Joe Chaikin, who died in his sleep on Sunday, June 22, was for four decades as significant a figure as the American theater has yet produced. Actor, director, writer, and founder of the Open Theatre, he influenced the lives of innumerable artists worldwide. Plagued his whole life by chronic heart disease, in 1984 he suffered an aphasic stroke from which he recovered sufficiently to direct, write, and even perform for two decades more. Joe once said that, since he had not been expected to survive past puberty, he considered every further day of his... More >>>