he was inducted, posthumously, into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Personal life In 1984, Chaikin suffered a stroke during his third open-heart surgery, which left him with partial aphasia. Following Chaikin's stroke, several writers, including Jean-Claude van Itallie, Susan Yankowitz, and Sam Shepard, wrote plays specifically for Chaikin to perform and direct, most notably "The War in Heaven" which was directed by Steven Kent. Chaikin performed the piece in San Diego, Atlanta, and Parma, Italy, Samuel Beckett's last poem, "What Is the Word?", was written for and dedicated to Chaikin. Chaikin was a lifelong teacher of acting and directing, and lived most of his adult life in New York's West Village, at Westbeth Artists Community. References External links Website of the documentary film The Presence of Joseph Chaikin 1935 births 2003 deaths People from Brooklyn American male dramatists and playwrights American theatre directors American acting theorists Drama Desk Award winners Obie Award recipients American stage actors Theatre practitioners Jewish theatre directors Jewish American male actors Jewish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews