Mike Nichols
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| Born | Michael Igor Peschkowsky November 6, 1931 Berlin, Germany |
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| Spouse(s) | Annabel Davis-Goff Margo Callas Pat Scott Diane Sawyer |
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Mike Nichols (born November 6, 1931) is an American television, stage and film director, writer, and producer. Nichols is one of the few people to have won all major entertainment awards: an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award.
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[edit] Biography
Born Michael Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin, Germany, he and his German-Russian Jewish family moved to the United States to flee the Nazis in 1939. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944. While attending the University of Chicago in the 1950s, he began work in improvisational comedy with the Compass Players, a precursor to The Second City, and later started the long-running Midnight Special folk music program on radio station WFMT.
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, directed by Arthur Penn. 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 and Primary Colors. They appeared together at President Jimmy Carter's inaugural gala and in a 1980 New Haven stage revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Swoosie Kurtz and James Naughton.
Nichols was chosen to direct Neil Simon's Barefoot In The Park in 1963. He realized almost at once that directing was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Nichol'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 for Best Direction for seven different productions.
He's also had an illustrious career as a film director, starting with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), for which he received an Oscar nomination, and The Graduate--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 (2001) and Angels in America (2003).
Nichols has been married four times, most notably to TV journalist Diane Sawyer, whom he wed on April 29, 1988.[citation needed] He has three children, Daisy (born 1964), Max (born 1974) and Jenny (born 1977).[citation needed] His daughter-in-law is ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols.[citation needed]
Nichols is a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. He is also a founder (along with George Morrison and Paul Sills) of The New Actor's Workshop [1] in New York City, where he occasionally teaches. These three world class Master Teacher/ Directors have coached the likes of Geoff Keogh from Melbourne, Australia; Matthew Clarke, from Vancouver, Canada; Damian (Maximum) 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.
[edit] Work
[edit] Stage productions
- Barefoot in the Park (1963)
- Luv (1964)
- The Odd Couple (1965)
- The Apple Tree (1966)
- The Little Foxes (1967)
- Plaza Suite (1968)
- The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971)
- Uncle Vanya (1973)
- Streamers (1976)
- Comedians (1976)
- The Real Thing (1984)
- Hurlyburly (1984)
- Whoopi Goldberg (1984)
- Social Security (1986)
- Death and the Maiden (1992)
- Spamalot (2005)
[edit] Filmography
- See also: Category:Films directed by Mike Nichols
| Year | Film | Oscar nominations | Oscar wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | 13 | 5 |
| 1967 | The Graduate | 7 | 1 |
| 1968 | Teach Me! | ||
| 1970 | Catch-22 | ||
| 1971 | Carnal Knowledge | 1 | |
| 1973 | The Day of the Dolphin | 2 | |
| 1975 | The Fortune | ||
| 1980 | Gilda Live | ||
| 1983 | Silkwood | 5 | |
| 1986 | Heartburn | ||
| 1988 | Biloxi Blues | ||
| Working Girl | 6 | 1 | |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge | 2 | |
| 1991 | Regarding Henry | ||
| 1994 | Wolf | ||
| 1996 | The Birdcage | 1 | |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | 2 | |
| 2000 | What Planet Are You From? | ||
| 2001 | Wit | ||
| 2003 | Angels in America | ||
| 2004 | Closer | 2 | |
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | 1 |
[edit] Awards and nominations
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[edit] External links
- Mike Nichols at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mike Nichols at the Internet Movie Database
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Fred Zinnemann for A Man for All Seasons |
Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture 1968 for The Graduate |
Succeeded by Paul Newman for Rachel, Rachel |
| Preceded by Ellis Rabb for The Royal Family |
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play 1976-1977 for Comedians |
Succeeded by Melvin Bernhardt for Da |
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