Maury Chaykin
Maury Chaykin | |
---|---|
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1975–present |
Spouse | Susannah Hoffmann |
Maury Chaykin (born July 27, 1949) is an American-Canadian actor. He is known for his work as a character actor in many films and television series.
Personal life
Chaykin was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Irving J. Chaykin (1912–2007), was born in Brooklyn, and was an esteemed professor of accountancy at City College of New York.[1] His mother, Clarice Chaykin (née Bloomfield), was born in Winnipeg, then moved to Montreal at the age of three. She graduated from Beth Israel Hospital nursing school in Newark, New Jersey, before her marriage.[2] Chaykin's uncle, George Bloomfield, is a prolific Canadian director-writer-producer.
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 has resided ever since. He is married to actress Susannah Hoffmann, with whom he has one daughter.
Career
A large man, Chaykin is known for portrayals of blustery supporting characters. One of his rare leading roles is as Nero Wolfe. Chaykin first played the detective genius in The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000), an A&E telemovie adaptation of the 1953 novel by Rex Stout. Timothy Hutton costars 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."[3] 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.[4] Chaykin's first starring role came 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.
Two of Chaykin's early motion picture roles brought him public recognition. He portrayed young computer programmer Jim Sting in WarGames; and as prosecution witness Sam Tipton in My Cousin Vinny, he successfully voiced a Southern accent ("No self-respectin' Southerner uses instant grits").
Chaykin has also had television roles in the series Seeing Things and Emily of New Moon, and a recurring role as the intergalactic gourmand Nerus (a nod to Nero Wolfe)[5] in Stargate SG-1. In 1990, he had a small but pivotal role in the film Dances with Wolves. He portrayed the bizarre, Major Fambrough. Fambrough can only scribble 1st Lt. Dunbar's orders, returns a salute in a non-regulation way and discloses he urinated in his uniform trousers. After Dunbar's departure, he dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound using an 1858 Army .44 caliber Revolver. He portrayed the colorful 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. He received a Gemini Award for best performance by an actor in a guest role. He has 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 honor:
- "I got this strange call from Chlotrudis," he recalls. "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."[6]
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | Me | ||
1978 | King of Kensington (TV series) | "Polyfur" | |
1980 | Double Negative | Rollins | |
Jimmy B. and André | Bruno | ||
Nothing Personal | Kanook | ||
The Kidnapping of the President | Harvey Cannon | ||
1981 | The July Group | Harvey | |
Death Hunt | Clarence | ||
Just Jessie | Joey Harper | ||
1982 | Soup for One | Wexler | |
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 | |
ABC Weekend Special (TV series) | Mousey | "Horatio Alger Updated: Frank and Fearless" | |
Curtains | Monty | ||
WarGames | Jim Sting | ||
Of Unknown Origin | Dan Errol | ||
1984 | Hockey Night | Bum Johnston | |
Harry & Son | Lawrence | ||
The Guardian | Rudy Simbro | ||
Mrs. Soffel | Guard Charlie Reynolds | ||
1985 | The Suicide Murders | Sid | |
Turk 182 | Man in Wheelchair | ||
Def-Con 4 | Vinny | ||
In Like Flynn | Williams | ||
Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks | Harold Chamberlain Banks | ||
1986 | Meatballs III: Summer Job | Huey, River Rat Leader | |
The Vindicator | Burt Arthurs | ||
Act of Vengeance | Claude Vealey | ||
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (TV series) | Lt. Copernik | "Red Wind" | |
Night Heat (TV series) | Mallory Merle Marlowe |
"Dead Ringer" "Body Conscious" | |
Crime Story (TV series) | Steven Kordo | "Crime Pays" | |
1987 | Adderly (TV series) | Russian Agent | "Requiem" |
Higher Education | Guido | ||
Future Block | |||
The Bedroom Window | Pool Player | ||
Wild Thing | Jonathan Trask | ||
Race for the Bomb (TV miniseries) | General Leslie Groves | ||
Nowhere to Hide | Marchais | ||
Diamonds (TV series) | Murray Wolf | "Here Comes the Bride" | |
Hearts of Fire | Charlie Kelso | ||
Caribe | Captain Burdoch | ||
1988 | Stars and Bars | Freeborn Gage | |
Hot Paint | Wilensky | ||
Iron Eagle II | Sgt. Downs | ||
Twins | Burt Klane | ||
1989 | Cold Comfort | Floyd Lucas | |
The Twilight Zone (TV series) | James L. "Fats" Brown | "A Game of Pool" | |
George's Island | Mr. Droonfield | ||
Millennium | Roger Keane | ||
Breaking In | Vincent Tucci | ||
1990 | Labor of Love | ||
Where the Heart Is | Harry | ||
Street Legal (TV series) | Ben Tochet | "Holy Thursday" "Spare Parts" | |
Mr. Destiny | Guzelman | ||
Dances with Wolves | Major Fambrough | ||
1991 | The Pianist | Cody | |
Montréal vu par... | "En passant" (segment) | ||
The Adjuster | Bubba | ||
Conspiracy of Silence | D'Arcy Bancroft | ||
1992 | Split Images | Walter Kouza | |
My Cousin Vinny | Sam Tipton | ||
Leaving Normal | Leon "Crazy-As" Pendleton | ||
Buried on Sunday | Dexter Lexcannon | ||
Hero | Winston, Bernie's Landlord | ||
1993 | Sommersby | Lawyer Dawson | |
Matrix (TV series) | Lionel Meeks/Charles Meeks | "A Madness to His Method" | |
Money for Nothing | Vincente Goldoni | ||
Josh and S.A.M. | Pizza Man | ||
Beethoven's 2nd | Cliff Klamath | ||
1994 | Transplant | ||
Exotica | uncredited | ||
Whale Music | Desmond Howl | Genie Award | |
Camilla | Harold Cara | ||
1995 | Unstrung Heroes | Arthur Lidz | |
Devil in a Blue Dress | Matthew Terell | ||
Sugartime | Tony Accardo | ||
Cutthroat Island | John Reed | ||
1996 | If Looks Could Kill | Dr. Richard Boggs | |
1997 | Keeping the Promise | Ben Loomis | |
La Femme Nikita (TV series) | Rudy | "Innocent" — Gemini Award | |
Love and Death on Long Island | Irving Buckmuller | ||
The Sweet Hereafter | Wendell Walker | ||
Gone Fishin' | Kirk, Waiter | uncredited | |
Strip Search | Tomas | ||
Northern Lights | Ben Rubadue | ||
Pale Saints | The Pirate | ||
A Life Less Ordinary | Tod Johnson | ||
MouseHunt | Alexander Falko | ||
1997–1998 | Due South (TV series) | Pike Jasper Gutman |
"Spy vs. Spy" (1997) "Mojo Rising" (1998) |
1998 | Death by Dawn | ||
Tracey Takes On... (TV series) | Kurt Rasmussen | "Marriage" | |
Emily of New Moon (TV series) | Lofty John | ||
Jerry and Tom | Billy | ||
The Mask of Zorro | Prison Warden | ||
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (TV series) | Dr. Bob Dalhousie | "Harlequin" | |
1999 | Let the Devil Wear Black | Bruce | |
Lexx (TV series) | Pa Gollean | "Love Grows" "White Trash" | |
Entrapment | Conrad Greene | ||
Joan of Arc (TV miniseries) | Sir Robert de Baudricourt | ||
Touched | Bert | ||
Mystery, Alaska | Bailey Pruitt | ||
Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang | Mr. Cooper/Louie Loser | ||
Made in Canada (TV series) | Captain McGee | "For the Children" | |
2000 | What's Cooking? | Herbie Seelig | |
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (TV) | Nero Wolfe | ||
The Art of War | Frank Capella | ||
2001 | Bartleby | Ernest | |
Varian's War | Marcello | ||
Plan B | Donald Rossi | ||
On Their Knees | Norman | ||
2001–2002 | A Nero Wolfe Mystery (TV series) | Nero Wolfe | |
2002 | Crossed Over | Ethan Lowry | |
Bleacher Bums | Scorekeeper Billy | ||
Past Perfect | Chuck | ||
The Wet Season | Uncle Rick | ||
Hostage | The Kidnapper | ||
Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales | Dan Weisman | ||
2003 | Owning Mahowny | Frank Perlin | |
Andromeda (TV) | Citizen Eight | "Pieces of Eight" | |
2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV series) | Joseph Greene/Joe Landers | "No More Bets" |
Intern Academy | Dr. Roger "Tony" Toussant | ||
Sugar | Stanley | ||
The Eleventh Hour (TV series) | Dr. Jackson | "The Revenge Specialist" | |
Being Julia | Walter Gibbs | ||
Wilby Wonderful | Mayor Brent Fisher | ||
Sex Traffic | Ernie Dwight | ||
2005 | Where the Truth Lies | Sally Sanmarco | |
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" |
At the Hotel (TV series) | Jerry Mitchell | "The Perfect Couple" — Gemini Award | |
Trailer Park Boys (TV series) | Chief of Police | "Gimme My Fuckin Money or Randy's Dead" | |
Eureka (TV series) | Sheriff William Cobb | Pilot | |
Heavens Fall | Lyle Harris | ||
It's a Boy Girl Thing | Stan Deane | ||
2007 | Superstorm (TV miniseries) | Senator Wallace | |
Elijah | Premier Howard Pawley | ||
2008 | Hooked on Speedman | Dietrich Baum | |
Production Office | Shelly | ||
The Grift | Rusty | ||
Blindness | Accountant | ||
Adoration | |||
Glitch | Mr. Linkletter | ||
Bull | Roland Gow | ||
Murder on Her Mind | John Emory | ||
2008–2010 | Less Than Kind (TV series) | Sam Blecher | |
2009 | Cooking with Stella | H. E. Mr. Durand | |
Abroad | Lord Oldenberg | ||
2010 | Barney's Version | John Emory | |
The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour | Doctor Funtime |
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[7]
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[8] - 2006, Winner, Career So Far Award
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film[9] - 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
References
- ^ 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
- ^ 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.
- ^ Chaykin and Hutton worked together previously, albeit briefly, in the 1985 film Turk 182; and they worked together subsequently, in the 2006 film Heavens Fall.
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
External links
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Maury Chaykin at the TCM Movie Database
- Canadian Film Encyclopedia
- The Canadian Encyclopedia
- "Innocent" —La Femme Nikita episode 1.12 online at The WB Television Network (U.S. only)
- 1949 births
- American expatriate actors in Canada
- American film actors
- American television actors
- American Jews
- American people of Canadian descent
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian television actors
- Canadian Jews
- Gemini Award winners
- Genie Award winners for Best Actor
- Living people
- Actors from New York
- People from Brooklyn
- People from Toronto
- University at Buffalo alumni