Sunday, November 17, 2024

Toian Matchinga obit

Toian Matchinga, Actress on ‘The Wild Wild West,’ Dies at 82

A frequent TV guest star in the 1960s and ’70s, she also appeared in films for directors Don Siegel, Irvin Kershner and Costa-Gavras. 

She was not on the list.


Toian Matchinga, who guest-starred three times on the 1960s CBS series The Wild Wild West and appeared on such other shows as Death Valley Days, I Dream of Jeannie and The Odd Couple, has died. She was 82.

Matchinga, who later in her acting career went by her birth name, Caryn Matchinga, died Sunday of natural causes at home in Belmont, Massachusetts, her family announced.

In films, Matchinga appeared for Don Siegel in Madigan (1968), for Irvin Kershner in Up the Sandbox (1972) and NBC’s Raid on Entebbe (1977) and, in her final onscreen role, for Costa-Gavras in Mad City (1997).

The Ohio native booked gigs on The Wild Wild West, which starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, in 1965, 1967 and 1969. Her résumé also includes episodes of The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Rat Patrol, The Flying Nun, The Big Valley, Rango, Ellery Queen and Rich Man, Poor Man.

Caryn Lee Matchinga was born in Painesville, Ohio, on Nov. 23, 1941, to Rudolph and Alma Matchinga. She received an acting and playwright scholarship to Carnegie Mellon, then moved to New York, where she made her first TV appearance on the late night talk show PM East/PM West, hosted by Mike Wallace and Joyce Davidson.

While she was an actress, Matchinga also worked as a ghostwriter for MGM, NBC and Paramount Pictures, and she wrote an erotic novel, The Girl, that was published in 2012 under her stage name.

She married Harold Brown on New Year’s Eve in 1976, and they were together until his death in 2004.

Survivors include her son, Jeremy; her daughter-in-law, Betsy; her grandchildren, Zoe and Zachary; and her siblings, Bonnie and Rudy.

“Caryn was a gifted storyteller, often sharing outrageous and hilarious tales from her colorful life in New York and Hollywood,” her family noted. “She had a knack for leaving everyone around her in stitches and maybe just a bit uncomfortable.”

Donations in her memory can be made to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.

 

Actress

Mad City (1997)

Mad City

6.3

Mother (as Caryn Matchinga)

1997

 

Charles Bronson, Yaphet Kotto, and Peter Finch in Raid on Entebbe (1976)

Raid on Entebbe

6.7

Mrs. Bennett (as Caryn Matchinga)

1976

 

Nick Nolte, Peter Strauss, and Susan Blakely in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)

Rich Man, Poor Man

8.2

TV Mini Series

Miss Budnick (as Caryn Matchinga)

1976

1 episode

 

Ellery Queen (1975)

Ellery Queen

8.4

TV Series

Glenda Dunlap (as Caryn Matchinga)

1975

1 episode

 

The Law (1975)

The Law

8.4

TV Mini Series

Linda (as Caryn Matchinga)

1975

3 episodes

 

Jack Klugman and Tony Randall in The Odd Couple (1970)

The Odd Couple

7.9

TV Series

Myrna's Friend (as Caryn Matchinga)

1974

1 episode

 

Barbra Streisand in Up the Sandbox (1972)

Up the Sandbox

5.7

Woman Patient (uncredited)

1972

 

Barbara Eden in I Dream of Jeannie (1965)

I Dream of Jeannie

7.4

TV Series

Bonnie Crenshaw (as Damian Bodie)

1970

1 episode

 

Sally Field in The Flying Nun (1967)

The Flying Nun

6.5

TV Series

Marta Vargas

1970

1 episode

 

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in The Wild Wild West (1965)

The Wild Wild West

8.1

TV Series

Cosina

Henriette Fauer

Lola Bracer

1965–1969

3 episodes

 

Madigan (1968)

Madigan

6.5

Rosita

1968

 

The Second Hundred Years (1967)

The Second Hundred Years

7.6

TV Series

Gloria Runningfawn

1968

1 episode

 

Lee Majors, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans, Peter Breck, and Richard Long in The Big Valley (1965)

The Big Valley

7.6

TV Series

Seataki

1967

1 episode

 

Norman Alden, Tim Conway, and Guy Marks in Rango (1967)

Rango

7.1

TV Series

Carmelita

1967

1 episode

 

Iron Horse (1966)

Iron Horse

7.1

TV Series

Serafina

1966

1 episode

 

The Rat Patrol (1966)

The Rat Patrol

7.4

TV Series

Selhim

1966

1 episode

 

Death Valley Days (1952)

Death Valley Days

7.5

TV Series

Gloria Chavez

Maria

1966

2 episodes

 

The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1965)

The Wackiest Ship in the Army

7.4

TV Series

Maya

1966

1 episode

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