It is with exceptional sadness we report that one of our greatest storytellers has passed away. Mike Nichols, the German-born director of The Graduate and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, has died at the age of 83 after suffering cardiac arrest. ABC first reported the news early this morning, with a statement from ABCS News President James Goldston, saying, ““He was a true visionary, winning the highest honors in the arts for his work as a director, writer, producer and comic and was one of a tiny few to win the EGOT-an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony in his lifetime. No one was more passionate about his craft than Mike.”
Indeed, Nichols had one of the most consistent careers in the field of entertainment. His early days of comedic performance with Elaine May led to his stage productions of Barefoot In The Park, The Odd Couple, and more, which gave way to his first theatrical feature in 1966, an Ernest Lehman adaptation of the Edward Albee play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which remains one of the finest directorial debuts in cinema.
Following that was the landmark drama The Graduate, which served as a break-out for Dustin Hoffman. What would follow of the next forty years would be a string of acclaimed dramas, including Carnal Knowledge, Working Girl, The Birdcage (which also provided one of the late Robin Williams‘ best performances), Angels in America, Closer, and lastly, Charlie Wilson’s War in 2007.
As of last year, he was planning, perhaps fittingly, to return to films with an adaptation of One Last Thing Before I Go, but it never came to fruition. His final works will be how he began, on the stage, with last year’s Betrayal starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, and 2012’s Death of a Salesman for which he won his eighth Tony.
As we remember the dramatic and comedic talents of Nichols, watch his early work, extended interviews and more below: