Jump to content

Neil Simon: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
[pending revision][pending revision]
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 26: Line 26:
==Biography==
==Biography==
===Early years===
===Early years===
Simon was born in [[The Bronx]], [[New York City]] to Irving and Mamie Simon where he attended [[DeWitt Clinton High School]]. He briefly attended [[New York University]] from 1944 to 1945 and the [[University of Denver]] from 1945 to 1946. Two years later, he quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the [[Warner Brothers]] offices in [[New York City|Manhattan]] to write radio and television scripts with his brother [[Danny Simon]], including a tutelage under radio humourist [[Goodman Ace]] when Ace ran a short-lived writing workshop for [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]]. Their revues for [[Camp Tamiment]] in [[Pennsylvania]] in the early 1950s caught the attention of [[Sid Caesar]], who hired the duo for his popular TV comedy series ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''. Simon later incorporated their experiences into his play ''[[Laughter on the 23rd Floor]]''. His work won him two [[Emmy Award]] nominations and the appreciation of [[Phil Silvers]], who hired him to write for ''[[The Phil Silvers Show|Sergeant Bilko]]'' in 1959.
Simon was born in [[The Bronx]], [[New York City]] to Irving and Mamie Simon where he attended [[DeWitt Clinton High School]]. He briefly attended [[New York University]] from 1944 to 1945 and the [[University of Denver]] from 1945 to 1946. Two years later, he quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the [[Warner Brothers]] offices in [[New York City|Manhattan]] to write radio and television scripts with his brother [[Danny Simon]], including a tutelage under radio humourist [[Goodman Ace]] when Ace ran a short-lived writing workshop for [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]]. Their revues for [[Camp Tamiment]] in [[Pennsylvania]] in the early 1950s caught the attention of [[Sid Caesar]], who hired the duo for his popular TV comedy series ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''. Simon later ( avenged sevenfold ) incorporated their experiences into his play ''[[Laughter on the 23rd Floor]]''. His work won him two [[Emmy Award]] nominations and the appreciation of [[Phil Silvers]], who hired him to write for ''[[The Phil Silvers Show|Sergeant Bilko]]'' in 1959.


===Career===
===Career===

Revision as of 15:29, 24 August 2009

Neil Simon
photograph from 1966
photograph from 1966
OccupationPlaywright, writer, academic
NationalityUnited States
Alma materNew York University
University of Denver
Period1960s-present
Notable worksBrighton Beach Memoirs
Biloxi Blues
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for Drama (1991)
SpouseElaine Joyce (1999-present)
Diane Lander (1990-1998)
Marsha Mason (1973-1981)
Joan Baim (1953-1973)

Marvin Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927) is an American playwright and screenwriter. His numerous Broadway succcesses have led to his work being among the most regularly performed in the world. Though primarily a comic writer, some of his plays, particularly the Eugene Trilogy and The Sunshine Boys, reflect on the twentieth century Jewish-American experience.

Biography

Early years

Simon was born in The Bronx, New York City to Irving and Mamie Simon where he attended DeWitt Clinton High School. He briefly attended New York University from 1944 to 1945 and the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Two years later, he quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, including a tutelage under radio humourist Goodman Ace when Ace ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. Their revues for Camp Tamiment in Pennsylvania in the early 1950s caught the attention of Sid Caesar, who hired the duo for his popular TV comedy series Your Show of Shows. Simon later ( avenged sevenfold ) incorporated their experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor. His work won him two Emmy Award nominations and the appreciation of Phil Silvers, who hired him to write for Sergeant Bilko in 1959.

Career

In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 678 performances. Six weeks after its closing, his second production, the musical Little Me opened to mixed reviews. Although it failed to attract a large audience, it earned Simon his first Tony Award nomination. Overall, he has garnered seventeen Tony nominations and won three. He also won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Lost In Yonkers.

In 1966 Simon had four shows running on Broadway at the same time: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple, and Barefoot in the Park. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys in 1972 and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others.

Simon also has written screenplays for more than twenty films. These include adaptations of his own plays and original work too, including The Out-of-Towners, Murder by Death and The Goodbye Girl. He has received four Best Screenplay Academy Award nominations.

Simon has been conferred with two honoris causa degrees; a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University and a Doctor of Laws from Williams College.[1] He is the namesake of the legitimate Broadway theater the Neil Simon Theatre, formerly the Alvin Theatre, and an honorary member of the Walnut Street Theatre's board of trustees.

Personal life

Simon has been married five times, to dancer Joan Baim (1953-1973), actress Marsha Mason (1973-1981), twice to Diane Lander (1987-1988 and 1990-1998), and currently actress Elaine Joyce. He is the father of Nancy and Ellen, from his first marriage, and Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship whom he adopted.

Awards

Template:Multicol

  • 1965 Tony Award for Best Author - The Odd Couple
  • 1967 Evening Standard Award - Barefoot in the Park
  • 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay - The Goodbye Girl
  • 1985 Tony Award for Best Play - Biloxi Blues
  • 1989 American Comedy Awards Lifetime Achievement

Template:Multicol-break

  • 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play - Lost in Yonkers
  • 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama - Lost in Yonkers
  • 1991 Tony Award for Best Play - Lost in Yonkers
  • 1995 Kennedy Center Honoree
  • 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

Template:Multicol-end

Work

Plays

Template:Multicol

Template:Multicol-break

Template:Multicol-break

Template:Multicol-end

Screenplays

References

  1. ^ The Associated Press (4 June 1984). "Neil Simon Takes His Honorary LL.D with a Grain of Salt". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-14.

Further Reading

  • Simon, Neil (1996). Neil Simon Rewrites: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-82672-0.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Neil Simon.


Template:Persondata {{subst:#if:Simon, Neil|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1927}} 

|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1927 births

}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}} 

|| LIVING  = 
| MISSING  = 
| UNKNOWN  = 
| #default =

}}

Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Neil_Simon&oldid=309797428"