# Mike Nichols on screen and stage

Mike Nichols was an American comedian, director, and producer of the stage and screen. He began his career in the 1950s as a comedian alongside Elaine May doing improvisational comedy. Together they formed the comedy duo Nichols and May. Their live improv act was a hit sensation on Broadway, and the first of their three albums won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 1962. Nichols also became known as a director of plays on the Broadway stage including Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park (1963), The Odd Couple (1965), and Plaza Suite (1968). He also directed acclaimed revival productions of Anton Chekov's The Seagull (2002), Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (2012) and Harold Pinter's Betrayal (2013).
Nichols was also known as a film director breaking out with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and The Graduate (1967) starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. Nichols continued directing acclaimed films such as the war film Catch-22 (1970), the sexual coming of age drama Carnal Knowledge (1971), the drama Silkwood (1983), the romantic comedy Working Girl (1988), the farce comedy The Birdcage (1996), the political drama Primary Colors (1998), the romantic drama Closer (2004), and biographical drama Charlie Wilson's War (2007). Nichols also became known for his work on television directing HBO adaptations of Margaret Edson's Wit (2001) and Tony Kushner's Angels in America (2003) starring Meryl Streep and Al Pacino.

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Performer | Venue |
| 1960 | An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May | No | No | Yes | Yes | John Golden Theatre |
| 1963 | Barefoot in the Park | Yes | No | No | No | The Biltmore Theatre |
| 1964 | The Knack | Yes | No | No | No | New Theatre |
| 1964 | Luv | Yes | No | No | No | Helen Hayes Theatre |
| 1965 | The Odd Couple | Yes | No | No | No | Plymouth Theatre |
| 1966 | The Apple Tree | Yes | No | No | No | Shubert Theatre |
| 1967 | The Little Foxes | Yes | No | No | No | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 1968 | Plaza Suite | Yes | No | No | No | Plymouth Theatre |
| 1971 | The Prisoner of Second Avenue | Yes | No | No | No | Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
| 1973 | Uncle Vanya | Yes | No | No | No | Circle in the Square Theatre |
| 1976 | Streamers | Yes | No | No | No | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre |
| 1976 | Comedians | Yes | No | No | No | Music Box Theatre |
| 1977 | Annie | No | Yes | No | No | Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
| 1977 | The Gin Game | Yes | Yes | No | No | John Golden Theatre |
| 1978 | Drinks Before Dinner | Yes | No | No | No | Public Theater |
| 1980 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | No | No | No | Yes | Long Wharf Theatre |
| 1980 | Billy Bishop Goes to War | No | Yes | No | No | Morosco Theatre |
| 1980 | Lunch Hour | Yes | No | No | No | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 1981 | Fools | Yes | No | No | No | Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
| 1981 | Grown Ups | No | Yes | No | No | Lyceum Theatre |
| 1984 | The Real Thing | Yes | No | No | No | Plymouth Theatre |
| 1984 | Hurlyburly | Yes | No | No | No | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 1984 | Whoopi Goldberg | No | Yes | No | No | Lyceum Theatre |
| 1986 | Social Security | Yes | No | No | No | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 1987 | Standup Shakespeare | Yes | No | No | No | Theatre 890 |
| 1988 | Waiting for Godot | Yes | Yes | No | No | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center |
| 1990 | Eliot Loves | Yes | Yes | No | No | Goodman Theatre |
| 1992 | Death and the Maiden | Yes | No | No | No | Brooks Atkinson Theatre |
| 1996 | The Designated Mourner | No | No | No | Yes | Royal National Theatre |
| 1999 | James Naughton: Street of Dreams | Yes | No | No | No | Promenade Theatre |
| 2001 | The Seagull | Yes | No | No | No | The Public Theater, Off-Broadway |
| 2003 | The Play What I Wrote | No | Yes | No | No | Lyceum Theatre |
| 2004 | Whoopi: The 25th Anniversary Show | No | Yes | No | No | Lyceum Theatre |
| 2005 | Spamalot | Yes | No | No | No | Shubert Theatre |
| 2008 | The Country Girl | Yes | No | No | No | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre |
| 2012 | Death of a Salesman | Yes | No | No | No | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 2013 | Betrayal | Yes | No | No | No | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |

## Film

| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Notes |
| 1966 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Yes | No | Based on the 1962 play by Edward Albee |
| 1967 | The Graduate | Yes | No | Based on the 1963 novella by Charles Webb |
| 1968 | Teach Me! | Yes | No | Short film; Also writer |
| 1970 | Catch-22 | Yes | No | Based on the 1961 novel by Joseph Heller |
| 1971 | Carnal Knowledge | Yes | Yes | |
| 1973 | The Day of the Dolphin | Yes | No | Based on the 1967 novel by Robert Merle |
| 1975 | The Fortune | Yes | Yes | |
| 1980 | Gilda Live | Yes | No | Documentary |
| 1983 | Silkwood | Yes | Yes | Based on Who Killed Karen Silkwood? by Howard Kohn |
| 1986 | Heartburn | Yes | Yes | Based on the 1983 novel by Nora Ephron |
| 1988 | Biloxi Blues | Yes | No | Based on the 1984 play by Neil Simon |
| 1988 | Working Girl | Yes | No | |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge | Yes | Yes | Based on the 1987 novel by Carrie Fisher |
| 1991 | Regarding Henry | Yes | Yes | |
| 1993 | The Remains of the Day | No | Yes | Based on the 1989 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro |
| 1994 | Wolf | Yes | No | |
| 1996 | The Birdcage | Yes | Yes | Based on La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret and the 1978 film by Édouard Molinaro, Francis Veber, Marcello Danon and Jean Poiret |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | Yes | Yes | Based on Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics by Joe Klein |
| 2000 | What Planet Are You From? | Yes | Yes | |
| 2004 | Closer | Yes | Yes | Based on the 1997 play by Patrick Marber |
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Yes | No | Based on Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile III |
Executive producer
* The Longshot (1986)
* Friends with Kids (2011)
* Crescendo! The Power of Music (2014) (Documentary)
Performer
* The Designated Mourner (1997) as Jack

## Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1957–1958 | The Steve Allen Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Omnibus | Performer | Episode: "The Suburban Review" |
| 1958 | The DuPont Show of the Month | Rod Carter | Episode: "The Red Mill" |
| 1959–1960 | The Jack Paar Tonight Show | Himself | 5 episodes |
| 1960 | Playhouse 90 | Arthur Millman | Episode: "Journey to the Day" |
| 1960 | What's My Line? | Himself | Episode: "Elaine May & Mike Nichols" |
| 1962 | President Kennedy's Birthday Salute | Himself | Television special |
| 1964–1965 | The Jack Paar Program | Himself (guest) | 6 episodes |
| 1976 | Family | | Producer Television series |
| 1986 | Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary Special | Himself (cameo) | Television special |
| 2001 | Wit | | Director, writer, and executive producer Television movie |
| 2003 | Angels in America | | Director and executive producer Miniseries, 6 episodes |

## Discography

* Improvisations to Music (1958) Mercury ASIN B000W0V9BW
* An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May (1960) Mercury ASIN B000W06CCS
* Mike Nichols & Elaine May Examine Doctors (1961) Mercury MG 20680/SR 60680 ASIN B000W0AGDY
* In Retrospect (1962) Polygram, compilation, re-released as compact disc in 1996 ASIN B000001EKT