In Memoriam: Maury Chaykin

We were saddened to learn today that the real life community of Eureka has become a little smaller.  Maury Chaykin, who appeared in the pilot episode playing Jack Carter's predecessor, Sheriff Cobb, passed away on July 27th, his 61st birthday.

The cast and crew of Eureka will always hold a special place in our memories for our first Sheriff.  Our sympathies and best wishes are with his family. 

 

Comments

[Tony]

Damn. One of my favorites.

[Chris R.]

He was a memorable character even though he was only in one episode.

I pray that his family are doing alright.

[Michael J]

The passing of another great actor who impressed me with his zeal and passion for the characters he portrayed. May he find peace.

[Michael J]

It was a great tribute to Maury if SyFy re-aired the Pilot of Eureka.

[The Doctor]

It would be even more touching if one of the characters (Carter or Jo) mentioning in passing that Cobb had passed away in memory of the actor like they did on the Stargate Atlantis series finale when Carter mentioned Hammond and said they named Earth's new ship after him (Don S DAvis played Hammond)

[Michael J]

I'm betting there will be a memorial of sorts pasted into the end of either Episode 404 or 405.

61! Way too early to go! Actually, my dad was only 65 when he passed on a few years back. :(

[Chris]

RIP to a great actor.

Actually, I loved him best for his role in Mystery Alaska (one of my favorite movies), but I do remember him in the pilot.

He will be missed.

[Dove]

He was wonderful in the pilot, so funny and sweet, and yet so very creepy in Blindness; such a great actor.

You can rewatch the Eureka pilot on Hulu or on Amazon; it's worth owning the download (just 1.99 on Amazon) for the two hour pilot, still one of my fave Eureka eps!

[Mister_terrific]

I was always curious about how Cobb ended up in Eureka. He had a pretty nonchalant way of dealing with the craziness but wouldn't tolerate any nonsense from people trying to interfere in his work. Chaykin really made that character work and he'll be missed.

[Michael J]

Two stories I recall about Chaykin from the Pilot commentaries:

1) He had such a brusque manner when he was on the set that he actually made Erica Cerra cry;

2) In the scene between Warren and Cobb in the forest when Chaykin walked off the actor playing Warren was actually miffed at Chaykin for turning his back on him.

My favorite Chaykin dialogue from the Pilot with Jo:

Jo: I've got you're gun.

Cobb: No guns.

Jo: But it's just a small one.

Hilarious...

[anna]

Not sure how he was in real life, but his portrayal was wonderful, very charming... rip indeed...

[Garry]

I agree that the town should have a little memorial for Cobb. Several times during the series, his name was brought up and many seem to respect him. It would have been nice for the character to make an appearance now and then with the idea that he chose to live out his retirement life in the town he protected for so many years. Perhaps his easy going way of facing the problems could best be attributed to the idea that, after so many years in this town, he was able to expect the unexpected and just take each problem in stride. He was also able to deal effectively with some, like Warren King, who have a superiority complex. They couldn't intimidate him and he was able to force them to deal with him on his terms. When hearing about Cobb being seriously injured, King made the sarcastic remark about putting on his sad face, an indication that King Viewed Cobb as a thorn in his side. King was an arrogant egotist and deserved to get fired. Even though Stark had a superiority complex, he was not above having an open mind and was willing to listen to other points of view. Although there was a lot of friction between Stark and Carter, the two had a mutual respect and trust for each other. That was evident in the times that they were able to put their differences aside in a crises and worked well together. That was pointed out several times by Allison and Henry. I think a short memorial service on the show would be a fitting tribute to the character and the actor.