly thereafter.-Plot:...
. Directed by commercial director Sandy Collora
Sandy Collora
Sandy Collora is an American film director and design artist, best known for the independent short film Batman: Dead End.Collora was born in Brooklyn, New York...
, the short received its first screening at the San Diego Comic-Con International. Director Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
called it "possibly the truest, best Batman movie ever made".
Onstage, he starred as the M.C. in the 2007 interactive theater
Interactive theater
Interactive theatre is a presentational form that breaks the "fourth wall" separating performer and audience both physically and verbally.In traditional theatre, performance is limited to a designated stage area and the action of the play unfolds without any interplay with audience members, who...
play The Boomerang Kid and performed with the improv group Charles Whitman Reilly and Friends.
Though he continued his performing career in the 2006 independent film The Theory of Everything (2006), Koenig worked increasingly behind the scenes. He wrote, produced and/or directed the shorts Good Boy (2003) and Woman in a Green Dress and Instinct vs. Reason (2004). Most recently he was working as an editor on a number of films and had been a video producer for the podcast Never Not Funny
Never Not Funny
Never Not Funny is a weekly podcast hosted by comedian Jimmy Pardo since Spring 2006. He and producer Matt Belknap have appeared in every episode...
(2006–2010). His final role was in the film DaZe: Vol. Too – NonSeNse, in post-production at the time of his death, with Koenig portraying the role of Vice Chancellor.
Personal life
Andrew Koenig was the son of actor Walter Koenig and Judy Levitt. Andrew's sister Danielle Koenig is a stand-up comedian and writes for the program The Fashion Police. She is also married to a stand-up comedian, Jimmy PardoJimmy Pardo
Jimmy Pardo is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and host of the popular comedy podcast Never Not Funny.He is married to fellow comedian Danielle Koenig. They live in Los Angeles with their son Oliver...
.
Writer Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
spoke of the young Andrew – by his given first name of Josh – as being the inspiration for his story Jeffty Is Five
Jeffty Is Five
"Jeffty Is Five" is a fantasy short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1977, then was included in his short story collection Shatterday three years later...
.
The story went on to win the 1977 Nebula Award
Nebula Award for Best Short Story
Winners of the '“Nebula Award for Best Short Story”'. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year. Winning titles are listed first, with other nominees listed below.-Winners and nominees:-External links:* *...
and the 1978 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
Hugo Award for Best Short Story
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
.
He was a vegan.
Human rights activism
Koenig traveled to Burma in July 2007 and visited Burmese refugee camps in Thailand with his father as part of the U.S. Campaign for BurmaU.S. Campaign for Burma
The United States Campaign for Burma is a U.S.-based membership organization dedicated to empowering grassroots activists around the world to bring about an end to the military dictatorship in Burma...
. The following January, he protested the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
's political and financial support of the military dictatorship
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
in Burma during the 119th Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
, entering the parade and standing in front of a Chinese float promoting the 2008 Beijing Olympics after a pre-parade human rights march agreed to by parade officials was allegedly stifled by them. Koenig, who carried a sign reading "China: Free Burma" in both English and Chinese, was arrested and briefly held for his act of civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
. Koenig's defense attorney was Bill Paparian
Bill Paparian
Bill Paparian is an American politician, a former mayor of Pasadena, California, serving from 1995 to 1997. He was also a member of the Pasadena City Council from 1987 to 1999, and a Green Party candidate for Congress in 2006. He was the first Armenian-American mayor of Pasadena, as well as the...
, a fellow protester and former mayor of Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, where the parade is held.
"China sits on the UN Security Council and they have refused to condemn Burma. China purchases gas from Burma and sells them weapons that the military uses on the Burmese people. So they are really quite complicit, and that was the whole point of protesting the China float," Koenig explained. Koenig also noted the Chinese government's implicit support of genocidal
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
forces in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, sweatshops and tainted export products, saying of the float, "China is putting on a good face because of the Olympics, but [it’s time to] send a message to the Chinese government that they have to not just change their face, but change the way they do things.” The Pasadena Weekly quoted Koenig as stating, "Their free speech rights have been totally censored. As a country with a Constitution and a Bill of Rights, we need to continue to support and enforce ours, and [use it to] recognize the rights of human beings all over the world."
Death
In February 2010, Koenig was reported missing by friends and family. He was last seen near a bakery in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on February 14, and missed a scheduled flight back to the US on February 16. According to his parents, Koenig left evidence that he was depressed prior to his disappearance. On February 25, 2010, CNN reported that his body was found by friends searching for him in Stanley ParkStanley Park
Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....
in downtown Vancouver. Police later confirmed Koenig's body was found earlier in the day, and Koenig's father told reporters at an evening press conference that his son "took his own life". The 41-year-old was found hanging from a tree of a "densely wooded area...unseen from the path" of Vancouver's Stanley Park, on February 25, 2010.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Adam-12 Adam-12 Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a... |
Little Boy | Episode: "Rampart Division: The Senior Citizens" (uncredited) |
| 1985–1989 | Growing Pains Growing Pains Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based... |
Richard "Boner" Stabone | 25 episodes |
| 1987 | My Sister Sam My Sister Sam My Sister Sam is an American situation comedy series that aired on CBS from 1986 to 1988. It was created by Stephen Fischer and executive produced by Diane English.-Synopsis:... |
Episode: "Go Crazy" | |
| 1988 | 21 Jump Street 21 Jump Street 21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,... |
Wally | Episode: "Champagne High" |
| 1989 | My Two Dads My Two Dads My Two Dads is an American sitcom that starred Staci Keanan, Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan. It aired on NBC from 1987 to 1990 and was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with TriStar Television and distributed by TeleVentures.-Show synopsis:The show begins when Marcy Bradford , the... |
Jon | Episode: "You Can Count on Me" |
| 1990 | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989 TV series) G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a half-hour American animated television series based on the successful toyline from Hasbro and the comic book series from Marvel Comics. The series was produced by DIC Entertainment and ran from 1989 to 1991.... |
Night Creeper Leader | (unknown episodes) |
| 1993 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe... |
Tumak | Episode: "Sanctuary" |
| 2003 | Batman: Dead End Batman: Dead End Batman: Dead End is a fan film made by Sandy Collora that premiered July 19, 2003 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and on the internet shortly thereafter.-Plot:... |
The Joker | Fan film Fan film A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by... |
| 2006 | The Theory of Everything | Scott | Direct-to-video Direct-to-video Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television... |
| 2008 | InAlienable InAlienable InAlienable is a 2008 science fiction horror film written and produced by Walter Koenig, and directed by Robert Dyke.-Plot:Dr. Eric Norris remains wracked with guilt after a terrible tragedy that cost him his family, and when he learns that an alien parasite is not only growing inside him but... |
Emil | Feature film |
| 2010 | DaZe: Vol. Too (sic) – NonSeNse | Vice Chancellor | post-production Post-production Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art... |