Award-winning director Mike Nichols passed away Wednesday evening of cardiac arrest. He was 83.
NIchols had the distinction of being winning an Emmy, Oscar, Tony, and Grammy award in his more than 50-year career.
During the 1960s, Nichols split his time directing film and Broadway productions. On the stage, he directed 'Barefoot in the Park,' which was later adapted into the film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, 'The Odd Couple,' 'The Apple Tree,' and 'The Little Foxes.' In 1966, Nichols directed the award-winning, critically-acclaimed 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' The movie, which starred Hollywood legends Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, received an Oscar nomination in every eligible category. It ultimately won five awards. Nichols, however, wouldn't win his Best Director award until the following year with 'The Graduate.' The movie starred Dustin Hoffman as a recent college graduate who is seduced by the now-legendary Mrs. Robinson (played by Anne Bancroft) and later falls in love with her daughter. The film was nominated in seven categories and Nichols was the only one who took home an award.
Nichols' productions in the 1970s included the films 'Catch-22,' 'Carnal Knowledge,' 'The Day of the Dolphin,' and 'The Fortune,' while he produced the 'Comedians' and the 1977 Broadway hit 'Annie.'
Nichols continued working with Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson in the 1980s on such films as the Oscar-nominated 'Silkwood' and 'Heartburn.' He directed two hits released in the same year (1988): 'Biloxi Blues' and 'Working Girl.' Meanwhile, his Broadway productions include 'Billy Bishop Goes to War,' 'The Real Thing,' and 'Hurlyburly.'
By the 1990s, Nichols had shifted much of his efforts to film where he directed memorable hits like 'Postcards from the Edge,' 'Regarding Henry,' the Jack Nicholson romantic-horror 'Wolf,' and 'Primary Colors.' His most successful film, however, was 1996's 'The Birdcage,' which featured Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in the lead roles. The 'La Cage aux Folles' remake received praise for going beyond gay stereotypes.
By the 2000s, Nichols expanded his work to include premium cable television. He directed two powerhouse hits for HBO Films: 'Wit' and 'Angels in America.' 2001's 'Wit' starred Emma Thompson as Vivian Bearing, an English Literature professor who is diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer. As Bearing undergoes intensive treatment and chemotherapy, she begins to put her life in perspective through flashbacks and ultimately breaking the fourth wall. The movie won several Emmy awards including Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.
Nichols followed 'Wit' with 2003's miniseries 'Angels in America.' The movie focused on the AIDS epidemic during the 1985 Reagan-era. The miniseries featured characters that were diagnosed and abandoned by their loved ones in a time period where fear and little information of the disease prevailed. 'Angels in America' became the most watched cable film of the year, and was nominated for a historic 21 Emmy nominations. It won 11 awards (ultimately breaking the record held by 1977's Roots (TV miniseries)) including Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Directing, and all major acting categories.
Nichols returned to the stage in 2005 with the original musical comedy 'Spamalot.' The production was based on Monty Python & the Holy Grail and earned three Tony Awards.
Nichols' most recent work was on two Oscar-nominated films, 2004's 'Closer' and 2007's 'Charlie Wilson's War,' as well as the Broadway revival of 'Death of a Salesman.'
Mike Nichols is survived by his wife of 26 years, ABC News' Diane Sawyer, three children, and four grandchildren.
