   the sunshine boys is a play by neil simon that was produced on broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television. ==plot== the play focuses on aging al lewis and willie clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "lewis and clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate each other but never spoke to each other off-stage throughout the final year of their act. the stubborn clark, who was not ready for retirement, resented the wiser lewis for breaking up the act when he opted to leave show business. it is now 1972 and cbs is inviting the team to reunite for a special on the history of comedy, with the pair representing the vaudeville era at its best. clark is convinced by his nephew ben to revive one of the old routines one last time. much of the humor is derived from efforts to get the two cantankerous actors into the same room for a rehearsal, their differences of opinion once they reunite, and their shenanigans on the actual broadcast. neil simon was inspired by two venerable vaudeville teams. the longevity of "lewis and clark" was inspired by smith and dale who, unlike their theatrical counterparts, were inseparable lifelong friends. the undercurrent of backstage hostility between "lewis and clark" was inspired by the team of gallagher and shean, who were successful professionally but argumentative personally. alternate sources say this is based on weber and fields. ==theatre productions== the sunshine boys premiered on broadway at the broadhurst theatre on december 18, 1972, and transferred to the shubert theatre and then the lunt-fontanne theatre, closing on april 21, 1974 after 538 performances and two previews. produced by emanuel azenberg and directed by alan arkin, the original cast featured sam levene as lewis, jack albertson as clark, and lewis j. stadlen as ben.[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3160 the sun
1972_plays American_television_films Broadway_plays Plays_by_Neil_Simon Television_programs_based_on_plays