Jeff Maxwell (born Jeffrey Maxwell Knott) is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Pvt. Igor Straminsky, a recurring character in the television series ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

''. He appeared in 83 episodes of the classic

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

comedy from 1973 to 1983, including the series finale ''

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" is a television film that served as the series finale of the American television series ''M*A*S*H''. Closing out the series' 11th season, the 2 1⁄2-hour episode first aired on CBS on February 28, 1983, ending the s ...

'', which aired February 28, 1983, and became the most-watched scripted broadcast in American history (a title it still holds) with over 121.6 million viewers and 50.1 million households tuning in. Maxwell's film debut was in the acclaimed 1974 Mel Brooks comedy film ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...

''. He played one of the title character's medical students. He was also featured in the 1977 sketch comedy film ''

Kentucky Fried Movie ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' is a 1977 American independent sketch comedy film, produced by Kim Jorgensen, Larry Kostroff, and Robert K. Weiss, and directed by John Landis. Among the numerous star cameos are George Lazenby, Bill Bixby, Henry Gib ...

'' in a solo scene titled "Feel-A-Round." The box-office success was directed by

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal ...

and written by

Jim Abrahams James S. Abrahams (born May 10, 1944) is an American movie director and writer, best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. Life and career Abrahams was born to a Jewish family in Shorewood, Wisconsin, the son of Louise M. (née Oge ...

David Zucker David Samuel Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized as the director and writer of the critically successful 1980 film ''Airplane!'' ...

and

Jerry Zucker Jerry Gordon Zucker (born March 11, 1950) is an American film producer, director, and writer known for his role in directing comedy spoof films such as ''Airplane!'' and ''Top Secret!'', and the Best Picture-nominated supernatural drama film ''Gh ...

, who subsequently wrote the classic film comedy, ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hay ...

''. His television roles include guest appearances on hit television series such as

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Eight is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

'',

's ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book ''Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 film ...

'' and ''

House Calls A house call is medical consultation performed by a doctor or other healthcare professionals visiting the home of a patient or client, instead of the patient visiting the doctor's clinic or hospital. In some locations, families used to pay due ...

'' and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

''. He also hosted the short-lived game show ''Shopper's Casino'' in the 1987–88 season. In 1997, his cookbook, inspired by years of playing a mess hall cook on ''M*A*S*H'', titled ''Secrets of the M*A*S*H Mess: The Lost Recipes of Private Igor'', was published and he made an appearance on

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

to promote it. Maxwell is a regular participant on the alt.tv.mash newsgroup where, along with series writer

Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

(up until Gelbart's death in 2009), answers fan questions about the behind-the-scenes workings of ''M*A*S*H''. Before he began his acting career on ''M*A*S*H'', Maxwell was one-half of a comedy team called "Garrett & Maxwell." They performed at clubs throughout the United States for seven years before parting ways. Maxwell (according to journalist Peter Palmiere) has been working on a video documentary about female judges and referees in the sport of boxing. Since September 2018, Maxwell has hosted a podcast calle
MASH Matters
which celebrates the classic television series ''M*A*S*H''. He is joined on the podcast by co-host Ryan Patrick.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Jeff Living people American male television actors American male film actors Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American male actors