Mike Nichols

Early life

Before he established his practice, he was a union doctor, and part of his job was X-raying union members. They didn't know about shielding X-ray machines, and he died of leukemia at 44.
Nichols' youth was difficult because by age 4, following an inoculation for whooping cough, he had lost his hair, and consequently wore wigs for the rest of his life. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944 and attended public elementary school in Manhattan. After graduating from the Walden School, a private progressive school on Central Park West, Nichols briefly attended New York University before dropping out. In 1950, he enrolled in the pre-med program at the University of Chicago. He later described this college period as "paradise," recalling how "I never had a friend from the time I came to this country until I got to the University of Chicago."
While in Chicago in 1953, Nichols joined the staff of struggling classical music station WFMT, 98.7 FM, as an announcer. Co-owner Rita Jacobs asked Nichols to create a folk music program on Saturday nights, which he named The Midnight Special. He hosted the program for two years before leaving for New York City. Nichols frequently invited musicians to perform live in the studio and eventually created a unique blend of "folk music and farce, showtunes and satire, odds and ends," along with his successor Norm Pellegrini. The program endures today in the same time slot.

Comedy career

"Nichols and May"

Nichols first saw Elaine May when she was sitting in the front row while he was playing the lead in a Chicago production of Miss Julie, and they made eye contact. Weeks later he ran into her in a train station where he started a conversation in an assumed accent, pretending to be a spy, and she played along, using another accent. They hit it off immediately, which led to a brief romance. Later in his career, he said "Elaine was very important to me from the moment I saw her."
In 1953, Nichols left Chicago for New York City to study method acting under Lee Strasberg, but was unable to find stage work there. He was invited back to join Chicago's Compass Players in 1955, the predecessor to Chicago's Second City, whose members included May, Shelley Berman, Del Close, and Nancy Ponder, directed by Paul Sills. In Chicago, he started doing improvisational routines with May, which eventually led to the formation of the comedy duo Nichols and May in 1958, first performing in New York City.
They performed live satirical comedy acts and eventually released three records of their routines, which became best-sellers. They also appeared in nightclubs and were on radio and television. Jack Rollins, who later became Woody Allen's manager and producer, invited them to audition and was most impressed: "Their work was so startling, so new, as fresh as could be. I was stunned by how really good they were, actually as impressed by their acting technique as by their comedy... I thought, My God, these are two people writing hilarious comedy on their feet!
In 1960, Nichols and May opened the Broadway show An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May, directed by Arthur Penn. The LP album of the show won the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Personal idiosyncrasies and tensions eventually drove the duo apart to pursue other projects in 1961. About their sudden breakup, director Arthur Penn said, "They set the standard and then they had to move on," while talk show host Dick Cavett said "they were one of the comic meteors in the sky." Comedy historian Gerald Nachman describes the effect of their break-up on American comedy:
They later reconciled and worked together many times, such as on the unsuccessful A Matter of Position, a play written by May and starring Nichols. They appeared together at President Jimmy Carter's inaugural gala, in 1977, and in a 1980 New Haven stage revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Swoosie Kurtz and James Naughton. May scripted Nichols' films The Birdcage and Primary Colors. In 2010, at the AFIs "Life Achievement Award" ceremony, May gave a humor-filled tribute to Nichols.

Career as a director

1960s

Pre-film stage career
After the professional split with May, Nichols went to Vancouver, B.C. to work in the theater directing a production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and acted in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's St. Joan.
In 1963, Nichols was chosen to direct Neil Simon's play Barefoot In The Park. He realized at once that he was meant to be a director, saying in a 2003 interview: "On the first day of rehearsal, I thought, 'Well, look at this. Here is what I was meant to do.' I knew instantly that I was home". Barefoot in the Park was a big hit, running for 1530 performances and earning Nichols a Tony Award for his direction.
This began a series of highly successful plays on Broadway that would establish his reputation. After directing an off-Broadway production of Ann Jellicoe's The Knack, Nichols directed Murray Schisgal's play Luv in 1964. Again the show was a hit and Nichols won a Tony Award. In 1965 he directed another play by Neil Simon, The Odd Couple. The original production starred Art Carney as Felix Ungar and Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison. The play ran for 966 performances and won Tony Awards for Nichols, Simon and Matthau. Overall, Nichols won nine Tony Awards: including six for Best Director of either a play or a musical, one for Best Play, and one for Best Musical.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
In 1966, Nichols was a star stage director and Time magazine called him "the most in-demand director in the American theatre." Although he had no experience in filmmaking, after befriending Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Warner Bros. invited Nichols to direct a screen adaptation of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis for which he received a fee of $400,000. The film was critically acclaimed, with critics calling Nichols "the new Orson Welles", and a financial success, the number 1 film of 1966.
The film was considered groundbreaking for having a level of profanity and sexual innuendo unheard of at that time. It won five Academy Awards and garnered thirteen nominations, earning the distinctions of being one of only two films nominated in every eligible category at the Oscars, and the first film to have its entire credited cast nominated for acting Oscars. It also won three BAFTA Awards and was later ranked #67 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies .
The Graduate
His next film was The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross for which he was paid $150,000, a deal he had made with four years earlier with producer Joseph E. Levine. It became the highest-grossing film of 1967 and one of the highest-grossing films in history up to that date, with Nichols receiving 16⅔% of the profits, making him a millionaire. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, with Nichols winning as Best Director. In 2007, it was ranked #17 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies .
However, getting the film made was difficult for Nichols, who, while noted for being a successful Broadway director, was still an unknown in Hollywood. Producer Lawrence Turman, who wanted only Nichols to direct it, was continually turned down for financing. He then contacted Levine, who said he would finance the film because he had associated with Nichols on The Knack, and because he heard that Elizabeth Taylor specifically wanted Nichols to direct her and Richard Burton in Virginia Woolf. With financing assured, Nichols suggested Buck Henry for screenwriter, although Henry's experience had also been mostly in improvised comedy, and had no writing background. Nichols said to Henry, "I think you could do it; I think you should do it."
Nichols also took a chance on using Dustin Hoffman, who had no film experience, for the lead, when others had suggested using known star Robert Redford. Hoffman credits Nichols for having taken a great risk in giving him, a relative unknown, the starring role: "I don't know of another instance of a director at the height of his powers who would take a chance and cast someone like me in that part. It took tremendous courage."
The quality of the cinematography was also influenced by Nichols, who chose Oscar winner Robert Surtees to do the photography. Surtees, who had photographed major films since the 1920s, including Ben-Hur, said later, "It took everything I had learned over 30 years to be able to do the job. I knew that Mike Nichols was a young director who went in for a lot of camera. We did more things in this picture than I ever did in one film."
Nichols also chose the music by Simon and Garfunkel. When Paul Simon was taking too long to write new songs for the film, he used existing songs, originally planning to replace them with newly written ones. In the end only one new song was available, and Nichols used the existing previously released songs. At one point, when Nichols heard Paul Simon's song, "Mrs. Roosevelt," he suggested to Simon that he change it to "Mrs. Robinson." The song won a Grammy after the film was released and became America's number 1 pop song. Nichols selected all the numerous songs for the film and chose which scenes they would be used in. The placement and selection of songs would affect the way audiences understood the film. Even actor William Daniels, who played Hoffman's father, remembers that after first hearing the songs, especially "The Sound of Silence," he thought, "Oh, wait a minute. That changed the whole idea of the picture for me," suddenly realizing the film would not be a typical comedy.
Nichols had previously returned to Broadway to direct The Apple Tree, starring Second City alumna, Barbara Harris. After doing The Graduate, he again returned to the Broadway stage with a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes in 1967, which ran for 100 performances. He then directed Neil Simon's Plaza Suite in 1968, earning him another Tony Award for Best Director. He also directed the short film Teach Me!, which starred actress Sandy Dennis.

1970s

Nichols' next film was a big-budget adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, followed by Carnal Knowledge starring Jack Nicholson, Ann-Margret, Art Garfunkel and Candice Bergen. The latter film was highly controversial upon release because of the casual and blunt depiction of sexual intercourse. In Georgia, a theatre manager was convicted in 1972 of violating the state's obscenity statutes by showing the film, a conviction later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Jenkins v. Georgia.
Nichols returned to Broadway to direct Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue in 1971. The play won Nichols another Tony Award for Best Director. In 1973, Nichols directed a revival of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya on Broadway starring George C. Scott and with a new translation by himself and Albert Todd. In 1973 Nichols directed the film The Day of the Dolphin starring George C. Scott, based on the French novel Un animal doué de raison by Robert Merle and adapted by Buck Henry. The film was not successful financially and received mixed reviews from critics. Nichols next directed The Fortune, starring Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Stockard Channing. Again, the film was a financial failure and received mostly negative reviews. It was Nichols' last feature narrative film for eight years.
Nichols returned to the stage with two moderately successful productions in 1976; David Rabe's Streamers opened in April and ran for 478 performances. Trevor Griffiths's Comedians ran for 145 performances. In 1976 Nichols also worked as Executive Producer to create the television drama Family for ABC. The series ran until 1980.
In 1977, Nichols produced the original Broadway production of the hugely successful musical Annie, which ran for 2,377 performances until 1983. Nichols won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Later in 1977, Nichols directed D.L. Coburn's The Gin Game. The play ran for 517 performances and won a Tony Award for Best Actress for Jessica Tandy.

1980s

In 1980, Nichols directed the documentary Gilda Live, a filmed performance of comedian Gilda Radner's one-woman show Gilda Radner Live on Broadway. It was released at the same time as the album of the show, both of which were successful. Nichols then directed two unsuccessful shows: Billy Bishop Goes to War, which opened in 1980 and closed after only twelve performances, and Neil Simon's Fools, in 1981, which closed after forty performances.
Returning to Hollywood, Nichols' career rebounded in 1983 with the film Silkwood, starring Meryl Streep, Cher and Kurt Russell, based on the life of whistleblower Karen Silkwood. The film was a financial and critical success, with film critic Vincent Canby calling it "the most serious work Mike Nichols has yet done." The film received five Academy Award nominations, including a Best Director nomination for Nichols.
That same year, Nichols and Peter Stone helped to fix up and rewrite the musical My One and Only just days before its Boston premiere. The show eventually went to Broadway and ran for 767 performances, winning Tony Awards for Best Actor, Best Choreography and best Supporting Actor.
In 1984, Nichols directed the Broadway premiere of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing. The New York Times critic Frank Rich wrote that "The Broadway version of The Real Thing—a substantial revision of the original London production—is not only Mr. Stoppard's most moving play, but also the most bracing play that anyone has written about love and marriage in years." The play was nominated for seven Tony Awards and won five, including a Best Director Tony for Nichols.
Nichols followed the success with the Broadway premiere of David Rabe's Hurlyburly, also in 1984. It was performed just two blocks away from the theater showing The Real Thing. It was nominated for three Tony Awards and won Best Actress for Judith Ivey.
In 1983, Nichols had seen comedian Whoopi Goldberg's one woman show, The Spook Show and wanted to help her expand it. Goldberg's self-titled Broadway show opened in October 1984 and ran for 156 performances. Rosie O'Donnell said that Nichols had discovered Goldberg while she was struggling as a downtown street artist: "He gave her the entire beginning of her career and recognized her brilliance before anyone else." In 1986 Nichols directed the Broadway premiere of Andrew Bergman's Social Security and in 1988 directed Waiting for Godot, starring Robin Williams and Steve Martin. Williams cited Nichols and May as among his early influences for performing intelligent comedy.
In 1986, Nichols directed the film Heartburn, which received mixed reviews, and starred Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. In 1988, Nichols completed two feature films. The first was an adaptation of Neil Simon's autobiographical stage play Biloxi Blues starring Matthew Broderick, also receiving mixed critical reviews. Nichols directed one of his most successful films, Working Girl, which starred Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver. The film was a huge hit upon its release. It also received mostly positive reviews from critics with an 84% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a 73 metascore at Metacritic. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won the Academy Award for Best Song for Carly Simon's "Let the River Run".
At one point in the 1980s, Nichols—who was prone to bouts of depression—reported that he had considered suicide, a feeling apparently brought on by a psychotic episode he experienced after taking the drug Halcion.

1990s

In the 1990s, Nichols directed several more successful, well-received films including Postcards from the Edge starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine; Primary Colors starring John Travolta and Emma Thompson; and The Birdcage, an American remake of the 1978 French film La Cage aux Folles starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest. Both The Birdcage and Primary Colors were written by Elaine May, Nichols' comedy partner earlier in his career. Other films directed by Nichols include Regarding Henry starring Harrison Ford and Wolf starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer. When he was honored by Lincoln Center in 1999 for his life's work, Elaine May—speaking once again as his friend—served up the essence of Nichols with the following:

So he's witty, he's brilliant, he's articulate, he's on time, he's prepared and he writes. But is he perfect? He knows you can't really be liked or loved if you're perfect. You have to have just enough flaws. And he does. Just the right, perfect flaws to be absolutely endearing.

2000s

In the 2000s, Nichols directed the films What Planet Are You From?, Closer and Charlie Wilson's War, a political drama that was ultimately his final feature film. What Planet Are You From? received mixed reviews from critics, while Closer and Charlie Wilson's War received generally positive reviews and were both nominated for Academy Awards, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards. Nichols also directed widely acclaimed adaptations of Wit and Angels in America for television, winning Emmy Awards for both of them.

2010s

In 2012, Nichols won the Best Direction of a Play Tony Award for Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. In April 2013, it was announced that he would direct Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz in a Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal. The play began its limited run on October 1 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, opening on November 3 through January 5, 2014. Nichols was also in talks to direct a film adaptation of Jonathan Tropper's novel One Last Thing Before I Go. The film was to be produced by J.J. Abrams, who previously wrote the Nichols-directed film Regarding Henry.
Nichols was a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. He was also a co-founder of The New Actors Workshop in New York City, where he occasionally taught. In addition, he remained active in the Directors Guild of America, interviewing fellow film director Bennett Miller on stage in October 2011 after the Guild's screening of Miller's Moneyball.
In January 2016, PBS aired , an American Masters documentary about Nichols directed by his former improv partner, Elaine May. On February 22, 2016, HBO aired the documentary Becoming Mike Nichols.

Directing style

After his early successes as a stage and film director, Nichols had developed a reputation as an auteur who likes to work intimately with his actors and writers, often using them repeatedly in different films. Writer Peter Applebome noted that "few directors have such a gift for getting performances out of actors." During a half-year period in 1967 he had four hit plays running simultaneously on Broadway, during which time his first Hollywood feature, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, had also become a popular and critical success. Combined with his second film, The Graduate, in 1967, the two films had already earned a total of 20 Oscar nominations, including two for Best Director, and winning it for The Graduate.
Nichols was able to get the best out of actors regardless of their acting experience, whether an unknown such as Dustin Hoffman or a major star like Richard Burton. For his first film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, each of the four actors was nominated for an Oscar, with Elizabeth Taylor and Sandy Dennis winning. Burton later said, "I didn't think I could learn anything about comedy—I'd done all of Shakespeare's. But from him I learned," adding, "He conspires with you to get your best."
However, it was Taylor who chose Nichols to be their director, because, writes biographer David Bret, "she particularly admired him because he had done a number of ad-hoc jobs to pay for his education after arriving in America as a seven-year-old Jewish refugee." Producer Ernest Lehman agreed with her choice: "He was the only one who could handle them," he said. "The Burtons were quite intimidating, and we needed a genius like Mike Nichols to combat them." Biographer Kitty Kelley says that neither Taylor nor Burton would ever again reach the heights of acting performance they did in that film.
The same style of directing was used for The Graduate, where, notes film historian Peter Biskind, Nichols took Dustin Hoffman, with no movie acting experience, along with Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross and others, and managed to get some of their finest acting on screen. This ability to work closely with actors would remain consistent throughout his career. Hoffman credits Nichols for permitting the realistic acting needed for the satirical roles in that film:
In a similar way, Jeremy Irons, who acted in the play The Real Thing, said that Nichols creates a very "protective environment: he makes you feel he's only there for you," while Ann-Margret, for her role in Carnal Knowledge, felt the same: "What's wonderful about Mike is that he makes you feel like you're the one that's come up with the idea, when it's actually his."

Personal life

Nichols was married four times; the first three ended in divorce, the last upon his death. He also had a discreet decade-long affair with photographer Richard Avedon, according to Avedon's studio director and business manager.
Nichols' first marriage was to Patricia Scot; they were married from 1957 to 1960. His second was to Margot Callas, a former "muse" of the poet Robert Graves, from 1963 to 1974. The couple had a daughter together, Daisy Nichols. His third marriage, to Annabel Davis-Goff, produced two children, Max Nichols and Jenny Nichols; they married in 1975 and divorced in 1986. His fourth was to former ABC World News anchor Diane Sawyer, whom he married on April 29, 1988. None of his wives was Jewish and his children were not brought up according to a religion, but they identify as Jewish. His son Max married ESPN journalist Rachel Nichols.
Nichols had a lifelong interest in Arabian horses. From 1968 to 2004 he owned a farm in Connecticut and was a noted horse breeder. He also imported quality Arabian horses from Poland, some of which sold for record-setting prices.

Death and legacy

Nichols died of a heart attack on November 19, 2014, at his apartment in Manhattan, nearly two weeks after his 83rd birthday. During the 87th annual Academy Awards on 22 February 2015, Nichols was featured in the In Memoriam segment, in anchor position. Nichols left John Frederick Herring Sr.'s painting "Horse with Groom" to his son Max.
When Nichols died, many artists in film spoke and paid tribute to him, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey and Tom Stoppard. On November 8, 2014, at an undisclosed location, stars and artist paid tribute to Nichols. Hosts for the private event included Elaine May and Lorne Michaels. Eric Idle and John Cleese performed. Guests included Streep, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Natalie Portman, Carly Simon, Nathan Lane and Christine Baranski.
In 2017, during an Oscars Actress Roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, Amy Adams, Natalie Portman, and Annette Benning spoke about the impact Nichols had on their lives.

Work

Theatre

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Notes
1966	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	The Graduate
1968	Teach Me!			Short film
1970	Catch-22
1971	Carnal Knowledge
1973	The Day of the Dolphin
1975	The Fortune
1980	Gilda Live			Documentary
1983	Silkwood
1986	Heartburn
1988	Biloxi Blues
1988	Working Girl
1990	Postcards from the Edge
1991	Regarding Henry
1993	The Remains of the Day
1994	Wolf
1996	The Birdcage
1998	Primary Colors
2000	What Planet Are You From?
2004	Closer
2007	Charlie Wilson's War			Final film

Executive Producer

• The Longshot
• Friends with Kids
• Crescendo! The Power of Music

  Television

Discography

• Improvisations to Music Mercury
• An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May Mercury
• Mike Nichols & Elaine May Examine Doctors Mercury MG 20680/SR 60680
• In Retrospect Polygram, compilation, re-released as compact disc in 1996

  Awards and nominations

Nichols is one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

Year	Award	Category	Title	Results	Ref.
1966	Academy Award	Best Director	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	Academy Award	Best Director	The Graduate
1983	Academy Award	Best Director	Silkwood
1988	Academy Award	Best Director	Working Girl
1993	Academy Award	Best Picture	The Remains of the Day
1967	British Academy Film Awards	Best Film	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1968	British Academy Film Awards	Best Film	The Graduate
1968	British Academy Film Awards	Best Director	The Graduate
1994	British Academy Film Awards	Best Film	The Remains of the Day
1966	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	The Graduate
1983	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	Silkwood
1988	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	Working Girl
2004	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	Closer
1959	Grammy Awards	Best Documentary or Spoken Word	Improvisations to Music
1959	Grammy Awards	Best Comedy Album	Improvisations to Music
1962	Grammy Awards	Best Comedy Album	An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May
1963	Grammy Awards	Best Comedy Album	Mike Nichols & Elaine May Examine Doctors
1977	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Drama Series	Family
2001	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Movie	Wit
2001	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Movie	Wit
2001	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Made for Television Movie	Wit
2004	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Movie	Angels in America
2004	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Miniseries	Angels in America
1964	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	Barefoot in the Park
1965	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	Luv and The Odd Couple
1967	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Musical	The Apple Tree
1968	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	Plaza Suite
1972	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	The Prisoner of Second Avenue
1974	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	Uncle Vanya
1977	Tony Award	Best Musical	Annie
1977	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	Comedians
1977	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	Streamers
1978	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	The Gin Game
1978	Tony Award	Best Play	The Gin Game
1984	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	The Real Thing
2003	Tony Award	Best Special Theatrical Event	The Play What I Wrote
2005	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Musical	Monty Python's Spamalot
2005	Tony Award	Best Special Theatrical Event	Whoopi the 25th Anniversary Show
2012	Tony Award	Best Direction of a Play	Death of a Salesman
1976	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Director of a Play	Streamers
1977	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Director of a Play	Comedians
1978	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Director of a Play	The Gin Game
1984	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Director of a Play	The Real Thing
2005	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Director of a Musical	Spamalot
2012	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Director of a Musical	Death of a Salesman

Honorary Awards

• 1999 - Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala tribute
• 2001 - Peabody Award – Wit
• 2003 - Kennedy Center Honors
• 2010 - American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award