I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Nichols and his wife, Ms. Sawyer. They were both very nice. I love "The Graduate" (my progressive father had me watching it when I was about nine.) I will probably watch tonight in his honor.
RIP, Mr. Nichols-truly one of the most gifted, multifaceted talents we've seen.
I don't know where to begin--his work has meant so much to me.
His films alone--'Virginia Woolf','The Graduate','Catch-22' (which I would have thought was not film-able), 'Birdcage', 'Working Girl', 'Heartburn', 'Charlie Wilson', 'Postcards'--are fundamental to me. My life would be diminished without any one of them--to think he was the man behind ALL of them is just...staggering.
Rest in Peace.
You think, what do you want?
You think, make a decision...
What a incredible man and director. Charlie Wilson's War and the Graduate are two of my favorite films, and his direction in Death of a Salesmen was absolutely brilliant.
The man was a magnificent film director, sure, but since this is a Broadway board, I didn't want folks to forget what astonishing nights of theater he provided us as well--
Barefoot in the Park The Odd Couple The Apple Tree Streamers Annie (as an incredibly hands on producer) The Gin Game The Real Thing Hurlyburly Spamalot (a show I hated, but for which I can appreciate his artistry nonetheless)
and most memorably for me, the Philip Seymour Hoffman revival of DEATH OF A SALESMAN that paid the ultimate tribute to Nichols' idol, Elia Kazan.
This clip still makes me so happy. And part of the joy of seeing it is to watch Nichols laugh. He loved and believed in smart, powerful, and often very funny women.
Playbill posted a lovely album of Nichols today. The picture of him with Nora Ephron and Elaine Stritch made me think of just how much we've lost in the past few years.
Mike Nichols helped shape modern entertainment. He helped us get here. His loss is almost as big as his as contributions.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman's death deeply affected me, simply because he was monumentally talented and young. Nichols' death has, too, but at least he had a rich, full life and career, and we all should be grateful for that. Just finished watching THE GRADUATE in tribute. What a film. What a director...
"An inspiration and joy to know, a director who cried when he laughed, a friend without whom, well, we can't imagine our world, an indelible irreplaceable man."