Award-winning actor Maury Chaykin passed away today, which also marks his 61st birthday.
Best known for his work in the 1994 Canadian film Whale Music (which he won a Genie for) and for his recurring role as studio exec Harvey Weingard on HBO's Entourage (the character was based on film mogul Harvey Weinstein), Chaykin was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to an American father and a Canadian mother before moving to Toronto, Canada after graduating college, where he has resided ever since. Recently Chaykin was starring in the HBO Canada series Less Than Kind and appeared in Dilip Mehta's Cooking With Stella last year (according to the IMDb he has appeared in over 150 films and TV shows and will next be seen on the big screen in Casino Jack, premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival). Chaykin leaves behind his wife, actress Susannah Hoffmann, and his daughter Rose.
I had the opportunity to meet Chaykin during the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival where he was appearing in both Atom Egoyan's Adoration and Fernando Meirelles's adaptation of Blindness (watch the interview I shot below). He was a sweet and funny man and the experience stayed with me ever since. He will surely be missed by many.
Top image: Chaykin with his Less Than Kind co-star Wendel Meldrum. Photo credit Brian McKechnie.
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