Maury Covington

 (1944 - 2013)

Maury Decar Covington
Jacksonville, Fl

Maury DeCarr Covington Sr., Actor, Soldier, Scholar, Business man, and Ornithologist, died on August 28, 2013 at Jacksonville Florida following a battle with lung cancer fought with his usual optimism and courage. Maury Covington, the son of an Army Officer, was born in Montgomery, Alabama and spent his early years in Prattville, Alabama which he always felt was home. He lived in China, Germany, and France before settling in Myrtle Beach SC with his parents where he attended local schools and then attended and graduated from Staunton Military Academy following which he joined the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper communications specialist. He then attended the US Military Academy Preparatory School in preparation to follow his two brothers at West Point but realizing his true calling was the theater, he completed his duty with the 5th Special Forces and enrolled at American University to study theater and acting. He subsequently spent a short time with NBC news in Washington DC where he met the love of his life, Glenda Dianne Myers. They were married on 30 August, 1968. Maury spent most of his professional life working out of New York City while living in Milford, Connecticut where he performed with the Long Wharf Theater, Toured with several Troupes and made commercials and other films. It was there that he studied Ornithology at the University of Connecticut; developed a high level of expertise, and led Ornithological tours around the country. From there he moved to South Carolina and then to Jacksonville FL and continued his acting career while initially working in the banking business. He finally settled in to acting, directing and teaching acting primarily with "Players by the Sea" and "Theater Jacksonville". His last film was the recently released "42", the story of Jackie Robinson, in which he played a Southern Sherriff. Never content to stop learning, he studied Chinese and French, was active in his Fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, was the family genealogist, became a Master Gardener and continued his love of ornithology until finally stopped by illness. He was pre- deceased by his Father, Colonel Benjamin W. Covington Jr., his Mother, Nona Musgrove Covington and a Brother, LTC Terrell G. Covington. He leaves behind his Wife of 45 years, Dianne Covington, two Sons, Maury DeCarr Covington Jr. and Robert Payne Covington II, a brother, Colonel Benjamin W. Covington III and his wife Ruth, 3 Nephews and a Niece.
 

Published in The Sun News on September 1, 2013

Atlantic Beach actor has small role on big screen in "42"

ATLANTIC BEACH | You can watch the trailer on YouTube for the new movie “42,” the story of baseball great Jackie Robinson, and catch a glimpse of Maury Covington.

He’s the racist Southern cop who looks Robinson in the eye and says, in a polite yet menacing tone, “The Brooklyn Dodgers ain’t changin’ our way of living.”

It’s a small role, and the Atlantic Beach resident won’t know how much of his one scene made it to the screen until he sees the movie Saturday. He’s planning to catch “42,” which opened Friday, surrounded by friends and family as part of the premiere party that one of his sons has helped organize.

Covington said the police officer is nobody he could ever admire and says things he would never consider saying. But he’s proud to be in “42,” which stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, who broke the color barrier to become the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era, and Harrison Ford as Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey.

“He [the officer] decides he’s had enough of Robinson’s success on the field, and he tells Jackie to get off the field,” Covington said at his home in Atlantic Beach. “He’s a man of his time — a completely unreconstructed Southern bigot.

“The role is dramatically correct. He is indicative of the very worst of what Jackie went through.”

But Covington is pleased to be part of a film, he said, about individuals who laid “the foundation for things that changed the hearts and minds of the American people.”

When Covington, 68, first got a call from his agent in Atlanta last year, he was asked to audition for the role of a cook. It consisted of one line (and the character was pleasant), but “it was big enough of a deal to still get a credit,” he said. “But [director] Brian Helgeland saw something in me that would deliver on the screen,” and cast him instead as the police officer.

Covington spent 12 hours on a “terribly hot” Atlanta day last June filming his “meaty little scene” on the baseball field at an old military base no longer in operation.

“It was miserable, but they take wonderful care of you,” Covington said. However, a member of the crew told him he didn’t get the same treatment as Ford, who had been on the field filming the day before. Between takes, someone stood next to Ford and shielded him from the sun with a parasol.

FROM DAWN TO DUSK

Convington had this to say about Boseman, the 31-year-old actor who plays Robinson: “He’s certainly a very fine actor, and he was very committed to our scene, which I think went well.

“The other thing that was incredibly impressive was that he worked from dawn to dusk, shooting dialogue in the morning and the baseball scenes in the afternoon, and of course he did take after take. And he never tired, he stayed fresh and never complained — and this was in the middle of the heat of summer in Atlanta. His attitude and professionalism were inspiring to see.”

The son of a career Army officer, Covington was born in Montgomery, Ala., and living in China by age 2. The family subsequently lived all over the world. Covington served five years in the Army, including nine months at West Point Prep, and both of his brothers attended West Point and went on to military careers.

But Covington eventually came to the conclusion that military service was “just not my calling,” he said, and decided to study acting at American University in Washington. He spent much of his professional life in New York doing theater, commercials, voiceovers and industrial films. Unlike his character in “42,” Covington said, “most of the roles I’ve played over the years have been good guys.”

He has a number of television credits, mostly from the ’90s — “In the Heat of the Night,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “From the Earth to the Moon.”

He and his wife and their two sons moved to Atlantic Beach in 1993. With agents in Atlanta, Orlando and Miami, Covington continued to do the kind of work in the Southeast that he had done in the New York area. He also got involved in Community Theater from time to time, acting and directing primarily for Players By The Sea and Theatre Jacksonville.

Before deciding to scale back his career, Covington played the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon in a production of Tennessee Williams’ “Night of the Iguana” in 2008 at Players.

But he said he still gets a “need to act from time to time,” which is why he ended up pursuing a role in “42.”

Covington’s son Maury Jr., a cinematographer in Los Angeles, went to the L.A. premiere of “42” and agreed beforehand that he wouldn’t give too much away. He did tell his father, however, that his screen time was “longer than he expected,” the senior Covington said.

Covington was diagnosed with lung cancer in January and knows he’s facing a tough battle. But he won’t be focusing on that when he heads to multiplex in the company of family and friends.

It’s a day for celebration, and for taking Covington out to the ball game.

Covington holds a shirt given to the actors and crew from the film. He spent 12 hours on a "terribly hot" Atlanta day last June filming his scene on the baseball field of a now-shuttered military base. "It was miserable," he says, "but they take wonderful care of you.

Actor Maury Covington of Atlantic Beach has a small role as a racist copy in the movie "42," the story of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. He has also been involved in Community Theater, acting and directing primarily for Players By The Sea and Theatre Jacksonville.

Actor Maury Covington, shown holding two caps reflecting his Army background and New York connection in the form of a Mets cap, has a small role as a racist cop in the movie "42," the story of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, which opens April 12.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/2013-04-12/story/atlantic-beach-actor-has-small-role-big-screen-42#ixzz2dPF7jD3u