- Maury Chaykin
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Maury Chaykin 
Maury Chaykin in A Nero Wolfe MysteryBorn Maury Alan Chaykin
July 27, 1949
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.Died July 27, 2010 (aged 61)
Toronto, Ontario, CanadaOccupation Actor Years active 1975–2010 Spouse Susannah Hoffmann Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.[1]
Contents
Personal life
Chaykin was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Irving J. Chaykin (1912–2007), was born in Brooklyn, and was a professor of accountancy at City College of New York.[2] His mother, Clarice Chaykin (née Bloomfield), was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but raised in Montreal, Quebec since the age of three. She graduated from Beth Israel Hospital nursing school in Newark, New Jersey.[3] Chaykin's maternal uncle, George Bloomfield (1930–2011), was a veteran Canadian director, producer, writer and actor who directed Chaykin in a number of projects for film and television.[4]
Raised in New York City, Chaykin studied drama at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He subsequently moved to Toronto, Ontario, where he resided until his death. Chaykin's first marriage, to Canadian producer Ilana Frank, ended in divorce.[5] He was married to Canadian actress Susannah Hoffmann, with whom he had one daughter, Rose. Best known for having played Jen Pringle in the Anne of Avonlea series, Hoffmann had a supporting role in a 2002 episode of the television series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, in which Chaykin starred.
Career
Chaykin was known for portrayals of blustery supporting characters. One of his rare leading roles was Nero Wolfe. Chaykin first played the legendary detective in The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000), an A&E telefilm adaptation of the 1953 novel by Rex Stout. Timothy Hutton costarred in the production as Archie Goodwin. The New York Times reported Chaykin's "undisguised delight" at starring in the promotion for The Golden Spiders: "There's an extraordinary billboard up on Sunset Boulevard right now, with a humongous photograph of my face. ... I drive by it constantly, back and forth, back and forth."[6] The original movie's success led to the weekly series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, which played for two seasons on A&E and continues to air internationally. Chaykin and Hutton had worked together previously, albeit briefly, in the 1985 film Turk 182; and they worked together subsequently, in the 2006 film Heavens Fall.
Two of Chaykin's early motion picture roles brought him public recognition: computer programmer Jim Sting in WarGames and prosecution witness Sam Tipton in My Cousin Vinny. In 1990, he had a small but pivotal role in the film Dances with Wolves, portraying Major Fambrough.
Chaykin had his first starring role in Whale Music, a 1994 film in which he played a burned-out rock star, a character based largely on Brian Wilson. Chaykin was named Best Actor at the 15th Genie Awards for his portrayal.
Chaykin also had roles on the television series Seeing Things and Emily of New Moon as well as a recurring role as the intergalactic gourmand Nerus (a nod to Nero Wolfe)[7] in Stargate SG-1.
Chaykin portrayed the colourful bookie Frank Perlin opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman's compulsive gambler Dan Mahowny in Owning Mahowny, a film that critic Roger Ebert named as one of the ten best of 2003. In 2006, Chaykin appeared in an episode of the Ken Finkleman miniseries, At the Hotel, and received a Gemini Award for best performance by an actor in a guest role. He had a semi-recurring role in the HBO series Entourage, as volatile movie producer Harvey Weingard, a send-up of the celebrated producer Harvey Weinstein. He also appeared as Stan Deane, father of Kevin Zegers' character Woody Deane, in the 2006 romantic comedy It's a Boy Girl Thing.
To celebrate the first 30 years of his career, the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film presented Chaykin with its Career So Far Award in 2006. Chaykin spoke to the Toronto Star about the honour:
I got this strange call from Chlotrudis ... I thought it was a disease. It's a society for independent film and they said, "We're giving you The Career So Far Award. Not The Lifetime Achievement Award. We hope you will do a lot more indie films." They want to fly me down to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Last year's winner was Philip Seymour Hoffman. I looked up their website and they are legit. Nero Wolfe raised orchids. Maybe he had a rare form of Chlotrudis.[8]
Death
Maury Chaykin died in Toronto on July 27, 2010, his 61st birthday, from complications of a heart valve infection.[9]
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1975 Me 1978 King of Kensington (TV series) "Polyfur" 1980 Double Negative Rollins 1980 Jimmy B. and André Bruno 1980 Nothing Personal Kanook 1980 The Kidnapping of the President Harvey Cannon 1981 The July Group Harvey 1981 Death Hunt Clarence 1981 Just Jessie Joey Harper 1982 Soup for One Wexler 1982 Highpoint Falco 1982–1986 Seeing Things (TV series) Randall Jackson "Evil Eye" (1982)
"I'm Looking Through You" (1984)
"Defective Vision" (1986)
"Optical Illusion" (1986)1983 Overdrawn at the Memory Bank Gondol 1983 ABC Weekend Special (TV series) Mousey "Horatio Alger Updated: Frank and Fearless" 1983 Curtains Monty 1983 WarGames Jim Sting 1983 Of Unknown Origin Dan Errol 1984 Hockey Night Bum Johnston 1984 Harry & Son Lawrence 1984 The Guardian Rudy Simbro 1984 Mrs. Soffel Guard Charlie Reynolds 1985 The Suicide Murders Sid 1985 Turk 182 Man in Wheelchair 1985 Def-Con 4 Vinny 1985 In Like Flynn Williams 1985 Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks Harold Chamberlain Banks 1986 Meatballs III: Summer Job Huey, River Rat Leader 1986 The Vindicator Burt Arthurs 1986 Act of Vengeance Claude Vealey 1986 Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (TV series) Lt. Copernik "Red Wind" 1986 Night Heat (TV series) Mallory
Merle Marlowe"Dead Ringer"
"Body Conscious"1986 Crime Story (TV series) Steven Kordo "Crime Pays" 1987 Adderly (TV series) Russian Agent "Requiem" 1987 Higher Education Guido 1987 Future Block 1987 The Bedroom Window Pool Player 1987 Wild Thing Jonathan Trask 1987 Race for the Bomb (TV miniseries) General Leslie Groves 1987 Nowhere to Hide Marchais 1987 Diamonds (TV series) Murray Wolf "Here Comes the Bride" 1987 Hearts of Fire Charlie Kelso 1987 Caribe Captain Burdoch 1988 Stars and Bars Freeborn Gage 1988 Hot Paint Wilensky 1988 Iron Eagle II Sgt. Downs 1988 Twins Burt Klane 1989 Cold Comfort Floyd Lucas 1989 The Twilight Zone (TV series) James L. "Fats" Brown "A Game of Pool" 1989 George's Island Mr. Droonfield 1989 Millennium Roger Keane 1989 Breaking In Vincent Tucci 1990 Labor of Love 1990 Where the Heart Is Harry 1990 Street Legal (TV series) Ben Tochet "Holy Thursday"
"Spare Parts"1990 Mr. Destiny Guzelman 1990 Dances with Wolves Major Fambrough 1991 The Pianist Cody 1991 Montréal vu par... "En passant" (segment) 1991 The Adjuster Bubba 1991 Conspiracy of Silence D'Arcy Bancroft 1992 Split Images Walter Kouza 1992 My Cousin Vinny Sam Tipton 1992 Leaving Normal Leon "Crazy-As" Pendleton 1992 Buried on Sunday Dexter Lexcannon 1992 Hero Winston, Bernie's Landlord 1993 Sommersby Lawyer Dawson 1993 Matrix (TV series) Lionel Meeks/Charles Meeks "A Madness to His Method" 1993 Money for Nothing Vincente Goldoni 1993 Josh and S.A.M. Pizza Man 1993 Beethoven's 2nd Cliff Klamath 1994 Transplant 1994 Exotica uncredited 1994 Whale Music Desmond Howl Genie Award 1994 Camilla Harold Cara 1995 Unstrung Heroes Arthur Lidz 1995 Devil in a Blue Dress Matthew Terell 1995 Sugartime Tony Accardo 1995 Cutthroat Island John Reed 1996 If Looks Could Kill Dr. Richard Boggs 1997 Keeping the Promise Ben Loomis 1997 La Femme Nikita (TV series) Rudy "Innocent" — Gemini Award 1997 Love and Death on Long Island Irving Buckmuller 1997 The Sweet Hereafter Wendell Walker 1997 Gone Fishin' Kirk, Waiter uncredited 1997 Strip Search Tomas 1997 Northern Lights Ben Rubadue 1997 Pale Saints The Pirate 1997 A Life Less Ordinary Tod Johnson 1997 MouseHunt Alexander Falko 1997–1998 Due South (TV series) Pike
Jasper Gutman"Spy vs. Spy" (1997)
"Mojo Rising" (1998)1998 Death by Dawn 1998 Tracey Takes On... (TV series) Kurt Rasmussen "Marriage" 1998 Emily of New Moon (TV series) Lofty John 1998 Jerry and Tom Billy 1998 The Mask of Zorro Prison Warden 1998 Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (TV series) Dr. Bob Dalhousie "Harlequin" 1999 Let the Devil Wear Black Bruce 1999 Lexx (TV series) Pa Gollean "Love Grows"
"White Trash"1999 Entrapment Conrad Greene 1999 Joan of Arc (TV miniseries) Sir Robert de Baudricourt 1999 Touched Bert 1999 Mystery, Alaska Bailey Pruitt 1999 Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang Mr. Cooper/Louie Loser 1999 Made in Canada (TV series) Captain McGee "For the Children" 2000 What's Cooking? Herbie Seelig 2000 The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (TV) Nero Wolfe 2000 The Art of War Frank Capella 2001 Bartleby Ernest 2001 Varian's War Marcello 2001 Plan B Donald Rossi 2001 On Their Knees Norman 2001–2002 A Nero Wolfe Mystery (TV series) Nero Wolfe 2002 Crossed Over Ethan Lowry 2002 Bleacher Bums Scorekeeper Billy 2002 Past Perfect Chuck 2002 The Wet Season Uncle Rick 2002 Hostage The Kidnapper 2002 Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales Dan Weisman 2003 Owning Mahowny Frank Perlin 2003 Andromeda (TV) Citizen Eight "Pieces of Eight" 2004 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV series) Joseph Greene/Joe Landers "No More Bets" 2004 Intern Academy Dr. Roger "Tony" Toussant 2004 Sugar Stanley 2004 The Eleventh Hour (TV series) Dr. Jackson "The Revenge Specialist" 2004 Being Julia Walter Gibbs 2004 Wilby Wonderful Mayor Brent Fisher 2004 Sex Traffic Ernie Dwight 2005 Where the Truth Lies Sally Sanmarco 2005 The Hunt for the BTK Killer Robert Beattie 2005–2006 Stargate SG-1 (TV series) Nerus "Beachhead" (2005)
"Off the Grid" (2006)2005–2007 Entourage (TV series) Harvey Weingard "The Sundance Kids" (2005)
"Malibooty" (2007)
"Sorry, Harvey" (2007)
"The Cannes Kids" (2007)2006 Boston Legal (TV series) Ryan Myerson "Live Big" 2006 At the Hotel (TV series) Jerry Mitchell "The Perfect Couple" — Gemini Award 2006 Trailer Park Boys (TV series) Chief of Police "Gimme My Fuckin Money or Randy's Dead" 2006 Eureka (TV series) Sheriff William Cobb Pilot 2006 Heavens Fall Lyle Harris 2006 It's a Boy Girl Thing Stan Deane 2007 Superstorm (TV miniseries) Senator Wallace 2007 Elijah Premier Howard Pawley 2008 Hooked on Speedman Dietrich Baum 2008 Production Office Shelly 2008 The Grift Rusty 2008 Blindness Accountant 2008 Adoration 2008 Glitch Mr. Linkletter 2008 Bull Roland Gow 2008 Murder on Her Mind John Emory 2008–2010 Less Than Kind (TV series) Sam Blecher ACTRA Toronto Award 2009 Cooking with Stella H. E. Mr. Durand 2009 Abroad Lord Oldenberg 2010 Barney's Version John Emory 2010 Casino Jack Big Tony 2010 The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour Doctor Funtime 2010 Conduct Unbecoming Col. Fox Awards
- 1986, Nominee, Gemini Award
Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks
Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Single Dramatic Program
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television - 1989, Nominee, Genie Award
Iron Eagle II
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television - 1990, Nominee, Genie Award
Cold Comfort
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television - 1994, Winner, Genie Award
Whale Music
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television - 1997, Winner, National Board of Review Award
The Sweet Hereafter
Best Acting by an Ensemble[10]
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures - 1998, Winner, Gemini Award
La Femme Nikita (episode "Innocent")
Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
- 1998, Nominee, Gemini Award
Emily of New Moon (episode "Paradise Lost")
Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television - 2003, Nominee, ACTRA Toronto Award
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Outstanding Performance – Male
Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists[11] - 2006, Winner, Career So Far Award
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film[12] - 2006, Winner, Gemini Award
At the Hotel (episode "The Perfect Couple")
Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television - 2009, Winner, Canadian Comedy Award
Less Than Kind
Best Performance by an Ensemble – Television
The Canadian Comedy Foundation for Excellence[13] - 2010, Winner, Canadian Comedy Award
Less Than Kind
Best Performance by an Ensemble – Television
The Canadian Comedy Foundation for Excellence[14] - 2011, Winner, ACTRA Toronto Award
Less Than Kind
Outstanding Performance – Male
Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists[15]
References
- ^ Weber, Bruce, "Maury Chaykin, Character Actor, Dies at 61"; The New York Times, July 29, 2010
- ^ Irving Chaykin death notice in The New York Times, April 1, 2007; Irving Chaykin memorial at Baruch College
- ^ Multicultural Canada, Canadian Jewish Review, April 12, 1946, p. 18
- ^ George Bloomfield obituary, The Globe and Mail, May 16, 2011. George Bloomfield, Internet Movie Database (retrieved May 26, 2011). Bloomfield directed Chaykin in films including Riel, Double Negative, Nothing Personal and Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang. For television, Bloomfield directed Chaykin in episodes of Street Legal, La Femme Nikita, Emily of New Moon and A Nero Wolfe Mystery ("Murder Is Corny," "Poison à la Carte").
- ^ "Award-winning actor was TV's 'Nero Wolfe'";The Washington Post, July 28, 2010. Posner, Michael, "Obituaries; Maury Alan Chaykin, 61." The Globe and Mail, July 31, 2010
- ^ Weitzman, Elizabeth, "The Nominees for Hardest-Working Actor Are..."; The New York Times, March 12, 2000. "It's a rare show of vanity for an actor who specializes in particularly unsavory characters," Weitzman wrote.
- ^ Zekas, Rita, "That's a Maury," Toronto Star, February 19, 2006. "I've been playing a character called Nerus on a few episodes of Stargate SG-1", Chaykin told the columnist. "The creator of the show is a big fan of Nero Wolfe. Nerus is a gourmand from a different planet."
- ^ Zekas, Rita, "That's a Maury", Toronto Star, February 19, 2006
- ^ Weber, Bruce, "Maury Chaykin, Character Actor, Dies at 61"; The New York Times, July 29, 2010
- ^ Award shared with Caerthan Banks, Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Tom McCamus, Stephanie Morgenstern, Gabrielle Rose and Alberta Watson
- ^ ACTRA Award Revived in Honour of 60th Anniversary: Ten Award Nominees Announced by ACTRA Toronto (February 3, 2003); The ACTRA Awards in Toronto; retrieved 7-1-08
- ^ 12th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony (March 19, 2006) featuring special guest Maury Chaykin; retrieved 7-1-08
- ^ Award shared with Benjamin Arthur, Jesse Camacho, Wendel Meldrum and Nancy Sorel; CBC News, October 2, 2009
- ^ Nomination shared with Benjamin Arthur, Jesse Camacho, Wendel Meldrum, Brooke Palsson and Nancy Sorel; Canadian Comedy Awards & Festival nominees, retrieved July 28, 2010
- ^ The 9th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto — 2011 Nominees Announced (January 12, 2011); retrieved 1-14-11. "ACTRA honours Chaykin and Wright with posthumous awards"; The Globe and Mail, retrieved 2-26-11
External links
- Maury Chaykin at AllRovi
- Maury Chaykin at Find a Grave
- Maury Chaykin at the Internet Movie Database
- Maury Chaykin at the TCM Movie Database
Categories:- 1949 births
- 2010 deaths
- Actors from New York City
- American film actors
- American Jews
- American television actors
- American people of Canadian descent
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian Jews
- Canadian television actors
- Deaths from renal failure
- Disease-related deaths in Ontario
- Gemini Award winners
- Genie Award winners for Best Actor
- People from Brooklyn
- People from Toronto
- University at Buffalo alumni
- 1986, Nominee, Gemini Award
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