Maury Chaykin

 ( 1949 Births ) 

Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American-Canadian actor. Described as "one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian cinema," he was best known for his portrayal of Rex Stout's detective Nero Wolfe on the television series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–2002), as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs.

His notable film appearances include WarGames (1983), Twins (1988), Dances With Wolves (1990), My Cousin Vinny (1992), Money for Nothing (1993), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Cutthroat Island (also 1995), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Mouse Hunt (also 1997), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Entrapment (1999) and Mystery, Alaska (also 1999), Being Julia (2004), Blindness (2008), and Barney's Version (2010). During the 1990s, he was a frequent collaborator of Toronto New Wave director Atom Egoyan. On television, he starred as Sam Blecher on the first two seasons of the Canadian dramedy Less Than Kind (2008–2010) .

Chaykin was a three-time Genie Awards nominee, winning Best Actor in a Leading Role for Whale Music (1994), and a two-time Gemini Awards winner. He won two Canadian Comedy Awards and an ACTRA Award for his work on Less Than Kind.

---

Early life Chaykin was born to Russian Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York. His American father, Irving J. Chaykin (1912–2007), was born in Brooklyn, and was a professor of accountancy at City College of New York. Irving Chaykin death notice in The New York Times, April 1, 2007; Irving Chaykin memorial at Baruch College His Canadian mother, Clarice Chaykin (née Bloomfield, 1921–2012), Clarice Chaykin Obituary in The New York Times, May 23, 2012 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. Multicultural Canada , Canadian Jewish Review, April 12, 1946, p. 18 Chaykin's Montreal-born 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. 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, Deadly Companion and Nothing Personal. For television, Bloomfield directed Chaykin in the TV movie Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang as well as episodes of Street Legal, La Femme Nikita, Emily of New Moon and A Nero Wolfe Mystery ("Murder Is Corny," "Poison à la Carte").

Raised in New York City, Chaykin studied drama at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, where he co-founded an avant-garde troupe called the Swamp Fox Theater Group. After performing uninvited at an underground theatre festival in Toronto, Ontario, he was encouraged by artistic director Ken Gass to relocate there. He subsequently moved to Toronto in 1974, where he resided until his death.

---

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 (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."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. The original movie's success led to the weekly series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, which played for two seasons on A&E and aired 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, an Army fort commander who kills himself as a result of becoming insane.

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)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." in Stargate SG-1.

Chaykin portrayed the colorful bookie Frank Perlin opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman's Problem gambling 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 Awards 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, an inspiration of the soon-to-be disgraced 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.

Chaykin starred as Sam Blecher, the owner of a family-run driving school in Winnipeg, in the first two seasons (2008–2010) of the Canadian comedy-drama television series Less Than Kind. The series received the 2010 Gemini Award for Best Comedy Program or Series. " Less Than Kind wins 3 Geminis". CBC News, November 13, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2013.

"Sam is an out-of-control, good-hearted, big-hearted person who just can't quite get it right with his family," Chaykin told Q radio interviewer Jian Ghomeshi in April 2010. "He's full of love but he can't express it. But what he does express is anxiety, desperation, and the need to dominate, which is kind of pathetic." Asked whether he liked the character, Chaykin replied, "I love him. I do, I really do, and it's the same kind of love that a person has for family — where you see their foibles but at the same time you embrace them because they are a part of you. And Sam certainly is a part of me."; CBC Q video interview by Jian Ghomeshi, posted April 28, 2010

In 2011, Chaykin posthumously received the ACTRA Toronto Award for Outstanding Performance — Male for his performance as Sam Blecher in Less Than Kind. He had been nominated for the award in 2003, for his portrayal of Nero Wolfe.

---

Personal life Chaykin's first marriage, to Canadian producer Ilana Frank, ended in divorce. "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 He was subsequently married to Canadian actress Susannah Hoffmann, with whom he had one daughter, Rose. Best known for having played Jen Pringle in the series, Hoffmann had a supporting role in a 2002 episode of the television series A Nero Wolfe Mystery, in which Chaykin starred.

Chaykin was a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

---

Critical appraisal Writing for the Toronto International Film Festival, Brian D. Johnson summarized Chaykin's screen persona as "bringing an unnerving edge to whatever character he plays, a disturbing sense of dissociation. But while all his roles are weird, each is weird in its own way. Modifying his signature from one role to the next, Chaykin gives the impression of creating the character as the camera rolls."

Bruce Weber of The New York Times posthumously described Chaykin as "a ubiquitous character actor who specialized in comic roles with disturbing undertones and disturbing roles with comic undertones."

---

Death Maury Chaykin died in Toronto on July 27, 2010, his 61st birthday, from complications of a heart valve infection.

---

Filmography

---

Film

1975	Me	Oliver Jordan	John Palmer
1980	Nothing Personal	Kanook	George Bloomfield
	Deadly Companion	Rollins
	The Kidnapping of the President	Harvey Cannon	George Mendeluk
1981	Death Hunt	Clarence	Peter R. Hunt
1982	Soup for One	Dr. Wexler	Jonathan Kaufer
	Highpoint	Falco	Peter Carter
1983	Curtains	Monty	Richard Ciupka Peter Simpson
	WarGames	Jim Sting	John Badham	Maurys scene directed by Martin Brest
	Of Unknown Origin	Dan Errol	George P. Cosmatos
1984	Harry & Son	Lawrence	Paul Newman
	Mrs. Soffel	Guard Charlie Reynolds	Gillian Armstrong
1985	Turk 182	Man In Wheelchair	Bob Clark
	Def-Con 4	Vinny	Paul Donovan
1986	The Vindicator	Burt Arthurs	Jean-Claude Lord
		Huey	George Mendeluk
1987	The Bedroom Window	Pool Player	Curtis Hanson
	Wild Thing	Jonathan Trask	Max Reid
	Future Block	Voice	Kevin McCracken
	Nowhere to Hide	Marchais	Mario Philip Azzopardi
	Hearts of Fire	Charlie Kelso	Richard Marquand
	Caribe	Captain Burdoch	Michael Kennedy
1988	Higher Education	Guido	John Sheppard	Uncredited
	Stars and Bars	Freeborn Gage	Pat O'Connor
	Iron Eagle II	Sgt. Neville Downs	Sidney J. Furie
	Twins	Burt Klane	Ivan Reitman
1989	Millennium	Roger Keane	Michael Anderson
	Cold Comfort	Floyd Lucas	Vic Sarin
	George's Island	Mr. Droonfield	Paul Donovan
	Breaking In	Vincent Tucci	Bill Forsyth
1990	Where the Heart Is	Harry	John Boorman
	Mr. Destiny	Guzelman	James Orr
	Dances With Wolves	Maj. Fambrough	Kevin Costner
1991	The Adjuster	Bubba	Atom Egoyan
	The Pianist	Cody	Claude Gagnon
	Montreal Stories	Jurgen Van Doom	Atom Egoyan	Segment: "En passant"
1992	My Cousin Vinny	Sam Tipton	Jonathan Lynn
	Leaving Normal	Leon "Crazy-As" Pendleton	Edward Zwick
	Buried on Sunday	Dexter Lexcannon	Paul Donovan
	Hero	Winston	Stephen Frears
1993	Sommersby	Dawson	Jon Amiel
	Money for Nothing	Vincente Goldoni	Ramón Menéndez
	Josh and S.A.M.	Pizza Man	Billy Weber
	Beethoven's 2nd	Cliff Klamath	Rod Daniel
1994	Exotica	Exotica Club Client	Atom Egoyan	Uncredited
	Whale Music	Desmond Howl	Richard J. Lewis
	Camilla	Harold Cara	Deepa Mehta
	Transplant		Bradley Walsh	Short film
1995	Unstrung Heroes	Arthur Lidz	Diane Keaton
	Devil in a Blue Dress	Matthew Terell	Carl Franklin
	Cutthroat Island	John Reed	Renny Harlin
1996	Harriet the Spy	Holiday Pageant Director	Bronwen Hughes	Uncredited
1997	Love and Death on Long Island	Irving Buckmuller	Richard Kwietniowski
	The Sweet Hereafter	Wendell Walker	Atom Egoyan
	Gone Fishin'	Kirk	Christopher Cain	Uncredited
	Strip Search	Tomas	Rod Hewitt
	Pale Saints	The Pirate	J. H. Wyman
	A Life Less Ordinary	Tod Johnson	Danny Boyle
	Mouse Hunt	Alexander Falko	Gore Verbinski
1998	Jerry and Tom	Billy	Saul Rubinek
	The Mask of Zorro	Prison Warden	Martin Campbell
1999	Let the Devil Wear Black	Bruce	Stacy Title
	Entrapment	Conrad Greene	Jon Amiel
	Touched	Bert	Mort Ransen
	Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang	Mr. Cooper / Louie Loser	George Bloomfield
	Mystery, Alaska	Bailey Pruitt	Jay Roach
2000	What's Cooking?	Herbie Seelig	Gurinder Chadha
	The Art of War	FBI Agent Frank Capella	Christian Duguay
2001	Bartleby	Ernest	Jonathan Parker
	Plan B	Donald Rossi	Greg Yaitanes
	On Their Knees	Norman	Anais Granofsky
2002	Past Perfect	Chuck	Daniel MacIvor
	The Wet Season	Uncle Rick	Martha Ferguson	Short
	Hostage	The Kidnapper	John Woo	Segment for the BMW short film series The Hire
2003	Owning Mahowny	Frank Perlin	Richard Kwietniowski
2004	Sugar	Stanley	John Palmer
	Being Julia	Walter Gibbs	István Szabó
	Intern Academy	Dr. Roger "Tony" Toussant	Dave Thomas
	Wilby Wonderful	Mayor Brent Fisher	Daniel MacIvor
2005	Where the Truth Lies	Sally Sanmarco	Atom Egoyan
2006	Heavens Fall	Lyle Harris	Terry Green
	It's a Boy Girl Thing	Stan Deane	Nick Hurran
2008	Production Office	Shelly	Deborah Marks Steve Solomos
	The Grift	Rusty	Ralph E. Portillo
	Blindness	The Accountant	Fernando Meirelles
	Adoration	Passenger & Professor On-Line	Atom Egoyan
	Bull	Roland Gow	Kent Tessman
	Hooked on Speedman	Dietrich Baum	Michelle Ouellet
2009	Cooking with Stella	H.E. Mr. Durand	Dilip Mehta
2010	Barney's Version	John Emory	Richard J. Lewis
	Casino Jack	Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello	George Hickenlooper
2011	Conduct Unbecoming	Colonel Fox	Sidney J. Furie	Posthumous release

---

Television

1978	King of Kensington	Unknown	Episode: "Polyfur"
1980	Jimmy B. and André	Bruno	TV movie
1981	Just Jessie	Joey Harper	TV movie
	The July Group	Harvey	TV movie
1982–86	Seeing Things	Randall Jackson	4 episodes
1983	ABC Weekend Special	"Mousey"	Episode: "Horatio Alger Updated: Frank and Fearless"
	American Playhouse	Gondol	Episodes: "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank"
1984	The Guardian	Rudy Simbro	TV movie
	Hockey Night	"Bum" Johnston	TV movie
1985	In Like Flynn	Williams	TV movie
		Harold Chamberlain Banks	TV movie
	The Suicide Murders	Sid	TV movie
1986	Act of Vengeance	Claude Vealey	TV movie
	Philip Marlowe, Private Eye	Lieutenant Copernik	Episode: "Red Wind"
	Adderly	Russian Agent	Episode: "Requiem"
	Night Heat	Mallory / Merle Marlowe	2 episodes
	Crime Story	Steven Kordo	Episode: "Crime Pays"
	Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show	Fire Captain	Episode: "There's an Elephant Stuck Up That Tree"
1987	Diamonds	Murray Wolf	Episode: "Here Comes the Bride"
	Race for the Bomb	Leslie Groves	2 episodes
1988	Hot Paint	Wilensky	TV movie
1989	The Twilight Zone	James L. "Fats" Brown	Episode: "A Game of Pool"
1990	Street Legal	Ben Tochet	2 episodes
	Labor of Love	Unknown	TV movie
1991	Conspiracy of Silence	Lawyer D'Arcy Bancroft	Episode: "Episode #1.1"
1992	Split Images	Walter Kouza	TV movie
1993	Matrix	Lionel Meeks / Charles Meeks	2 episodes
1995	Sugartime	Tony Accardo	TV movie
1996	If Looks Could Kill	Richard Boggs	TV movie
1997	Keeping the Promise	Ben Loomis	TV movie
	La Femme Nikita	Rudy	Episode: "Innocent"
	Northern Lights	Ben Rubadue	TV movie
1997–98	Due South	Pike / Jasper Gutman	2 episodes
1998	Tracey Takes On...	Kurt Rasmussen	Episode: "Marriage"
	Emily of New Moon	Lofty John	Episode: "Paradise Lost"
		Dr. Bob Dalhousie	Episode: "Harlequin"
1999	Lexx	Pa Gollean	2 episodes
	Made in Canada	Captain McGee	Episode: "For the Children"
	Joan of Arc	Robert de Baudricourt	3 episodes
2000		Nero Wolfe	TV movie
2001	Varian's War	Marcello	TV movie
2001–02	A Nero Wolfe Mystery	Nero Wolfe	20 episodes
2001	Bleacher Bums	Billy, The Scorekeeper	TV movie
2002	Crossed Over	Ethan Lowry	TV movie
2003	Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales	Dan Weisman	TV movie
	Andromeda	Citizen Eight	Episode: "Pieces of Eight"
2004		Joseph Greene / Joe Landers	Episode: "No More Bets"
	The Eleventh Hour	Dr. Jackson	Episode: "The Revenge Specialist"
	Sex Traffic	Ernie Dwight	2 episodes
2005	The Hunt for the BTK Killer	Robert Beattie	TV movie
2005–06	Stargate SG-1	Nerus	2 episodes
2005–07	Entourage	Harvey Weingard	4 episodes
2006	Boston Legal	Ryan Myerson	Episode: "Live Big"
	At the Hotel'	Jerry Mitchell	Episode: "The Perfect Couple"
	Trailer Park Boys	Chief of Police	Episode: "Gimme My Fuckin Money or Randy's Dead"
	Eureka	Sheriff William Cobb	Episode: "Pilot"
2007	Superstorm	Senator Wallace	3 episodes
2007	Elijah	Premier Howard Pawley	TV movie
2008	Glitch	Mr. Linkletter	TV movie
2008	Murder on Her Mind	John Emory	TV movie
2008–10	Less Than Kind	Sam Blecher	26 episodes
2009	Abroad	Lord Oldenberg	TV movie
2011	The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour	Doctor Funtime	Episode: "Maury Chaykin Fucked Us"

---

Partial theatre credits Select theatre credits for Maury Chaykin were part of his resumé at Edna Talent Management, Ltd., Edna Talent Management Ltd., archived 2008-12-04 from the original at the Internet Archive. Retrieved 2013-12-14.

1968	Oh! What A Lovely War	Ambassador	Tom Moore	University at Buffalo Theatre
1973	Fat Fell Down	Spike		Theater for the New City
1974	Me?	Oliver Jordan	John Palmer	Toronto Free Theatre
1974	Tony's Woman	Alexq	Hrant Alianak	Theatre Passe Muraille
1977	Gossip	Sam Lewis	John Palmer	Toronto Free Theatre
1977	The Boy Bishop	De Bois	Ken Gass	Factory Theatre
1977	Romulus the Great	Zeno	Marion André	Theatre Plus
1978	Gimme Shelter	Ton	Des McAnuff	Brooklyn Academy of Music Dodger Theatre
1979	Leave It to Beaver Is Dead	Thompson	Des McAnuff	The Public Theatre	Gussow, Mel, "Stage: Of TV Survivors, Clinics and Drug Addicts". The New York Times, April 4, 1979
1985	A Man's a Man	Jip	Robert Woodruff	La Jolla Playhouse

---

Awards and honours

1986	Gemini Awards	Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Single Dramatic Program
1989	Genie Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role	Iron Eagle II
1990		Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Cold Comfort
1994			Whale Music
1997	National Board of Review	Best Acting by an EnsembleAward shared with Caerthan Banks, Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Tom McCamus, Stephanie Morgenstern, Gabrielle Rose and Alberta Watson	The Sweet Hereafter
1998	Gemini Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series	La Femme Nikita ("Innocent")
			Emily of New Moon ("Paradise Lost")
2003	ACTRA Award	Outstanding Performance – Male	A Nero Wolfe Mystery
2006	Gemini Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series	At the Hotel ("The Perfect Couple")
2009	Canadian Comedy Awards	Best Performance by an Ensemble – TelevisionAward shared with Benjamin Arthur, Jesse Camacho, Wendel Meldrum and Nancy Sorel; CBC News, October 2, 2009Nomination shared with Benjamin Arthur, Jesse Camacho, Wendel Meldrum, Brooke Palsson and Nancy Sorel; Canadian Comedy Awards & Festival nominees , retrieved July 28, 2010	Less Than Kind
2010
2011	ACTRA Awards	Outstanding Performance – Male The 9th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto — 2011 Nominees Announced (January 12, 2011); retrieved January 14, 2011. "ACTRA honours Chaykin and Wright with posthumous awards"; The Globe and Mail, retrieved February 26, 2011

---

External links

Post Comment