Joseph Chaikin, 67; Led Experimental Theater Movement of 1960s-70s

Joseph Chaikin, a leader of the experimental theater movement of the 1960s and '70s whose work as an actor and director and as the founder of New York's Open Theater group earned him international recognition and three Obie awards, died Sunday of heart failure at his home in New York City. He was 67.

Chaikin had struggled with health problems from childhood, when rheumatic fever damaged one of his heart valves. In later years he went through three open-heart surgeries, and in 1984, he suffered a stroke that caused aphasia, making it difficult for him to speak for the rest of his life.

Despite repeated physical setbacks, he worked continuously. Two days before his death he auditioned actors for an upcoming production of "Uncle Vanya," the Anton Chekhov play he planned to direct next spring.

"Joe was an inspired man of the theater," said Gordon Davidson, artistic director of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, where "The Traveler," based on Chaikin's life, had its premiere in March 1987. Jean-Claude van Itallie wrote the play and collaborated with Chaikin on a number of other productions.

"Joe spoke from the heart, the very heart that was failing him," Davidson told the Los Angeles Times this week. "In his worst aphasiac moments when you couldn't understand the words, you could still understand him. His passion to communicate and share his view of the world was that strong."

Chaikin's name was not as well-known as those of some of his peers in experimental theater, but colleagues placed him in the ranks of England's Peter Brook, who attracted leading reviews in the early 1970s when he changed the times and settings of Shakespeare plays that he directed.

Chaikin was drawn to more edgy classics, particularly the works of Samuel Beckett. He corresponded with Beckett, who, before his death in 1989, wrote a poem about Chaikin. Chaikin also collaborated often with playwright Sam Shepard, exploring their mutual fascination with destruction.

As an actor, Chaikin was most at home on a near-empty stage. His dark curly hair and wide eyes were all he needed to convey wonder, confusion and deep passion. Even before his stroke, he preferred playwrights who treated the spoken word as an obstruction. Eugene Ionesco was an early favorite.