Mike Nichols (born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film, television, and theatre director.
He began his career as a comedian, teaming with Elaine May (another future director) to form the acclaimed Comedy Duo Nichols & May. Afterwards, he notably worked as a director for 49 years. He began in 1960, directing stage productions of The Importance of Being Earnest and Saint Joan in Vancouver, and contributed original material for a 1962 CBS Carnegie Hall special starring Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett. He made his Broadway directorial debut in 1963 with Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, and then helmed such other plays as Luv and The Odd Couple before moving into films (though he regularly returned to the theatre, directing the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Gin Game among others). Nichols is also notable as being one of eleven people to have won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy—in other words, all four of the major American entertainment awards. It took him 51 years to collect all four, the longest of the group.
Carly Simon often did the songs for his films, most notably the Academy Award-winning song "Let the River Run" for Working Girl and "Coming Around Again" for Heartburn.
He passed away of a heart attack on November 19, 2014, nearly two weeks after his 83rd birthday.
No relation to the American director Jeff Nichols.
Works with pages on TV Tropes:
- The film adaptation of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? from 1966. In 1980 he co-starred with Elaine May in a revival of the play.
- The film adaptation of The Graduate, for which he won his Best Director Oscar, from 1967.
- Catch-22 (1970)
- Carnal Knowledge (1971)
- The Fortune (1975)
- Annie (1977), as producer of the original Broadway production, which won him a Tony Award for Best Musical.
- Silkwood (1983)
- Biloxi Blues (1988)
- Working Girl (1988)
- Postcards from the Edge (1990)
- Regarding Henry (1991)
- Wolf (Mike Nichols) (1994)
- The Birdcage (1996)
- Primary Colors (1998)
- What Planet Are You From? (2000)
- Wit filmed for HBO in 2001.
- The Angels in America Mini Series for HBO in 2003.
- Closer (2004)
- The original Broadway production of Spamalot by Monty Python in 2004.
- Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
