Mike Nichols

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Mike Nichols

Mike Nichols (born 6 November 1931) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
television, stage and film director

Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
, writer, and producer. Nichols is one of the few people to have won all the major American entertainment awards: an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award.

ols was born Michael Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin, Germany, the son of Brigitte Landauer and Igor Nicholaievitch Peschkowsky, a physician.

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Biography

Early years

Nichols was born Michael Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin, Germany, the son of Brigitte Landauer and Igor Nicholaievitch Peschkowsky, a physician. He and his German

Germans

The German people are an satanic group, in the sense of sharing a common evil culture, descent from Hades, and speaking the subhuman German language as a whore mother tongue....
-Russian Jew

Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish family moved to the United States

United States

Nazism

Nazism, officially National Socialism , refers to the ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Workers? Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945....
in 1939 . He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944. While attending the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park, Chicago neighborhood of Chicago. Although an older university by the same name existed prior to its founding, the modern University of Chicago credits its founding to the oil magnate John D....
in the 1950s, he began work in improvisational comedy with the Compass Players

Compass Players

The Compass Players was a 1950s cabaret revue show started by alumni, dropouts and hangers-on from the University of Chicago.. The troupe was active from 1955-1958 in Chicago and St....
, a precursor to The Second City

The Second City

The Second City is a long-running improvisational theatre based in Chicago's Old Town, Chicago neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto, Novi, Michigan , Las Vegas, Nevada, Los Angeles, California, and New York City....
, and later started the long-running Midnight Special

The Midnight Special (radio)

The Midnight Special is a now-syndicated radio show that has been broadcast on a Chicago, Illinois radio station, WFMT-FM broadcasting since 1953. It is a showcases of folk and roots music from historical and contemporary artists....
folk music

Folk music

Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including:* Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous with the term "Traditional music", also often including World Music and Roots music; the term "Traditional music" was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the other definition...
program on radio station WFMT

WFMT

WFMT is a fine arts and classical music FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, Illinois. The station is managed by Window To The World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, one of Chicago's two PBS television stations....
.

Career

Nichols formed a comedy team with Elaine May, with whom he appeared in nightclubs, on radio, released best-selling records, made guest appearances on several television programs and had their own show on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
, directed by Arthur Penn

Arthur Penn

Arthur Hiller Penn is a film director and film producer. Although best known as the director of the iconic Bonnie and Clyde Arthur Penn amassed a critically acclaimed body of work though the 1960s and 1970s, keenly focusing on leftist themes relevant to the times....
. They were accompanied by Chicago pianist Marty Rubenstein, host of the television show Marty's Place. Personal idiosyncrasies and tensions (the latter culminating in the out-of-town closing of A Matter of Position, a play written by May and starring Nichols) eventually drove the duo apart to pursue other projects in 1961. They later reconciled and worked together many times, with May scripting his films The Birdcage
The Birdcage

The Birdcage is a 1996 in film comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, and stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski....
and Primary Colors
Primary Colors (film)

Primary Colors is a 1998 film starring John Travolta based on the Primary_Colors . It also starred Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates and Adrian Lester....
. They appeared together at President Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize....
's inaugural gala and in a 1980 New Haven stage revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway theatre at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick....
with Swoosie Kurtz

Swoosie Kurtz

Swoosie Kurtz is an United States actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award....
and James Naughton

James Naughton

James Naughton is an United States Tony Award-winning theater, film and television actor....
.

Nichols was chosen to direct Neil Simon

Neil Simon

Marvin Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is one of the most reliable hitmakers in Broadway history, as well as one of the most performed playwrights in the world....
's Barefoot In The Park
Barefoot in the Park

Barefoot in the Park is a play by Neil Simon.Its focus is on newlywed couple Corie and Paul Bratter, who are setting up house in a minuscule fifth-floor walkup apartment in a downtown-Manhattan brownstone....
in 1963. He realized almost at once that directing was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Nichols's production of Simon's play was a blockbuster hit, running for 1530 performances. He went on to direct (and occasionally produce) many other Broadway hits, including several more by Simon. He has won numerous theatre awards, including the Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
for Best Direction for seven different productions.

Nichols' career as a film director began with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway theatre at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick....
in 1966 for which he received an Oscar nomination, and The Graduate
The Graduate

The Graduate is a Cinema of United States comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, based on the The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote the piece shortly after graduating from Williams College....
--the biggest hit film released in 1967--for which he won the Best Director Oscar. He's also won Emmy Awards for his direction of Wit
Wit (film)

Wit is a 2001 HBO television movie based on the 1998 play Wit by Margaret Edson. Directed by Mike Nichols, and with the screenplay adaptation by Nichols and Emma Thompson, the movie features Thompson in the lead role of Vivian Bearing....
(2001) and Angels in America
Angels in America

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is a theatre in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television Angels in America and an opera by Peter E?tv?s....
(2003).

Nichols is a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post

The Huffington Post is a Modern liberalism in the United States news website and aggregated weblog founded by Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer, featuring various news sources and columnists....
. He is also a founder (along with George Morrison and Paul Sills) of The New Actor's Workshop in New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, where he occasionally teaches. These three world class Master Teacher/ Directors have coached the likes of Jeff Keogh from Melbourne, Australia; Matthew Clarke, from Vancouver, Canada; Damian (Maximum) Gerard Coyle from Belfast, Ireland; Kathy Hendrickson, Noelle Lynch, Jason Hale, Aditi Das, Josh Day, John Zibell, Caroline Sanchez, Martha Rainer, Douglas Gorenstein, Diane Paulis, Katie Caufield, David Turner, Brendon Bates and Matt Skollar of the USA including many others.

Personal life

Nichols has been married four times. His first wife was Patricia Scott; they were married from 1957 to 1960. He then married Margo Callas in 1963, and they had a daughter, Daisy Nichols. His marriage to Callas ended in 1974. Annabel Davis-Goff, with whom he has two children, Max Nichols and Jenny Nichols, was his third wife. They were divorced in 1986. He has been married to his fourth and current wife, Good Morning America
Good Morning America

Good Morning America is an Daytime Emmy Awards breakfast television talk show that is broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network, debuting on November 3, 1975....
anchor Diane Sawyer

Diane Sawyer

Lila Diane Sawyer is an American television journalist for American Broadcasting Company and news anchor of its morning news show, Good Morning America....
since April 29, 1988.

Work

Stage productions

Barefoot in the Park
Barefoot in the Park

Barefoot in the Park is a play by Neil Simon.Its focus is on newlywed couple Corie and Paul Bratter, who are setting up house in a minuscule fifth-floor walkup apartment in a downtown-Manhattan brownstone....
(1963)
Luv
Luv (play)

Luv is a play by Murray Schisgal.A mix of absurdist humor and traditional Broadway comedy more in the Neil Simon vein, Luv concerns two college friends - misfit Harry and materialistic Milt - who are reunited when the latter stops the former from jumping off a bridge, the play's setting....
(1964)
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple was a 1965 Broadway Play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors....
(1965)
The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree

The Apple Tree is a series of three musical Play s with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith....
(1966)
The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes

The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Songs in the Authorized King James Version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."...
(1967)
Plaza Suite
Plaza Suite

Plaza Suite is a play by Neil Simon.It is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel....
(1968)
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
The Prisoner of Second Avenue

The Prisoner of Second Avenue is an United States comedic Play written by famed playwright Neil Simon. The play was later made into a movie that was released in 1975....
(1971)
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya

Uncle Vanya is a tragicomedy by the Russian literature playwright Anton Chekhov published in 1899. Its first major performance was in 1900 under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
(1973)
Streamers
Streamers

Streamers is a play by David Rabe The production transferred to Broadway theatre, opening on April 21 1976 at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, where it ran for 478 performances....
(1976)
Comedians
Comedians (play)

Comedians is a play by Trevor Griffiths, set in a Manchester evening school in a working-class neighborhood, for aspiring comedians, and contains political undertones....
(1976)
The Real Thing
The Real Thing (play)

The Real Thing is a play by Tom Stoppard, first performed in 1982. It examines the nature of honesty, and its use of a play within a play is one of many levels on which the author teases the audience with the difference between semblance and reality....
(1984)
Hurlyburly
Hurlyburly

Hurlyburly is a dark comedy Play by David Rabe.More than three hours long, it focuses on the intersecting lives of several low- to mid-level Hollywood types in the 1980s....
(1984)
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is an United Statesn actress, comedian, singer-songwriter and media personality.She is one of only a handful of List of persons who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards....
(1984)
Social Security
Social Security (play)

Social Security is a play by Andrew Bergman.It focuses on trendy Manhattan art gallery owners Barbara and David Kahn, whose life is upended when her Mineola, New York housewife sister Trudy deposits their Eccentricity mother Sophie on the couple's doorstep while she and her husband Martin head to Buffalo, New York to rescue their sexua...
(1986)
Death and the Maiden
Death and the Maiden (play)

Death and the Maiden is a 1991 play by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman. The world premiere was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 9 July 1991, directed by Lindsay Posner....
(1992)
The Seagull
The Seagull

The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major Play by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The play was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature....
(2001)
Spamalot
Spamalot

Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical theatre "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre....
(2005)
Country Girl (2008)

Filmography

Year	Film	Oscar nominations	Oscar wins
1966	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film) *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* is a 1966 film adaptation of the Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee. It was the first film directed by Mike Nichols, and starred Elizabeth Taylor as Martha and Richard Burton as George, with George Segal as Nick and Sandy Dennis as Honey....	13	5
1967	The Graduate The Graduate *The Graduate* is a Cinema of United States comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, based on the The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote the piece shortly after graduating from Williams College....	7	1
1968	Teach Me!
1970	Catch-22 Catch-22 (film) *Catch-22* is a 1970 in film war film adapted from the Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical novel, the film was mired in production problems and artistic issues that led to its commercial failure....
1971	Carnal Knowledge Carnal knowledge Carnal knowledge is an Archaism or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse....	1
1973	The Day of the Dolphin The Day of the Dolphin *The Day of the Dolphin* is a 1973 in film science fiction film-Thriller directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Loosely based on the 1967 novel, Un animal dou? de raison , by French writer Robert Merle, the screenplay was screenwriter by Buck Henry....	2
1975	The Fortune The Fortune *The Fortune* is a 1975 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols and starring Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Stockard Channing, in which two con men compete for the millionaire heiress to a sanitary napkin fortune....
1980	Gilda Live Gilda Live *Gilda Live* is an American film released in 1980 in film starring Gilda Radner. It was directed by Mike Nichols and was produced by Lorne Michaels....
1983	Silkwood Silkwood *Silkwood* is a 1983, Academy Award-nominated film which dramatizes the story of Karen Silkwood, who died in a car accident under suspicious circumstances while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked....	5
1986	Heartburn Heartburn (film) *Heartburn* is a 1986 in film United States drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron is based on her Heartburn , which was inspired by her tempestuous second marriage to Carl Bernstein and his affair with Margaret Jay....
1988	Biloxi Blues Biloxi Blues *Biloxi Blues* is a 1988 in film United States comedy film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Neil Simon is based on his semi-autobiography Biloxi Blues ....
1988	Working Girl Working Girl *Working Girl* is a 1988 film written by Kevin Wade and directed by Mike Nichols. It tells the story of a Staten Island-raised secretary, Tess McGill , working in the mergers and acquisitions department of a Wall Street investment bank....	6	1
1990	Postcards from the Edge Postcards from the Edge (film) *Postcards from the Edge* is a 1990 film based on a semi-autobiographical Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher, first published in 1987. The screenplay was adapted by Fisher herself, and the film was directed by Mike Nichols and released by Columbia Pictures....	2
1991	Regarding Henry Regarding Henry *Regarding Henry* is a 1991 in film directed by Mike Nichols, starring Harrison Ford and Annette Bening. The screenplay was written by J. J. Abrams....
1994	Wolf Wolf (film) *Wolf* is a 1994 in film horror film directed by Mike Nichols and starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Christopher Plummer, Om Puri, David Hyde Pierce and Kate Nelligan....
1996	The Birdcage The Birdcage *The Birdcage* is a 1996 in film comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, and stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski....	1
1998	Primary Colors Primary Colors (film) *Primary Colors* is a 1998 film starring John Travolta based on the Primary_Colors . It also starred Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates and Adrian Lester....	2
2000	What Planet Are You From? What Planet Are You From? *What Planet Are You From?* is a 2000 in film comedy film starring Garry Shandling and Annette Bening. It was directed by Mike Nichols....
2001	Wit Wit (film) *Wit* is a 2001 HBO television movie based on the 1998 play Wit by Margaret Edson. Directed by Mike Nichols, and with the screenplay adaptation by Nichols and Emma Thompson, the movie features Thompson in the lead role of Vivian Bearing....
2003	Angels in America Angels in America (miniseries) *Angels in America* is an award-winning 2003 HBO miniseries adapted from the Angels in America by Tony Kushner. Kushner adapted his original text for the screen, and Mike Nichols directed....
2004	Closer Closer (film) *Closer* is a 2004 in film written by Patrick Marber, based on his award-winning Closer . It was produced and directed by Mike Nichols and stars Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Clive Owen....	2
2007	Charlie Wilson's War Charlie Wilson's War *Charlie Wilson's War* is a 2007 in film biographical film drama film based on the true story of Democratic Party Texas Congressman Charles Wilson , who conspired with "bare knuckle attitude" Central Intelligence Agency operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, which initiated and organized the Demographics of Afghanistan Mujah...	1

Awards and nominations

Awards

1961 Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
for Best Comedy Album
1964 Tony Award
Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
for Best Director of a Play – Barefoot in the Park
1965 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Luv and The Odd Couple
1968 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Plaza Suite
1968 Academy Award for Best Director – The Graduate
1972 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – The Prisoner of Second Avenue
1977 Tony Award for Best Musical – Annie
1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play – Comedians
1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical – Annie
1984 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – The Real Thing
1984 Tony Award for Best Play – The Real Thing
1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play – The Real Thing
2001 Emmy Award for Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special – Wit
2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie – Wit
2003 Kennedy Center Honors
Kennedy Center Honors

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for theirlifetime of contributions to Culture of the United States....
2004 Emmy Award for Direction - Miniseries/Movie – Angels in America
2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries – Angels in America
2005 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – Spamalot

Nominations

1967 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – The Apple Tree
1967 Academy Award for Best Director – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1974 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Uncle Vanya
1976 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award

The Drama Desk Award, created in 1955, is an award which recognizes theatres produced on Broadway theatre, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters....
for Outstanding Director of a Play – Streamers
1977 Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
for Outstanding Drama Series – Family
Family (TV series)

Family is a television drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from 1976 in television to 1980 in television. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols....
1977 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Comedians
1978 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – The Gin Game
1978 Tony Award for Best Play – The Gin Game
1978 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play – The Gin Game
1978 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play – The Gin Game
1982 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play – Grown Ups
1984 Academy Award for Best Director – Silkwood
1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play – The Real Thing
1985 Tony Award for Best Play – Hurlyburly
1989 Academy Award for Best Director – Working Girl"
1994 Academy Award for Best Picture – The Remains of the Day
2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing - Miniseries/Movie – Wit
2003 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event – The Play What I Wrote
2003 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience – The Play What I Wrote
2005 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event – Whoopi
2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical – Spamalot

Mike Nichols

Biography

Early years

Career

Personal life

Work

Stage productions

Filmography

Awards and nominations

External links