Thursday, November 20, 2014

Mike Nichols

Director for film, stage, and TV; writer, producer, comedian, and improvisational performer -- via the New York Times. AKA Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky. One of the significant American talents of the 20th Century, he won a Grammy, Tonys (8), Emmys (4), and an Oscar.

His work as a performer was a hallmark of the wave of Second City-trained comic talent (he was half of the great Nichols and May team with Elaine May).



As a stage director, he gave us "Barefoot in the Park," "Luv," "The Odd Couple," "Streamers," "Comedians," "The Gin Game," "The Real Thing," "Hurlyburly," and many more.

Films: "The Graduate," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "Carnal Knowledge," "Silkwood," "Working Girl," The Birdcage," and many more.



TV: "Wit" and "Angels in America," for example.



All in all, he shaped our senses of humor and then helped create the American New Wave of film in the 1960s and '70s. Even better, he could bridge the gap between popular success and deep artistic expression. In a time when it seemed like the craft of acting and connecting with an audience from the stage was going to dry up and blow away, he reinvigorated the theater with great direction and leadership, giving us entertainment and inspiration.