Neil Simon

Neil Simon
Photograph from 1966
Born	Marvin Neil Simon July 4, 1927 (1927-07-04) (age 84) The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Playwright, writer, academic
Nationality	American
Alma mater	New York University[1] University of Denver[1]
Spouse	Elaine Joyce (1999–present) Diane Lander (1990–1998) (1987–1988) Marsha Mason (1973–1981) Joan Baim (1953–1973)
Child(ren)	Ellen, Nancy, Bryn (adopted)
Information
Period	1961–2010
Genre	Comedy
Notable work(s)	Brighton Beach Memoirs Biloxi Blues
Magnum opus	Lost in Yonkers The Odd Couple
Awards	Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1991)

Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that were made into movies. He also has written the books for several musicals, including Sweet Charity.

Early years

Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City to Irving Simon, a garment salesman, and his wife Mamie. He was their second son and grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan during the Great Depression. His father often abandoned the family, causing financial and emotional difficulties. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School and graduated at the age of sixteen.^[2]

Early career

He attended New York University^[1]briefly from 1944 to 1945, where he was enlisted in the Army Air Force Reserve training program. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver^[1] from 1945 to 1946. He was a sports editor for the military magazine Rev-Meter.

During 1946, he was discharged as a corporal. 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 tutelage by radio humourist Goodman Ace when Ace ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. They wrote for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show and for the television series The Phil Silvers Show.

Their revues for Camp Tamiment in Pennsylvania during the early 1950s were noticed by Sid Caesar, who hired the duo for his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. Simon later incorporated some of their experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). His work won him two Emmy Award nominations and the appreciation of Phil Silvers, who hired him to write for Sergeant Bilko during 1959.^[3] The first Broadway show Simon wrote was Catch a Star! (1955), collaborating on sketches with his brother, Danny.^[4]

Writing career

During 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, began at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it played for 678 performances. Six weeks after its closing, his second production, the musical Little Me began 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.

During 1966 Simon had four shows playing in Broadway theaters 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 during 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 also original work, including The Out-of-Towners, Murder by Death and The Goodbye Girl. He has received four Academy Award nominations for his screenplays.

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.^[5] In 1983 Simon become the only living playwright to have a New York theatre named after him ^[6] The legitimate Broadway theater the Neil Simon Theatre, formerly the Alvin Theatre, was named in his honor, and he is an honorary member of the Walnut Street Theatre's board of trustees.

Themes and genres

Although primarily recognized for his comedies, Simon has experimented with other genres and themes. In the 1970s, he wrote several serious plays consisting of darker subject matter.^[4] Simon’s The Gingerbread Lady (1970), for example, explores self-destruction through the life of an alcoholic cabaret star.^[7] Typically, Simon validates traditional social norms in his comedies, but in The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) Simon critiques American norms.^[8] Simon continued to experiment in the early seventies with The Good Doctor (1973), a collection of sketches based on Chekov’s stories, and God’s Favorite (1974), based on the Book of Job.^[4] In 1992, Simon attempted a surreal stream-of-consciousness play, Jake’s Women. Simon’s popularity extends beyond his comedies to his autobiographical work. He wrote semi-autobiographical works, such as Chapter Two (1977), which concerns a widow’s second marriage.^[4] His most notable autobiographical works form the trilogy about his youth, which include Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985), and Broadway Bound (1986). In addition to his more serious works, Simon has written the books for musicals such as Sweet Charity (1967), Promises, Promises (1968), They’re Playing Our Song (1978), and I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980).^[4] He also wrote a farcical play, The Female Odd Couple (1985), which is the feminine version of the original.^[4]

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

1957 Emmy Award for Your Show of Shows 1959 Emmy Award for The Phil Silvers Show 1965 Tony Award for Best Author - The Odd Couple 1967 Evening Standard Award - Barefoot in the Park 1968 Sam S. Shubert Award - Sweet Charity 1969 Writers Guild of America Award The Odd Couple 1970 Writers Guild of America Award The Last of the Red Hot Lovers 1971 Writers Guild of America Award The Out-of-Towners 1972 Writers Guild of America Award The Trouble With People 1972 Cue Entertainer of the Year Award 1975 Special Tony Award for contribution to theatre 1975 Writers Guild of America Award The Goodbye Girl 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay - The Goodbye Girl 1979 Writers Guild of America Award Laurel Award

1981 Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University 1983 American Theatre Hall of Fame 1983 New York Drama Critics Circle Award - Brighton Beach Memoirs 1983 Outer Critics Circle Award - Brighton Beach Memoirs 1985 Tony Award for Best Play - Biloxi Blues 1986 New York State Governor's Award 1989 American Comedy Awards Lifetime Achievement 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 1996 Helmerich Award, the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award is presented annually by the Tulsa Library Trust. 1996 William Inge Theatre Festival Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

Work

Plays

Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Little Me (1962) Barefoot in the Park (1963) The Odd Couple (1965) Sweet Charity (1966) The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) Plaza Suite (1968) Promises, Promises (1968) The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) The Gingerbread Lady (1970) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971)

The Sunshine Boys (1972) The Good Doctor (1973) God's Favorite (1974) California Suite (1976) Chapter Two (1977) They're Playing Our Song (1979) I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) Fools (1981) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) Biloxi Blues (1985) The Female Odd Couple (1986) Broadway Bound (1986)

Rumors (1988) Lost in Yonkers (1991) Jake's Women (1992) The Goodbye Girl (1993) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) London Suite (1995) Proposals (1997) The Dinner Party (2000) 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) Rose's Dilemma (2003) Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2004)

Selected Filmography

• The Garry Moore Show (1950) (TV)
• Your Show of Shows (1950-1954) (TV)
• Caesar's Hour (1954-1957) (TV)
• Stanley (1956) (TV)
• The Phil Silvers Show (1958-1959) (TV)
• Kibbee Hates Twitch (1965) (TV)
• After the Fox (with Cesare Zavattini) (1966)
• Barefoot in the Park (1967)
• The Odd Couple (1968)
• Sweet Charity (1969)
• The Out-of-Towners (1970)
• Plaza Suite (1971)
• The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972)
• The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
• The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1972)
• The Sunshine Boys (1975)
• Murder by Death (1976)
• The Goodbye Girl (1977)
• The Cheap Detective (1978)
• California Suite (1978)
• The Good Doctor (1978) (TV)
• Chapter Two (1979)
• Seems Like Old Times (1980)
• Only When I Laugh (1981)
• I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
• Max Dugan Returns (1983)
• The Lonely Guy (1984)
• The Slugger's Wife (1985)
• Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)
• Plaza Suite (1987) (TV)
• Biloxi Blues (1988)
• The Marrying Man (1991)
• Lost in Yonkers (1993)
• The Sunshine Boys (1995) (TV)
• Jake's Women (1996) (TV)
• London Suite (1996) (TV)
• The Odd Couple II (1998)
• Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) (TV)
• The Goodbye Girl (2004) (TV)

Further reading

• Simon, Neil (1996). Neil Simon Rewrites: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-82672-0. 
• Simon, Neil (1999). Neil Simon The Play Goes On: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84691-8. 
• Konas, Gary (1997). Neil Simon: A Casebook. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. ISBN 3-9007-0429-5223-4. 

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "On this day: Neil Simon is born" The Jewish Chronicle Online, accessed October 25, 2011
2. ^ Kipen, David. "Flawed look at career of blacklisted director", San Francisco Chronicle, August 29, 2001. Accessed September 14, 2009. "The American 20th century went to high school at DeWitt Clinton High in the Bronx. Multicultural before there was a name for it -- at least a polite one --Clinton nurtured such diverse and influential figures as Bill Graham, James Baldwin, George Cukor, Neil Simon and Abraham Lincoln Polonsky."
3. ^ Ayling, Ronald (2003). Twentieth-Century American Dramatists: Fourth Series.. Detroit, Michigan: Gale. ISBN 978-0-7876-6010-9. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre. Eds. Phyllis Hartnoll and Peter Found. Oxford University Press, 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Web. York University. 18 October 2011."Simon, (Marvin) Neil"
5. ^ "Neil Simon Takes His Honorary LL.D with a Grain of Salt". The New York Times. Associated Press. 4 June 1984. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E15F83E5F0C778CDDAF0894DC484D81. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
6. ^ “Simon, Neil” The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance. Ed. Dennis Kennedy. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Web. York University. 18 Oct. 2011. http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t177.e3658
7. ^ Koprince, Susan. Understanding Neil Simon. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. 53-60. Print.
8. ^ Koprince, Susan. Understanding Neil Simon. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. 53-60. Print.

References

• The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre. Eds. Phyllis Hartnoll and Peter Found. Oxford University Press, 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Web. York University. 18 Oct. 2011. "Simon, (Marvin) Neil".
• Koprince, Susan. Understanding Neil Simon. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. 53-60. Print.
• The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance. Ed. Dennis Kennedy. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Web. York University. 18 Oct. 2011. http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t177.e3658 “Simon, Neil”.

External links

• Neil Simon at the Internet Movie Database
• Neil Simon at the Internet Broadway Database
• Neil Simon at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Neil Simon at the Open Directory Project
• Neil Simon Theatre Festival
• PBS article, American Masters
• James Lipton (Winter 1992). "Neil Simon, The Art of Theater No. 10". The Paris Review. http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1994/the-art-of-theater-no-10-neil-simon. 

Persondata
Name	Simon, Neil
Alternative names	Simon, Marvin Neil
Short description	Playwright, writer, academic
Date of birth	July 4, 1927
Place of birth	The Bronx, New York City, USA
Date of death
Place of death