Editing Jeff Maxwell

{{short description|American film and television actor}}
{{BLP more footnotes|date=January 2008}}
{{infobox person
|occupation=Film and television actor
|birth_name=Jeffrey Maxwell Knott
}}

'''Jeff Maxwell''' (born '''Jeffrey Maxwell Knott''') is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Pvt. [[List of M*A*S*H characters#Igor Straminsky|Igor Straminsky]], a recurring character in the television series ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metv.com/stories/jeff-maxwell-once-explained-why-igor-s-name-changed-on-m-a-s-h|title=Jeff Maxwell explained why Igor's name changed on M*A*S*H|website=[[MeTV]]|date=June 22, 2020|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref> He appeared in 83 episodes of the classic [[CBS]] comedy from 1973 to 1983, including the series finale ''[[Goodbye, Farewell and Amen]]'', 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=8 things you might not know about the M*A*S*H finale|url=http://metv.com/lists/8-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-m-a-s-h-finale|website=MeTV|date=November 5, 2021|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref>

Maxwell's film debut was in the acclaimed 1974 Mel Brooks comedy film ''[[Young Frankenstein]]''. He played one of the title character's medical students. He was also featured in the 1977 sketch comedy film ''[[Kentucky Fried Movie]]'' in a solo scene titled "Feel-A-Round." The box-office success was directed by [[John Landis]] and written by [[Jim Abrahams]], [[David Zucker (filmmaker)|David Zucker]] and [[Jerry Zucker (film director)|Jerry Zucker]], who subsequently wrote the classic film comedy, ''[[Airplane!]]''. His television roles include guest appearances on hit television series such as [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Eight is Enough]]'', [[CBS]]'s ''[[The Waltons]]'' and ''[[House Calls (TV series)|House Calls]]'' and [[NBC]]'s ''[[CHiPs]]''. 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 [[NBC]]'s [[Today (American TV program)|Today Show]] to promote it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Creamed weenies, gas passer chili!|url=http://www.today.com/food/creamed-weenies-gas-passer-chili-1D80351408|work=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]|date=September 27, 2005|access-date=June 15, 2016}}</ref>

Maxwell is a regular participant on the alt.tv.mash newsgroup where, along with series writer [[Larry Gelbart]] (up until Gelbart's death in 2009),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/arts/12gelbart.html|title=Larry Gelbart, Writer of Comedy, Dies at 81|first=Robert|last=Berkvist|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 11, 2009|access-date=February 28, 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=M*A*S*H The 4077th|url=http://orkut.google.com/c38160-tce255ce3d37f840c.html|work=M*A*S*H The 4077th|first=Narayan|last=Radhakrishnan|date=June 18, 2008|access-date=June 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807070342/http://orkut.google.com/c38160-tce255ce3d37f840c.html|archive-date=August 7, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 called MASH Matters, which celebrates the classic television series ''M*A*S*H''. He is joined on the podcast by co-host Ryan Patrick.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mashmatterspodcast.com/hosts/|title=Hosts|work=M*A*S*H Matters|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0561722}}

{{Authority control}}

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