Difference between revisions of "Neil Simon" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox Writer
 
{{Infobox Writer
 
| name          = Neil Simon
 
| name          = Neil Simon
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| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2018|8|26|1927|7|4}}
 
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2018|8|26|1927|7|4}}
 
| death_place  = New York City, U.S.
 
| death_place  = New York City, U.S.
| alma_mater    = [[New York University]]<ref name="Chronicle" /><br />[[University of Denver]]<ref name="Chronicle" />
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| alma_mater    = [[New York University]]<br />[[University of Denver]]
 
| occupation    = Playwright, screenwriter, author
 
| occupation    = Playwright, screenwriter, author
 
| spouse        = {{marriage|Joan Baim<br />|1953|1973|end=died}}<br />{{marriage|[[Marsha Mason]]<br />|1973|1983|end=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Diane Lander<br />|1987|1988|end=divorced}}<br />(m. 1990; div. 1998)<br />{{marriage|[[Elaine Joyce]]<br />|1999|2018|end=his death}}
 
| spouse        = {{marriage|Joan Baim<br />|1953|1973|end=died}}<br />{{marriage|[[Marsha Mason]]<br />|1973|1983|end=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Diane Lander<br />|1987|1988|end=divorced}}<br />(m. 1990; div. 1998)<br />{{marriage|[[Elaine Joyce]]<br />|1999|2018|end=his death}}
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'''Marvin Neil Simon''' (July 4, 1927&nbsp;– August 26, 2018) was an American [[playwright]], [[screenwriter]] and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He received more combined [[Academy Award|Oscar]] and [[Tony Award|Tony]] nominations than any other writer.<ref name="pbs" />
 
'''Marvin Neil Simon''' (July 4, 1927&nbsp;– August 26, 2018) was an American [[playwright]], [[screenwriter]] and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He received more combined [[Academy Award|Oscar]] and [[Tony Award|Tony]] nominations than any other writer.<ref name="pbs" />
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Simon grew up in [[New York City]] during the [[Great Depression]], with his parents' financial hardships affecting their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters where he enjoyed watching the early comedians like [[Charlie Chaplin]]. Appreciating the value of [[humor]], Simon decided on a career writing [[comedy]]. He skillfully took relatable characters in everyday real life situations, complete with their tragedies and absurdities, and made people laugh.
  
Simon grew up in [[New York City]] during the [[Great Depression]], with his parents' financial hardships affecting their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters where he enjoyed watching the early comedians like [[Charlie Chaplin]]. After a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, and after graduating from high school, he began writing comedy scripts for radio and some popular early television shows. Among them were [[Sid Caesar]]'s ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' from 1950 (where he worked alongside other young writers including [[Carl Reiner]], [[Mel Brooks]] and [[Selma Diamond]]), and ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'', which ran from 1955 to 1959.
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His Broadway plays ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]'' (1963) and ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'' (1965), for which he won a [[Tony Award]] made him a national celebrity. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three. During one season, he had four successful plays running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the [[Neil Simon Theatre]], named in his honor.
  
He began writing his own plays beginning with ''[[Come Blow Your Horn]]'' (1961), which took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. It was followed by two more successful plays, ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]'' (1963) and ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'' (1965), for which he won a [[Tony Award]]. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway."<ref name="Koprince" /> During the 1960s to 1980s, he wrote both original screenplays and stage plays, with some films actually based on his plays. His style ranged from romantic comedy to farce to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three. During one season, he had four successful plays running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the [[Neil Simon Theatre]], named in his honor.
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An important feature of Simon's writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding [[monogamy|monogamous]] [[marriage]], which he regarded as necessary to give stability to society. Perhaps because of his own life experience, including his parents' troubled marriage and his own marriages, in Simon's plays infidelity rarely, if ever, brought happiness to his characters.
  
== Early years ==
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== Life ==
Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in [[The Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]], to [[Jews|Jewish]] parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/theater-and-dance/19232/neil-simon-unbound |title=Neil Simon Unbound&nbsp;— Tablet Magazine – Jewish News and Politics, Jewish Arts and Culture, Jewish Life and Religion |publisher=Tabletmag.com |date= |access-date=May 15, 2017}}</ref> Simon had one older brother by eight years, television writer and comedy teacher [[Danny Simon]]. He grew up in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan|Washington Heights]], Manhattan, during the period of the Great Depression, graduating from [[DeWitt Clinton High School]] when he was sixteen, where he was nicknamed "Doc" and described as extremely shy in the school yearbook.<ref name="Konas">Gary Konas, (ed.), ''Neil Simon: A Casebook'' (Routledge, 1997, ISBN 978-0815321323)</ref>
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Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in [[The Bronx]], [[New York (state)|New York]], to [[Jews|Jewish]] parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker.<ref>Samuel G. Freedman, [http://tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/theater-and-dance/19232/neil-simon-unbound Neil Simon Unbound] ''Tablet'', October 27, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref> Simon had one brother, who was eight years older, television writer and comedy teacher [[Danny Simon]]. His family lived in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan|Washington Heights]], Manhattan, during the period of the [[Great Depression]]. Simon graduated from [[DeWitt Clinton High School]] when he was sixteen, where he was nicknamed "Doc" and described as extremely shy in the school yearbook.<ref name="Konas">Gary Konas, (ed.), ''Neil Simon: A Casebook'' (Routledge, 1997, ISBN 978-0815321323)</ref>
  
Simon's childhood was difficult and mostly unhappy due to his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and financial hardship caused by the Depression.<ref name="Koprince">Susan Koprince, ''Understanding Neil Simon'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1570034268).</ref> He would sometimes block out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears at night.<ref name="Playboy">Grobel, Lawrence. "Playboy Interview with Neil Simon", ''Playboy Magazine'', Feb. 1977</ref> His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional hardship. As a result, Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives, or else their parents took in boarders for some income.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|2}}
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Simon's childhood was difficult and mostly unhappy due to his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and financial hardship caused by the Depression.<ref name="Koprince">Susan Koprince, ''Understanding Neil Simon'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1570034268).</ref> He would sometimes block out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears at night.<ref name="Playboy">Lawrence Grobel, "Playboy Interview with Neil Simon", ''Playboy Magazine'', February, 1979.</ref> His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional hardship. As a result, Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives, or else their parents took in boarders for some income.<ref name="Koprince" />
  
During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon admitted, "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them&nbsp;... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him."<ref name="Grobel">Lawrence Grobel, ''Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives'' (Da Capo Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0306810046).</ref> Among the reasons Simon became a writer was to fulfill his need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow&nbsp;... It made me strong as an independent person.<ref name="Grobel" />{{rp|378}}
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During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon admitted, "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them&nbsp;... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him."<ref name="Grobel">Lawrence Grobel, ''Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives'' (Da Capo Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0306810046).</ref> Among the reasons Simon became a writer was to fulfill his need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow&nbsp;... It made me strong as an independent person.<ref name="Grobel" />
  
 
To escape difficulties at home he often took refuge in movie theaters, where he especially enjoyed comedies with silent stars like [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Buster Keaton]], and [[Laurel and Hardy]]. Simon appreciated Chaplin's ability to make people laugh and made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor."<ref name="Grobel" /> Simon recalls, "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud" and acknowledged that these childhood movies inspired him to write comedy: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out."<ref name="Johnson">Robert K. Johnson, ''Neil Simon'' (Twayne Pub, 1983, ISBN 978-0805773873).</ref>  
 
To escape difficulties at home he often took refuge in movie theaters, where he especially enjoyed comedies with silent stars like [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Buster Keaton]], and [[Laurel and Hardy]]. Simon appreciated Chaplin's ability to make people laugh and made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor."<ref name="Grobel" /> Simon recalls, "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud" and acknowledged that these childhood movies inspired him to write comedy: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out."<ref name="Johnson">Robert K. Johnson, ''Neil Simon'' (Twayne Pub, 1983, ISBN 978-0805773873).</ref>  
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<blockquote>I think part of what made me a comedy writer is the blocking out of some of the really ugly, painful things in my childhood and covering it up with a humorous attitude&nbsp;... do something to laugh until I was able to forget what was hurting.<ref name="Koprince" /></blockquote>
 
<blockquote>I think part of what made me a comedy writer is the blocking out of some of the really ugly, painful things in my childhood and covering it up with a humorous attitude&nbsp;... do something to laugh until I was able to forget what was hurting.<ref name="Koprince" /></blockquote>
  
He began creating comedy for which he got paid while still in high school, when at the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. And to help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as [[Mark Twain]], [[Robert Benchley]], [[George S. Kaufman]] and [[S. J. Perelman]].<ref name="Konas" />
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He began getting paid for writing comedy while still in high school, when at the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as [[Mark Twain]], [[Robert Benchley]], [[George S. Kaufman]] and [[S. J. Perelman]].<ref name="Konas" />
  
Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Force Reserve]] at [[New York University]], and was eventually sent to [[Colorado]] as a corporal. It was during those years in the Reserve that Simon began writing, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to [[Lowry Air Force Base]] during 1945 and attended the [[University of Denver]]<ref name="Chronicle" /> from 1945 to 1946.<ref name="Chronicle">{{cite web |url=http://www.thejc.com/news/on-day/51085/on-day-neil-simon-born |title=On this day: Neil Simon is born |first=Deborah|last=Weltzmann|date=July 4, 2011|website=The Jewish Chronicle | access-date= August 29, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Koprince" />
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Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Force Reserve]] at [[New York University]], and was eventually sent to [[Colorado]] as a corporal. It was during those years in the Reserve that Simon began writing professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to [[Lowry Air Force Base]] during 1945 and attended the [[University of Denver]] from 1945 to 1946.<ref name="Chronicle">Deborah Weitzmann, [http://www.thejc.com/news/on-day/51085/on-day-neil-simon-born On this day: Neil Simon is born] ''The Jewish Chronicle'', July 4, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref>
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Simon was married five times. His first marriage was in 1953 to dancer Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer. They had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen. Joan died of bone [[cancer]] in 1973, aged 41. That same year Simon married actress [[Marsha Mason]]. The marriage lasted ten years, and three of her four [[Oscar]]-nominated roles were in films written by Simon. His third wife was actress Diane Lander, to whom he was married twice (1987–1988 and 1990–1998). He adopted her daughter, Bryn, from a previous relationship. Finally, he married actress [[Elaine Joyce]] in 1999, and this marriage lasted until his death in 2018.
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In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2004/mar/04/news/wk-quick4.4 Neil Simon's pal gives him kidney] ''Reuters'', March 4, 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref> He also suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>Daniel Kreps, [https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/neil-simon-pulitzer-prize-winning-playwright-dead-at-91-715939/ Neil Simon, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright, Dead at 91] ''Rolling Stone'', August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref>
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Neil Simon died on August 26, 2018, aged 91, of complications from [[pneumonia]] after being on life support while hospitalized for [[renal failure]].<ref>Charles Isherwood, [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/obituaries/neil-simon-dead.html Neil Simon, Broadway Master of Comedy, Is Dead at 91] ''The New York Times'', August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref>
  
 
== Writing career ==
 
== Writing career ==
 
=== Television comedy ===
 
=== Television comedy ===
 
[[File:Neil Simon NYWTS.jpg|thumb|Simon in 1966]]
 
[[File:Neil Simon NYWTS.jpg|thumb|Simon in 1966]]
Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]] offices in [[Manhattan]] to write radio and television scripts with his brother [[Danny Simon]], including tutelage by radio humorist [[Goodman Ace]] when Ace ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. They wrote for the radio series ''The [[Robert Q. Lewis]] Show'', which led to other writing jobs. [[Max Liebman]] hired the duo for his popular television comedy series ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'', for which he earned two [[Emmy Award]] nominations. He later wrote scripts for ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]''; the episodes were broadcast during 1958 and 1959.
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Simon began writing radio and television scripts with his brother [[Danny Simon]], tutored by radio humorist [[Goodman Ace]] who ran a short-lived writing workshop for [[CBS]]. The Simon brothers wrote for the radio series ''The [[Robert Q. Lewis]] Show'', which led to other writing jobs. [[Max Liebman]] hired the duo for his popular television comedy series ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''. He later wrote scripts for ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]''; the episodes were broadcast during 1958 and 1959.
  
Simon credited these two latter writing jobs for their importance to his career, having stated that "between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience."<ref name="Grobel" /> He added, "I knew when I walked into ''Your Show of Shows'', that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together."<ref name="pbs">[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/neil-simon/about-neil-simon/704/ "About Neil Simon"], "American Masters", PBS, November 3, 2000.</ref> Simon described a typical writing session with the show:
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Simon credited these two latter writing jobs for their importance to his career: "between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience."<ref name="Grobel" /> He added, "I knew when I walked into ''Your Show of Shows'', that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together."<ref name="pbs">[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/neil-simon/about-neil-simon/704/ "About Neil Simon"], "American Masters", PBS, November 3, 2000. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref> Simon described a typical writing session with the show:
 
<blockquote>There were about seven writers, plus Sid, Carl Reiner, and Howie Morris&nbsp;... Mel Brooks and maybe Woody Allen would write one of the other sketches&nbsp;... everyone would pitch in and rewrite, so we all had a part of it&nbsp;... It was probably the most enjoyable time I ever had in writing with other people.<ref name="Grobel" /></blockquote>
 
<blockquote>There were about seven writers, plus Sid, Carl Reiner, and Howie Morris&nbsp;... Mel Brooks and maybe Woody Allen would write one of the other sketches&nbsp;... everyone would pitch in and rewrite, so we all had a part of it&nbsp;... It was probably the most enjoyable time I ever had in writing with other people.<ref name="Grobel" /></blockquote>
  
Simon incorporated some of their experiences into his play ''[[Laughter on the 23rd Floor]]'' (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. The first Broadway show Simon wrote for was ''Catch a Star!'' (1955), collaborating on sketches with his brother, Danny.<ref>Phyllis Hartnoll and Peter Found (eds.), ''The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre'' (Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0192825742).</ref><ref>Christopher J. Wheatley, (ed.), ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Fourth Series'' (Gale Research Inc., 2002, ISBN 978-0787660109).</ref>
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Simon incorporated some of their experiences into his play ''[[Laughter on the 23rd Floor]]'' (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two [[Emmy Award]] nominations. The first Broadway show Simon wrote for was ''Catch a Star!'' (1955), collaborating on sketches with his brother, Danny.<ref>Phyllis Hartnoll and Peter Found (eds.), ''The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre'' (Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0192825742).</ref><ref>Christopher J. Wheatley, (ed.), ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Fourth Series'' (Gale Research Inc., 2002, ISBN 978-0787660109).</ref>
  
 
=== Playwright ===
 
=== Playwright ===
During 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, ''[[Come Blow Your Horn]]'', ran for 678 performances at the [[Brooks Atkinson Theatre]]. Simon took three years to write that first play, partly because he was also working on writing television scripts. He rewrote the play at least twenty times from beginning to end:<ref name="Grobel" />{{rp|384}} "It was the lack of belief in myself. I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.'&nbsp;... It was the equivalent of three years of college."<ref name="Grobel" />{{rp|384}} That play, besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other."<ref name="McGovern">McGovern, Edythe M. ''Neil Simon: A Critical Study'', Ungar Publishing (1979)</ref>{{rp|3}}
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During 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, ''[[Come Blow Your Horn]]'', ran for 678 performances at the [[Brooks Atkinson Theatre]]. Simon took three years to write that first play, partly because he was also working on writing television scripts. He rewrote the play at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself. I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.'&nbsp;... It was the equivalent of three years of college."<ref name="Grobel" /> That play, besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other."<ref name="McGovern">Edythe M. McGovern, ''Neil Simon: A Critical Study'' (Ungar Publishing, 1979, ISBN 978-0804425674).</ref>
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[[File:Neil Simon - Coleman - 1982.jpg|thumb|With [[Cy Coleman]] at piano rehearsing, 1982]]
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After ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]'' (1963) and ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'' (1965), for which he won a [[Tony Award]], Simon became a national celebrity and was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway."<ref name="Koprince" /> Those successful productions were followed by many others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing at Broadway theatres simultaneously: ''[[Sweet Charity]]'',<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/sweet-charity-palace-theatre-vault-0000009184 Sweet Charity Playbill] Palace Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018. </ref> ''[[The Star-Spangled Girl]]'',<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/the-star-spangled-girl-plymouth-theatre-vault-0000009598 The Star-Spangled Girl Playbill] Plymouth Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref> ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'',<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/the-odd-couple-plymouth-theatre-vault-0000009599 The Odd Couple Playbill] Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref> and ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]''.<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/barefoot-in-the-park-biltmore-theatre-vault-0000001555 Barefoot in the Park Playbill] Biltmore Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018.</ref>
  
[[File:Neil Simon - Coleman - 1982.jpg|thumb|With [[Cy Coleman]] at piano rehearsing, 1982]]After ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]'' (1963) and ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'' (1965), for which he won a [[Tony Award]], he became a national celebrity and was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", writes Susan Koprince in her book on Simon.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|3}} Those successful productions were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing at Broadway theatres simultaneously: ''[[Sweet Charity]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/sweet-charity-palace-theatre-vault-0000009184|title=Sweet Charity Broadway @ Palace Theatre - Tickets and Discounts {{!}} Playbill|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=August 31, 2018}}</ref> ''[[The Star-Spangled Girl]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/the-star-spangled-girl-plymouth-theatre-vault-0000009598|title=The Star-Spangled Girl Broadway|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=August 31, 2018}}</ref> ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/the-odd-couple-plymouth-theatre-vault-0000009599|title=The Odd Couple Broadway|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=August 31, 2018}}</ref> and ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/barefoot-in-the-park-biltmore-theatre-vault-0000001555|title=Barefoot in the Park Broadway|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=August 31, 2018}}</ref> His professional association with producer [[Emanuel Azenberg]] began with ''[[The Sunshine Boys]]'' and continued with ''[[The Good Doctor (play)|The Good Doctor]]'', ''[[God's Favorite]]'', ''[[Chapter Two (play)|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 (musical)|The Goodbye Girl]]'' and ''[[Laughter on the 23rd Floor]]'', among others.<ref name="1997casebook" /> His subjects ranged from serious to romantic comedy to more serious drama and less humor. Overall, he garnered seventeen Tony nominations and won three.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/08/27/in-defense-of-neil-simon-revisit-a-voice-critics-appreciation-of-the-late-new-york-playwright/|title=‘In Defense of Neil Simon’: Revisit a Voice Critic’s Appreciation of the Late New York Playwright|access-date=2018-08-31}}</ref>
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His professional association with producer [[Emanuel Azenberg]] began with ''[[The Sunshine Boys]]'' and continued with ''[[The Good Doctor (play)|The Good Doctor]]'', ''[[God's Favorite]]'', ''[[Chapter Two (play)|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 (musical)|The Goodbye Girl]]'' and ''[[Laughter on the 23rd Floor]]'', among others.<ref name="Konas"/> His subjects ranged from serious to romantic comedy to more serious drama. Overall, he garnered seventeen Tony nominations and won three.<ref>[https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/08/27/in-defense-of-neil-simon-revisit-a-voice-critics-appreciation-of-the-late-new-york-playwright/ ‘In Defense of Neil Simon’: Revisit a Voice Critic’s Appreciation of the Late New York Playwright] ''Village Voice'', August 27, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
  
Simon also adapted material written by others for his plays, such as the musical ''[[Little Me (musical)|Little Me]]'' (1962) from [[Little Me (novel)|the novel by Patrick Dennis]], ''[[Sweet Charity]]'' (1966) from a screenplay by [[Federico Fellini]] and others (for ''[[Nights of Cabiria]]'', 1957), and ''[[Promises, Promises (musical)|Promises, Promises]]'' (1968) from a film by [[Billy Wilder]], ''[[The Apartment]]''. Simon was occasionally brought in as an uncredited "script doctor" to help hone the book for Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development<ref>Riedel, Michael (April 9, 2010) [http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/simon_keeps_promises_1huvmUvGou8iJAWMeCTx0O Simon keeps 'Promises']. New York Post.</ref> such as ''[[A Chorus Line]]'' (1975).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131111172204/http://www.berkshiretheatregroup.org/multimedia/btg-blog/69-btg-blog/276-a-chorus-line-the-story-behind-the-show.html A Chorus Line: The Story Behind the Show]. BerkshireTheatreGroup.org (July 5, 2012).</ref> During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays, sometimes having more than one playing at the same time to standing room only audiences. And while he was by then recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing:
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Simon also adapted material written by others for his plays, such as the musical ''[[Little Me (musical)|Little Me]]'' (1962) from the novel by [[Patrick Dennis]], ''[[Sweet Charity]]'' (1966) from a screenplay by [[Federico Fellini]] and others (for ''[[Nights of Cabiria]]'', 1957), and ''[[Promises, Promises (musical)|Promises, Promises]]'' (1968) from a film by [[Billy Wilder]], ''[[The Apartment]]''. Simon was occasionally brought in as an uncredited "script doctor" to help hone the book for Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development<ref>Michael Riedel, [http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/simon_keeps_promises_1huvmUvGou8iJAWMeCTx0O Simon keeps 'Promises'] ''New York Post'', April 9, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2018. </ref> such as ''[[A Chorus Line]]'' (1975).<ref>Colleen Hughes, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131111172204/http://www.berkshiretheatregroup.org/multimedia/btg-blog/69-btg-blog/276-a-chorus-line-the-story-behind-the-show.html A Chorus Line: The Story Behind the Show] ''Berkshire Theatre Group'', July 5, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref> During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays, sometimes having more than one playing at the same time to standing room only audiences. By then he was recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, but his inner drive kept him writing:
{{Quote | style=font-size: 100%; | text=Did I relax and watch my boyhood ambitions being fulfilled before my eyes? Not if you were born in the Bronx, in the Depression and Jewish, you don't.<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|47}}}}
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<blockquote>Did I relax and watch my boyhood ambitions being fulfilled before my eyes? Not if you were born in the Bronx, in the Depression and Jewish, you don't.<ref name="Konas" /></blockquote>
  
Simon also drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories, with settings typically in working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]'' (1983), ''[[Biloxi Blues]]'' (1985) and ''[[Broadway Bound]]'' (1986). With them, he received his greatest critical acclaim. After his follow-up play, ''[[Lost in Yonkers]]'' (1991), Simon was awarded a [[Pulitzer Prize]].<ref name="pbs" />
+
Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories, with settings typically in working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]'' (1983), ''[[Biloxi Blues]]'' (1985) and ''[[Broadway Bound]]'' (1986). With them, he received his greatest critical acclaim. After his follow-up play, ''[[Lost in Yonkers]]'' (1991), Simon was awarded a [[Pulitzer Prize]].<ref name="pbs" />
  
 
=== Screenwriter ===
 
=== Screenwriter ===
Simon also wrote screenplays for more than twenty films, and he received four [[Academy Award]] nominations for his screenplays. Some of his screenplays are adaptations of his own plays, along with some original work, including ''[[The Out-of-Towners (1970 film)|The Out-of-Towners]]'', ''[[Murder by Death]]'' and ''[[The Goodbye Girl]]''. Although most of his films were successful, movies were always secondary in importance to him to his plays:<ref name="Grobel" />{{rp|372}}
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Simon also wrote screenplays for more than twenty films, for which he received four [[Academy Award]] nominations. Some of his screenplays are adaptations of his own plays, along with some original work, including ''[[The Out-of-Towners (1970 film)|The Out-of-Towners]]'', ''[[Murder by Death]]'', and ''[[The Goodbye Girl]]''. Although most of his films were successful, for Simon movies were always secondary in importance to his plays:
 +
<blockquote>I always feel more like a writer when I'm writing a play, because of the tradition of the theater&nbsp;... there is no tradition of the screenwriter, unless he is also the director, which makes him an ''auteur''. So I really feel that I'm writing for posterity with plays, which have been around since the Greek times.<ref name="Grobel" /></blockquote>
  
{{Quote | style=font-size: 100%; | text=I always feel more like a writer when I'm writing a play, because of the tradition of the theater&nbsp;... there is no tradition of the screenwriter, unless he is also the director, which makes him an ''[[auteur]]''. So I really feel that I'm writing for posterity with plays, which have been around since the Greek times.<ref name="Grobel" />{{rp|375}}}}
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Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, ''[[Come Blow Your Horn (film)|Come Blow Your Horn]]'' (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the film, and tried to control his film screenplays thereafter. Many of his earlier screenplays were similar to the play, a characteristic Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then ... I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater&nbsp;... The plays never became cinematic."<ref name="Koprince" /> ''[[The Odd Couple (film)|The Odd Couple]]'' (1968), however, was a highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, having more scenic variety.<ref>Ralph McLean, [http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2018/08/31/news/cult-movie-neil-simon-s-classic-comedy-the-odd-couple-1418601/ Cult Movie: Neil Simon's classic comedy The Odd Couple] ''The Irish News'', August 31, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
 
 
Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, ''[[Come Blow Your Horn (film)|Come Blow Your Horn]]'' (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the film, and tried to control his film screenplays thereafter. Many of his earlier screenplays were similar to the play, a characteristic Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then", he explains. "I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater&nbsp;... The plays never became cinematic".<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|153}} ''[[The Odd Couple (film)|The Odd Couple]]'' (1968), however, was a highly successful early adaptation, both faithful to the stage play, but also opened out, having more scenic variety.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2018/08/31/news/cult-movie-neil-simon-s-classic-comedy-the-odd-couple-1418601/|title=Cult Movie: Neil Simon's classic comedy The Odd Couple|last=McLean|first=Ralph|website=The Irish News|language=en|access-date=2018-08-31}}</ref>
 
  
 
== Themes and genres ==
 
== Themes and genres ==
Theater critic [[John Lahr]] describes Simon's primary theme as being about "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are also portrayed as "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with, often having difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging".<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|5}} There is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", writes biographer Edythe McGovern, while still making people laugh.<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|11}}
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Simon's characters are portrayed as "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with, often having difficult relationships in marriage, friendship, or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging." Theater critic [[John Lahr]] described his primary theme as being about "the silent majority," many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure."<ref name="Koprince" />  
 
 
She adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings,"<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|188}} an opinion similar to that of author Alan Cooper, who states that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts&nbsp;..."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|46}}
 
  
Many of Simon's plays are set in [[New York City]], which gives them an urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes, besides marital conflict, sometimes include infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescences, bereavement, and fear of aging. And despite the serious nature of the themes, Simon continually managed to tell the stories with humor, developing the theme to include both realism and comedy.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|11}} Simon said he would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny&nbsp;... try and make it real and then the comedy will come."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|232}}
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One of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings." There is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern," while still making people laugh.<ref name="McGovern" /> Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts&nbsp;..."<ref name="Konas" />
  
"When I was writing plays," he says, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny&nbsp;... I wanted to tell a story about real people."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|219}} Simon explained how he managed this combination:
+
Many of Simon's plays are set in [[New York City]], which gives them an urban flavor. Within that setting, they include themes of marital conflict, sometimes infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement, and fear of aging. Despite their serious nature, Simon continually managed to tell the stories with humor, developing the theme to include both realism and comedy.<ref name="Koprince" /> Simon said he would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny&nbsp;... try and make it real and then the comedy will come."<ref name="Konas" />
{{Quote | style=font-size: 100%; | text=My view is, "how sad and funny life is." I can't think of a humorous situation that does not involve some pain. I used to ask, "What is a funny situation?" Now I ask, "What is a sad situation and how can I tell it humorously?"<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|14}}}}
 
  
In marriage relationships, his comedies often portray these struggles with plots of marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody battles. Their endings typically conclude, after many twists in the plot, to renewal of the relationships.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|7}}
+
"When I was writing plays," he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny&nbsp;... I wanted to tell a story about real people."<ref name="Konas" /> Simon explained how he managed this combination:
 +
<blockquote>My view is, "how sad and funny life is." I can't think of a humorous situation that does not involve some pain. I used to ask, "What is a funny situation?" Now I ask, "What is a sad situation and how can I tell it humorously?"<ref name="Koprince" /></blockquote>
  
Politics seldom have any overt role in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}} Drama critic [[Richard Eder]] noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy," where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|14}}
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Politics seldom had any overt role in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." His popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy," where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling.<ref name="Koprince" />
  
Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|5}} He states, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|10}} In plays such as ''Lost in Yonkers'', Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage, opposite to that of his parents', and when children are deprived of it in their home, "they end up emotionally damaged and lost".<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|13}}
+
Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages: "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." They also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." In plays such as ''Lost in Yonkers'', Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage, opposite to that of his parents', and when children are deprived of it in their home, "they end up emotionally damaged and lost."<ref name="Koprince" />
  
One of the key influences on Simon is his Jewish heritage, says Koprince, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the ''Brighton Beach'' trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}} Simon himself has said that his characters are people who "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view,"<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}} explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it."<ref name="Playboy" /> This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor&nbsp;... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|9}}
+
One of the key influences on Simon was his Jewish heritage, although he was unaware of it when writing. For example, in the ''Brighton Beach'' trilogy, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view,"<ref name="Koprince" /> He explained, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it."<ref name="Playboy" /> This theme in writing "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor&nbsp;... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force."<ref name="Koprince" />
  
 
== Characters ==
 
== Characters ==
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of [[Menander]], a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|6}} Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of ''California Suite'' and ''Plaza Suite''.
+
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings." Simon's style of comedy can be traced to that of [[Menander]], a playwright of [[ancient Greece]]. Menander also used average people in domestic life settings, blending humor and tragedy into his themes.<ref name="Koprince" />  
  
Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He said that the play ''[[Star Spangled Girl]]'', which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter."<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|4}} Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully".<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|4}} While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," stated biographer Robert Johnson.<ref name="Johnson" />{{rp|141}}
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Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play ''[[Star Spangled Girl]]'', which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." He considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully."<ref name="McGovern" />  
  
Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at.<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|190}} His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind&nbsp;... rather than purely topical material".<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|10}} McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism."<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|11}} However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing his or her nose at society."<ref name="Johnson" />{{rp|141}}
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Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduced speech so adroitly that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind&nbsp;... rather than purely topical material." They are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality," and sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism."<ref name="McGovern" /> However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing his or her nose at society.<ref name="Johnson" />
  
 
== Style and subject matter ==
 
== Style and subject matter ==
The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping."<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|192}} He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks,<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|150}} in a wide variety of urban settings and stories.<ref name="Johnson" />{{rp|139}} This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|1}} Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which becamevcomical premises for problems which needed be solved.<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|2–3}}
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The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, presenting serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping."<ref name="McGovern" /> He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks,<ref name="Koprince" /> in a wide variety of urban settings and stories.<ref name="Johnson" /> This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor," and results in plays that represent "middle America." Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved.<ref name="Konas" />
  
Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family.<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|150}} McGovern states that this thread of the monogamous family runs though most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society.<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|189}} Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs."<ref name="Johnson" />{{rp|142}} And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes, adds Johnson, "divorce is never a victory."<ref name="Johnson" />{{rp|142}}
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Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding [[marriage]] and [[family]].<ref name="Koprince" /> This thread of the [[monogamy|monogamous]] family runs though most of Simon's work, and is one he felt was necessary to give stability to society.<ref name="McGovern" /> As a result, some critics described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs." Where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: In Simon's eyes, "divorce is never a victory."<ref name="Johnson" />
  
Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. ''Barefoot in the Park'', for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of ''Plaza Suite'' were written as "farce", and portions of ''California Suite'' are "high comedy".<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|149}}
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Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. ''Barefoot in the Park'', for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of ''Plaza Suite'' were written as [[farce]], and portions of ''California Suite'' can be described as high comedy.
  
Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In ''[[The Gingerbread Lady]]'', he combined comedy with tragedy; ''[[Rumors (play)|Rumors]]'' (1988) is a full-length farce; in ''[[Jake's Women]]'' and ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]'' he used dramatic narration; in ''[[The Good Doctor (play)|The Good Doctor]]'', he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by [[Chekhov]]; and ''[[Fools (play)|Fools]]'' (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by [[Sholem Aleichem]].<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|150}} Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|150}}
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Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In ''[[The Gingerbread Lady]]'', he combined comedy with tragedy; ''[[Rumors (play)|Rumors]]'' (1988) is a full-length farce; in ''[[Jake's Women]]'' and ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]'' he used dramatic narration; in ''[[The Good Doctor (play)|The Good Doctor]]'', he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by [[Chekhov]]; and ''[[Fools (play)|Fools]]'' (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by [[Sholem Aleichem]]. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground."<ref name="Koprince" />
  
 
== Critical response ==
 
== Critical response ==
During most of his career Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos".<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|4}} Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist."<ref name="Koprince" />{{rp|4}} [[Clive Barnes]], theater critic for ''The New York Times'', wrote that like his British counterpart [[Noël Coward]], Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular".<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|foreword}}
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During most of his career Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos." Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist."<ref name="Koprince" /> Seldom did even the most astute critic recognize the depths that really exist in the plays of Neil Simon. [[Clive Barnes]], theater critic for ''The New York Times'', wrote that like his British counterpart [[Noël Coward]], Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated," but nonetheless very "popular."<ref name="McGovern" />
 
 
{{quote box|align=right|width=35em|bgcolor = Cornsilk|quote=Simon towers like a Colossus over the American Theater. When Neil Simon's time comes to be judged among successful playwrights of the twentieth century, he will definitely be first among equals. No other playwright in history has had the run he has: fifteen "Best Plays" of their season.|source=—Lawrence Grobel<ref name="Grobel" />{{rp|371}}}}
 
This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with ''[[Lost in Yonkers]]''. McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon."<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|foreword}} Although, when ''Lost in Yonkers'' was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright."<ref name="Konas" />{{rp|1}}
 
 
 
McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including [[Ben Jonson]], [[Molière]], and [[George Bernard Shaw]], pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company&nbsp;... an invitation long overdue."<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|foreword}} McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics:
 
{{Quote | style=font-size: 100%; | text=Above all, his plays which may appear simple to those who never look beyond the fact that they are amusing are, in fact, frequently more perceptive and revealing of the human condition than many plays labeled complex dramas.<ref name="McGovern" />{{rp|192}}}}
 
 
 
Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves."<ref name="Johnson" />{{rp|preface}} Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly the "most successful playwright in history."<ref name="Grobel" />{{rp|371}} He states:
 
 
 
Broadway critic [[Walter Kerr]] tries to rationalize why Simon's work has been underrated:
 
  
{{Quote | style=font-size: 100%; | text=Because Americans have always tended to underrate writers who make them laugh, Neil Simon's accomplishment have not gained as much serious critical praise as they deserve. His best comedies contain not only a host of funny lines, but numerous memorable characters and an incisively dramatized set of beliefs that are not without merit. Simon is, in fact, one of the finest writers of comedy in American literary history.<ref name="Johnson" />{{rp|144}}}}
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<blockquote>Simon towers like a Colossus over the American Theater. When Neil Simon's time comes to be judged among successful playwrights of the twentieth century, he will definitely be first among equals. No other playwright in history has had the run he has: fifteen "Best Plays" of their season.<ref name="Grobel" /></blockquote>
 +
This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a [[Pulitzer Prize]] for drama with ''[[Lost in Yonkers]]''. Pulitzer Advisory Board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright."<ref name="Konas" />
  
== Personal life ==
+
Biographer Edythe McGovern compared Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including [[Ben Jonson]], [[Molière]], and [[George Bernard Shaw]], pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company&nbsp;... an invitation long overdue."<ref name="McGovern" /> McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics:
Simon was married five times, to dancer Joan Baim (1953–1973), actress [[Marsha Mason]] (1973–1983), twice to actress Diane Lander (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and actress [[Elaine Joyce]] (1999–2018). His first wife died of bone cancer in 1973.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Cerio|first=Gregory|authorlink=|title=Write of Passage|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=United States|date=October 9, 1995 |url=https://people.com/archive/write-of-passage-vol-44-no-15/ |access-date=|quote=That included not only the pain of her husband's death, but also her mother's. Joan Baim Simon, a Martha Graham dancer who married Neil Simon in 1953, died of bone cancer in 1973 at age 41. Ellen was 16 and her sister Nancy just 10.}}</ref> He was the father of Nancy and Ellen, from his first marriage, and Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adopted. His nephew is U.S. District Judge [[Michael H. Simon]] and niece-in-law is U.S. Congresswoman [[Suzanne Bonamici]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Jeff|last=Mapes|url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2011/05/suzanne_bonamici_brings_financ.html|title=Suzanne Bonamici brings financial assets to potential congressional race|work=[[The Oregonian]]|publisher=Oregonian Media Group|location=[[Portland, Oregon]]|date=May 27, 2011|access-date=February 1, 2012}}</ref>
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<blockquote>Above all, his plays which may appear simple to those who never look beyond the fact that they are amusing are, in fact, frequently more perceptive and revealing of the human condition than many plays labeled complex dramas.<ref name="McGovern" /></blockquote>
  
Simon was on the board of selectors of [[Jefferson Awards for Public Service]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jeffersonawards.org/board|title=Jefferson Awards for Public Service board of selectors 2010|work=[[Jefferson Awards for Public Service|Jefferson Awards for Public Service board of  electors]]|publisher=[[Jefferson Awards for Public Service]]|location=[[Wilmington, Delaware]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124055949/http://www.jeffersonawards.org/board|archivedate=November 24, 2010|deadurl=yes|access-date=December 5, 2013|df=}}</ref>
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Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves."<ref name="Johnson" />
  
In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2004/mar/04/news/wk-quick4.4|title=Neil Simon's pal gives him kidney|author=[[Reuters]]|date=March 4, 2004|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|publisher=[[tronc|Tronc, Inc.]]|location=[[Los Angeles]]|access-date=May 15, 2017}}</ref>
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== Legacy ==
 +
While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," stated biographer Robert Johnson.<ref name="Johnson" /> Lawrence Grobel, in fact, called him "the Shakespeare of his time," and possibly the "most successful playwright in history."<ref name="Grobel" />
 +
<blockquote>Because Americans have always tended to underrate writers who make them laugh, Neil Simon's accomplishment have not gained as much serious critical praise as they deserve. His best comedies contain not only a host of funny lines, but numerous memorable characters and an incisively dramatized set of beliefs that are not without merit. Simon is, in fact, one of the finest writers of comedy in American literary history.<ref name="Johnson" /></blockquote>
  
Neil Simon died on August 26, 2018, after being on life support while hospitalized for [[renal failure]].<ref name="TMZ">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/obituaries/neil-simon-dead.html|title=Neil Simon, a Master of Comedy on Broadway and Beyond, Is Dead at 91|first=Charles|last=Isherwood|work=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|location=[[New York City]]|date=August 26, 2018|access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref> He also had [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/neil-simon-pulitzer-prize-winning-playwright-dead-at-91-715939/| title= Neil Simon, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright, Dead at 91|first=Daniel|last=Kreps|work=[[Rolling Stone]]|publisher=Wenner Media LLC and BandLab Technologies|location=[[New York City]]||date=August 26, 2018|access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref> He was 91. The cause of death was complications of [[pneumonia]], according to his publicist, Bill Evans. Simon died around 1 a.m. Sunday at [[New York-Presbyterian Hospital]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/26/entertainment/neil-simon-playwright-dies/index.html|title=Neil Simon, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, dies at 91|first=Todd|last=Leopold|work=[[CNN]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]]|location=[[Atlanta]]|date=August 26, 2018|accessdate=August 26, 2018}}</ref>
+
In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (''The Odd Couple''), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to [[Theater in America|American theater]].<ref name="1991sourcebook">Otis L. Guernsey and Jeffrey Sweet, ''The Applause-Best Plays Theater Yearbook, 1990–1991: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook'' (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2000, ISBN 978-1557831071).</ref> Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for ''The Goodbye Girl''.<ref name="USAToday">Elysa Gardner, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/08/26/neil-simon-who-wrote-odd-couple-and-sweet-charity-dies-91/1103917002/ America's playwright Neil Simon, who wrote 'The Odd Couple' and 'Sweet Charity,' has died] ''USA Today'', August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref> For ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' (1983), he was awarded the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] Award,<ref name="Konas"/> followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, ''Biloxi Blues''.<ref name="1991sourcebook" /> In 1991 he won the [[Pulitzer Prize]]<ref name="pulitzer">Elizabeth C. Brennan and Elizabeth C. Clarage, ''Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN 978-1573561112).</ref> along with the Tony Award for ''Lost in Yonkers'' (1991).<ref name="1991sourcebook" /> In 2006, Simon received the [[Mark Twain Prize for American Humor]].<ref name="VOA">[https://www.voanews.com/a/neil-simon-broadway-s-master-of-comedy-dies-at-91/4544947.html Neil Simon, Broadway's Master of Comedy, Dies at 91] ''Associated Press'', August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
  
== Honors and recognition ==
+
Simon held three [[honorary degree]]s; a [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from [[Hofstra University]], a [[Doctor of Letters]] from [[Marquette University]] and a [[Doctor of Law]] from [[Williams College]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/04/us/neil-simon-takes-his-honorary-lld-with-grain-of-salt.html Neil Simon Takes His Honorary LL.D with a Grain of Salt] ''The New York Times'', June 4, 1984. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>  
Simon held three [[honorary degree]]s; a [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from [[Hofstra University]], a [[Doctor of Letters]] from [[Marquette University]] and a [[Doctor of Law]] from [[Williams College]].<ref>{{cite news|author=[[Associated Press]]|title=Neil Simon Takes His Honorary LL.D with a Grain of Salt|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/04/us/neil-simon-takes-his-honorary-lld-with-grain-of-salt.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|location=[[New York City]]|date=June 4, 1984|access-date=June 14, 2008}}</ref> In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him.<ref>{{cite book|last=Simon|first=Neil|authorlink=Neil Simon|year=2003|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t177.e3658|title=The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance|editor=Dennis Kennedy|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=[[Oxford]]|isbn=978-0198601746}}</ref> The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the [[Neil Simon Theatre]] in his honor, and he was an honorary member of the [[Walnut Street Theatre]]'s board of trustees. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/10/theater/theater-hall-of-fame-gets-10-new-members.html|title=Theater Hall of Fame Gets 10 New Members|first=Carol|last=Lawson|work=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|location=[[New York City]]|date=May 10, 1983|accessdate=August 27, 2018}}</ref>
 
  
In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (''The Odd Couple''), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to [[Theater in America|American theater]].<ref name="1991sourcebook">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzziDo71Xb0C&pg=PA185|title=The Applause-Best Plays Theater Yearbook, 1990–1991: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook|last=Guernsey|first=Otis L.|last2=Sweet|first2=Jeffrey|date=1992|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation|Applause Books]]|location=[[Milwaukee]]|isbn=978-1557831071|pages=183–85|language=en}}</ref> Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for ''The Goodbye Girl''.<ref name="USAToday">{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/08/26/neil-simon-who-wrote-odd-couple-and-sweet-charity-dies-91/1103917002/|title=America's playwright Neil Simon, who wrote 'The Odd Couple' and 'Sweet Charity,' has died|last=Gardner|first=Elysa|date=August 26, 2018|work=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=[[McLean, Virginia]]|access-date=August 27, 2018|language=en}}</ref> For ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' (1983), he was awarded the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] Award,<ref name="1997casebook">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VGUgOh_tjaUC&pg=PA14|title=Neil Simon: A Casebook|last=Konas|first=Gary|date=1997|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=|isbn=9780815321323|location=|pages=1–14|language=en|quote=Azenberg... has produced every one of Neil Simon's 17 plays since 1973's ''The Sunshine Boys'', with number 18 in the works.}}</ref> followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, ''Biloxi Blues''.<ref name="1991sourcebook" /> In 1991 he won the [[Pulitzer Prize]]<ref name="pulitzer">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63nvmt4HqTEC&pg=PA131|title=Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners|last=Brennan|first=Elizabeth A.|last2=Clarage|first2=Elizabeth C.|date=1999|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9781573561112|pages=131–32|language=en}}</ref> along with the Tony Award for ''Lost in Yonkers'' (1991).<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
+
In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him.<ref>Dennis Kennedy, (ed.), ''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance'' (Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0199574575).</ref> The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the [[Neil Simon Theatre]] in his honor, and he was an honorary member of the [[Walnut Street Theatre]]'s board of trustees. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]].<ref>Carol Lawson, [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/10/theater/theater-hall-of-fame-gets-10-new-members.html Theater Hall of Fame Gets 10 New Members] ''The New York Times'', May 10, 1983. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
  
The Neil Simon Festival<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.simonfest.org/ |title=Neil Simon Festival |publisher=Simonfest.org |date= |access-date=May 15, 2017}}</ref> is a professional summer [[repertory theatre]] devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries. The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/ci_12948934|title=Neil Simon Festival: Cedar City's other festival keeps on with the show|last=Orellana|first=Roxanna|date=August 1, 2009|work=Salt Lake Tribune|access-date=February 1, 2017}}</ref>
+
The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003.<ref>Roxana Orellana, [http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/ci_12948934 Neil Simon Festival: Cedar City's other festival keeps on with the show] ''Salt Lake Tribune'', August 1, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref> It is a professional summer [[repertory theatre]] devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries.<ref>[http://www.simonfest.org/ Neil Simon Festival] ''Simonfest.org''. Retrieved October 26, 2018. </ref>
 
 
In 2006, Simon received the [[Mark Twain Prize for American Humor]].<ref name="VOA">https://www.voanews.com/a/neil-simon-broadway-s-master-of-comedy-dies-at-91/4544947.html</ref>
 
  
 
== Awards ==
 
== Awards ==
 
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
 
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 1954 [[Emmy Award]] nomination for ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1954?page=1|title=1954 Emmy nominations for ''Best Variety Program''|work=[[Emmy Award]]|publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS)|location=United States|date=February 11, 1954|accessdate=August 28, 2018}}</ref>
+
* 1954 [[Emmy Award]] nomination for ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''<ref>[https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1954?page=1 1954 Emmy nominations for ''Best Variety Program''] Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), February 11, 1954. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
 
* 1959 Emmy Award for ''The Phil Silvers Show''<ref name="pulitzer" />
 
* 1959 Emmy Award for ''The Phil Silvers Show''<ref name="pulitzer" />
 
* 1965 [[Tony Award]] for Best Author&nbsp;– ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
 
* 1965 [[Tony Award]] for Best Author&nbsp;– ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
Line 151: Line 150:
 
* 1975 Writers Guild of America Award ''[[The Prisoner of Second Avenue]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
 
* 1975 Writers Guild of America Award ''[[The Prisoner of Second Avenue]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
 
* 1978 [[Golden Globe Award]] for Best Motion Picture Screenplay&nbsp;– ''The Goodbye Girl''<ref name="USAToday" />
 
* 1978 [[Golden Globe Award]] for Best Motion Picture Screenplay&nbsp;– ''The Goodbye Girl''<ref name="USAToday" />
* 1979 Writers Guild of America Award [[Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement|Screen Laurel Award]]<ref name="1997casebook" />
+
* 1979 Writers Guild of America Award [[Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement|Screen Laurel Award]]
* 1981 [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from [[Hofstra University]]<ref name="1997casebook" />
+
* 1981 [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from [[Hofstra University]]
 
* 1983 [[American Theater Hall of Fame]]<ref name="pulitzer" />
 
* 1983 [[American Theater Hall of Fame]]<ref name="pulitzer" />
* 1983 [[New York Drama Critics' Circle#Best Play|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]]&nbsp;– ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]''<ref name="pulitzer" /><ref name="1997casebook" />
+
* 1983 [[New York Drama Critics' Circle#Best Play|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]]&nbsp;– ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]''<ref name="pulitzer" />
* 1983 [[Outer Critics Circle Award]]&nbsp;– ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]''<ref name="1997casebook" />
+
* 1983 [[Outer Critics Circle Award]]&nbsp;– ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]''
 
* 1985 Tony Award for Best Play&nbsp;– ''[[Biloxi Blues]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
 
* 1985 Tony Award for Best Play&nbsp;– ''[[Biloxi Blues]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
* 1986 New York State Governor's Award<ref name="1997casebook" />
+
* 1986 New York State Governor's Award
* 1989 [[American Comedy Awards]]&nbsp;– Lifetime Achievement<ref name="1997casebook" />
+
* 1989 [[American Comedy Awards]]&nbsp;– Lifetime Achievement
 
* 1991 [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding New Play&nbsp;– ''[[Lost in Yonkers]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
 
* 1991 [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding New Play&nbsp;– ''[[Lost in Yonkers]]''<ref name="1991sourcebook" />
 
* 1991 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for Drama&nbsp;– ''Lost in Yonkers''<ref name="pulitzer" />
 
* 1991 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for Drama&nbsp;– ''Lost in Yonkers''<ref name="pulitzer" />
* 1991 Tony Award for Best Play&nbsp;– ''Lost in Yonkers''<ref name="1997casebook" />
+
* 1991 Tony Award for Best Play&nbsp;– ''Lost in Yonkers''
* 1995 [[Kennedy Center Honors|Kennedy Center Honoree]]<ref name="1997casebook" /><ref name="USAToday" />
+
* 1995 [[Kennedy Center Honors|Kennedy Center Honoree]]<ref name="USAToday" />
 
* 2006 [[Mark Twain Prize for American Humor]]<ref name="VOA" />
 
* 2006 [[Mark Twain Prize for American Humor]]<ref name="VOA" />
 
{{Div col end}}
 
{{Div col end}}
  
== Work ==
+
== Works ==
Simon was credited as contributing writer to at least 49 plays on Broadway:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/personrolespage/person-role-page?person=00000150-ac7b-d16d-a550-ec7f3cd80003|title=Neil Simon Broadway Credits|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=August 31, 2018}}</ref>
+
Simon was credited as contributing writer to at least 49 plays on Broadway:<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/personrolespage/person-role-page?person=00000150-ac7b-d16d-a550-ec7f3cd80003 Neil Simon Broadway Credits] ''Playbill''. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
  
 
=== Theatre ===
 
=== Theatre ===
Line 205: Line 204:
 
{{Div col end}}
 
{{Div col end}}
  
In addition to the plays and musicals above, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'', both of which versions have run under new titles. These new versions are ''[[The Female Odd Couple]]'' (1985), and ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple]]'' (2002).{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}
+
In addition to the plays and musicals above, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'', both of which versions have run under new titles. These new versions are ''[[The Female Odd Couple]]'' (1985), and ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple]]'' (2002).
  
 
=== Screenplays ===
 
=== Screenplays ===
Line 237: Line 236:
 
{{Div col end}}
 
{{Div col end}}
 
<br />
 
<br />
*† Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/neil-simon/credits/260381/|title=Neil Simon: Credits|website=TV Guide|language=en|access-date=August 31, 2018}}</ref>
+
*† Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name.<ref name=":0">[https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/neil-simon/credits/260381/ Neil Simon: Credits] ''TV Guide''. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
*‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play ''[[The Gingerbread Lady]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/only-when-i-laugh/108324/|title=Only When I Laugh|website=TV Guide|language=en|access-date=August 31, 2018}}</ref>
+
*‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play ''[[The Gingerbread Lady]].''<ref>[https://www.tvguide.com/movies/only-when-i-laugh/108324/ Only When I Laugh] ''TV Guide''. Retrieved October 26, 2018.</ref>
  
 
=== Television ===
 
=== Television ===
Line 249: Line 248:
 
* ''[[Stanley (1956 TV series)|Stanley]]'' (1956)
 
* ''[[Stanley (1956 TV series)|Stanley]]'' (1956)
 
* ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'' (1958–59)
 
* ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'' (1958–59)
* ''Kibbee Hates Fitch'' (1965)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XxTx1xK-q14C&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155&dq=Kibbee+Hates+Fitch&source=bl&ots=SgFCt3Qd55&sig=oVv3LI5fVLiKOJswe78Zq4YrOyk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjmdH7h-PRAhXpqlQKHTCmCEQQ6AEIOjAG#v=onepage&q=Kibbee%20Hates%20Fitch&f=false ''Kibbee Hates Fitch''], ''Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012, McFarland (2013) p. 2449</ref> (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965)
+
* ''Kibbee Hates Fitch'' (1965)<ref>Vincent Terrace, ''Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012'' (McFarland, 2013, ISBN 978-0786474455), 2449.</ref> (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965)
 
{{Div col end}}
 
{{Div col end}}
  
Line 265: Line 264:
 
{{Div col end}}
 
{{Div col end}}
  
=== Bibliography ===
+
=== Memoirs ===
* {{cite book |last1=Simon |first1=Neil |title=Rewrites: A Memoir |year=1996|publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-82672-0}}
+
* ''Rewrites: A Memoir''. Simon & Schuster, 1998. ISBN 978-0684835624
* {{cite book |last1=Simon |first1=Neil |title=The Play Goes On: A Memoir |year=1999|publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-84691-8}}
+
* ''The Play Goes On: A Memoir'' Simon & Schuster, 1999. ISBN 978-0684846910
  
 
== Notes ==
 
== Notes ==
Line 273: Line 272:
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
 +
* Brennan, Elizabeth C., and Elizabeth C. Clarage. ''Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998 ISBN 978-1573561112
 
* Grobel, Lawrence. ''Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives''. Da Capo Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0306810046
 
* Grobel, Lawrence. ''Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives''. Da Capo Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0306810046
 +
* Guernsey, Otis L., and Jeffrey Sweet. ''The Applause-Best Plays Theater Yearbook, 1990–1991: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook''. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2000. ISBN 978-1557831071
 
* Hartnoll, Phyllis, and Peter Found (eds.). ''The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre''. Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0192825742
 
* Hartnoll, Phyllis, and Peter Found (eds.). ''The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre''. Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0192825742
 
* Johnson, Robert K. ''Neil Simon''. Twayne Pub, 1983. ISBN 978-0805773873
 
* Johnson, Robert K. ''Neil Simon''. Twayne Pub, 1983. ISBN 978-0805773873
* Kennedy, Dennis (ed.). ''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance''. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Web. York University, 2011. ISBN 978-0199574575
+
* Kennedy, Dennis (ed.). ''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance''. Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0199574575
 
* Konas, Gary (ed.). ''Neil Simon: A Casebook''. Routledge, 1997. ISBN 978-0815321323
 
* Konas, Gary (ed.). ''Neil Simon: A Casebook''. Routledge, 1997. ISBN 978-0815321323
 
* Koprince, Susan. ''Understanding Neil Simon''. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1570034268
 
* Koprince, Susan. ''Understanding Neil Simon''. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1570034268
 +
* McGovern, Edythe M. ''Neil Simon: A Critical Study''. Ungar Publishing, 1979. ISBN 978-0804425674
 
* Wheatley, Christopher J. (ed.). ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Fourth Series''. Gale Research Inc., 2002. ISBN 978-0787660109
 
* Wheatley, Christopher J. (ed.). ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Fourth Series''. Gale Research Inc., 2002. ISBN 978-0787660109
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
All links retrieved  
+
All links retrieved November 11, 2022.
 
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0800319/ Neil Simon] ''IMDb''
 
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0800319/ Neil Simon] ''IMDb''
 
* [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-simon-7879 Neil Simon] ''Internet Broadway Database''
 
* [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-simon-7879 Neil Simon] ''Internet Broadway Database''
Line 290: Line 292:
 
* [http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1994/the-art-of-theater-no-10-neil-simon Neil Simon, The Art of Theater No. 10] interview by James Lipton, ''The Paris Review'', Winter 1992.
 
* [http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1994/the-art-of-theater-no-10-neil-simon Neil Simon, The Art of Theater No. 10] interview by James Lipton, ''The Paris Review'', Winter 1992.
 
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/theater/neil-simon-plays.html The New York Times Reviews Neil Simon] by Erik Piepenburg and Jason Bailey, August 26, 2018.
 
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/theater/neil-simon-plays.html The New York Times Reviews Neil Simon] by Erik Piepenburg and Jason Bailey, August 26, 2018.
 +
 +
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 1976-2000}}
  
 
[[Category:Biography]]
 
[[Category:Biography]]

Latest revision as of 16:11, 11 November 2022


Neil Simon
Neil Simon - 1974.jpg
Neil Simon in 1974
Born: July 4 1927(1927-07-04)
New York City, U.S.
Died: August 26 2018 (aged 91)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s): Playwright, screenwriter, author
Writing period: 1948–2010
Literary genre: Comedy, drama, farce, autobiography

Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer.[1]

Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression, with his parents' financial hardships affecting their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters where he enjoyed watching the early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. Appreciating the value of humor, Simon decided on a career writing comedy. He skillfully took relatable characters in everyday real life situations, complete with their tragedies and absurdities, and made people laugh.

His Broadway plays Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award made him a national celebrity. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three. During one season, he had four successful plays running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor.

An important feature of Simon's writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding monogamous marriage, which he regarded as necessary to give stability to society. Perhaps because of his own life experience, including his parents' troubled marriage and his own marriages, in Simon's plays infidelity rarely, if ever, brought happiness to his characters.

Life

Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker.[2] Simon had one brother, who was eight years older, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon. His family lived in Washington Heights, Manhattan, during the period of the Great Depression. Simon graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen, where he was nicknamed "Doc" and described as extremely shy in the school yearbook.[3]

Simon's childhood was difficult and mostly unhappy due to his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and financial hardship caused by the Depression.[4] He would sometimes block out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears at night.[5] His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional hardship. As a result, Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives, or else their parents took in boarders for some income.[4]

During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon admitted, "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him."[6] Among the reasons Simon became a writer was to fulfill his need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person.[6]

To escape difficulties at home he often took refuge in movie theaters, where he especially enjoyed comedies with silent stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. Simon appreciated Chaplin's ability to make people laugh and made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor."[6] Simon recalls, "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud" and acknowledged that these childhood movies inspired him to write comedy: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out."[7]

I think part of what made me a comedy writer is the blocking out of some of the really ugly, painful things in my childhood and covering it up with a humorous attitude ... do something to laugh until I was able to forget what was hurting.[4]

He began getting paid for writing comedy while still in high school, when at the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman.[3]

Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University, and was eventually sent to Colorado as a corporal. It was during those years in the Reserve that Simon began writing professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946.[8]

Simon was married five times. His first marriage was in 1953 to dancer Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer. They had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen. Joan died of bone cancer in 1973, aged 41. That same year Simon married actress Marsha Mason. The marriage lasted ten years, and three of her four Oscar-nominated roles were in films written by Simon. His third wife was actress Diane Lander, to whom he was married twice (1987–1988 and 1990–1998). He adopted her daughter, Bryn, from a previous relationship. Finally, he married actress Elaine Joyce in 1999, and this marriage lasted until his death in 2018.

In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans.[9] He also suffered from Alzheimer's disease.[10]

Neil Simon died on August 26, 2018, aged 91, of complications from pneumonia after being on life support while hospitalized for renal failure.[11]

Writing career

Television comedy

Simon in 1966

Simon began writing radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, tutored by radio humorist Goodman Ace who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. The Simon brothers wrote for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show, which led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. He later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show; the episodes were broadcast during 1958 and 1959.

Simon credited these two latter writing jobs for their importance to his career: "between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience."[6] He added, "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together."[1] Simon described a typical writing session with the show:

There were about seven writers, plus Sid, Carl Reiner, and Howie Morris ... Mel Brooks and maybe Woody Allen would write one of the other sketches ... everyone would pitch in and rewrite, so we all had a part of it ... It was probably the most enjoyable time I ever had in writing with other people.[6]

Simon incorporated some of their experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. The first Broadway show Simon wrote for was Catch a Star! (1955), collaborating on sketches with his brother, Danny.[12][13]

Playwright

During 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, ran for 678 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Simon took three years to write that first play, partly because he was also working on writing television scripts. He rewrote the play at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself. I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college."[6] That play, besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other."[14]

With Cy Coleman at piano rehearsing, 1982

After Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award, Simon became a national celebrity and was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway."[4] Those successful productions were followed by many others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing at Broadway theatres simultaneously: Sweet Charity,[15] The Star-Spangled Girl,[16] The Odd Couple,[17] and Barefoot in the Park.[18]

His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys 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.[3] His subjects ranged from serious to romantic comedy to more serious drama. Overall, he garnered seventeen Tony nominations and won three.[19]

Simon also adapted material written by others for his plays, such as the musical Little Me (1962) from the novel by Patrick Dennis, Sweet Charity (1966) from a screenplay by Federico Fellini and others (for Nights of Cabiria, 1957), and Promises, Promises (1968) from a film by Billy Wilder, The Apartment. Simon was occasionally brought in as an uncredited "script doctor" to help hone the book for Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development[20] such as A Chorus Line (1975).[21] During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays, sometimes having more than one playing at the same time to standing room only audiences. By then he was recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, but his inner drive kept him writing:

Did I relax and watch my boyhood ambitions being fulfilled before my eyes? Not if you were born in the Bronx, in the Depression and Jewish, you don't.[3]

Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories, with settings typically in working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). With them, he received his greatest critical acclaim. After his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), Simon was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.[1]

Screenwriter

Simon also wrote screenplays for more than twenty films, for which he received four Academy Award nominations. Some of his screenplays are adaptations of his own plays, along with some original work, including The Out-of-Towners, Murder by Death, and The Goodbye Girl. Although most of his films were successful, for Simon movies were always secondary in importance to his plays:

I always feel more like a writer when I'm writing a play, because of the tradition of the theater ... there is no tradition of the screenwriter, unless he is also the director, which makes him an auteur. So I really feel that I'm writing for posterity with plays, which have been around since the Greek times.[6]

Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the film, and tried to control his film screenplays thereafter. Many of his earlier screenplays were similar to the play, a characteristic Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then ... I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic."[4] The Odd Couple (1968), however, was a highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, having more scenic variety.[22]

Themes and genres

Simon's characters are portrayed as "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with, often having difficult relationships in marriage, friendship, or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging." Theater critic John Lahr described his primary theme as being about "the silent majority," many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure."[4]

One of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings." There is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern," while still making people laugh.[14] Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..."[3]

Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City, which gives them an urban flavor. Within that setting, they include themes of marital conflict, sometimes infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement, and fear of aging. Despite their serious nature, Simon continually managed to tell the stories with humor, developing the theme to include both realism and comedy.[4] Simon said he would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then the comedy will come."[3]

"When I was writing plays," he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people."[3] Simon explained how he managed this combination:

My view is, "how sad and funny life is." I can't think of a humorous situation that does not involve some pain. I used to ask, "What is a funny situation?" Now I ask, "What is a sad situation and how can I tell it humorously?"[4]

Politics seldom had any overt role in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." His popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy," where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling.[4]

Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages: "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." They also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." In plays such as Lost in Yonkers, Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage, opposite to that of his parents', and when children are deprived of it in their home, "they end up emotionally damaged and lost."[4]

One of the key influences on Simon was his Jewish heritage, although he was unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view,"[4] He explained, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it."[5] This theme in writing "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force."[4]

Characters

Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings." Simon's style of comedy can be traced to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander also used average people in domestic life settings, blending humor and tragedy into his themes.[4]

Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play Star Spangled Girl, which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." He considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully."[14]

Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduced speech so adroitly that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material." They are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality," and sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism."[14] However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing his or her nose at society.[7]

Style and subject matter

The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, presenting serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping."[14] He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks,[4] in a wide variety of urban settings and stories.[7] This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor," and results in plays that represent "middle America." Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved.[3]

Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family.[4] This thread of the monogamous family runs though most of Simon's work, and is one he felt was necessary to give stability to society.[14] As a result, some critics described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs." Where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: In Simon's eyes, "divorce is never a victory."[7]

Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park, for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as farce, and portions of California Suite can be described as high comedy.

Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground."[4]

Critical response

During most of his career Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos." Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist."[4] Seldom did even the most astute critic recognize the depths that really exist in the plays of Neil Simon. Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward, Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated," but nonetheless very "popular."[14]

Simon towers like a Colossus over the American Theater. When Neil Simon's time comes to be judged among successful playwrights of the twentieth century, he will definitely be first among equals. No other playwright in history has had the run he has: fifteen "Best Plays" of their season.[6]

This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers. Pulitzer Advisory Board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright."[3]

Biographer Edythe McGovern compared Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw, pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue."[14] McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics:

Above all, his plays which may appear simple to those who never look beyond the fact that they are amusing are, in fact, frequently more perceptive and revealing of the human condition than many plays labeled complex dramas.[14]

Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves."[7]

Legacy

While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," stated biographer Robert Johnson.[7] Lawrence Grobel, in fact, called him "the Shakespeare of his time," and possibly the "most successful playwright in history."[6]

Because Americans have always tended to underrate writers who make them laugh, Neil Simon's accomplishment have not gained as much serious critical praise as they deserve. His best comedies contain not only a host of funny lines, but numerous memorable characters and an incisively dramatized set of beliefs that are not without merit. Simon is, in fact, one of the finest writers of comedy in American literary history.[7]

In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (The Odd Couple), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to American theater.[23] Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Goodbye Girl.[24] For Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), he was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award,[3] followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, Biloxi Blues.[23] In 1991 he won the Pulitzer Prize[25] along with the Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers (1991).[23] In 2006, Simon received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.[26]

Simon held three honorary degrees; a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, a Doctor of Letters from Marquette University and a Doctor of Law from Williams College.[27]

In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him.[28] The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Neil Simon Theatre in his honor, and he was an honorary member of the Walnut Street Theatre's board of trustees. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.[29]

The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003.[30] It is a professional summer repertory theatre devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries.[31]

Awards

  • 1954 Emmy Award nomination for Your Show of Shows[32]
  • 1959 Emmy Award for The Phil Silvers Show[25]
  • 1965 Tony Award for Best Author – The Odd Couple[23]
  • 1967 Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Sweet Charity[25]
  • 1968 Sam S. Shubert Award[25][23]
  • 1969 Writers Guild of America Award – The Odd Couple[25]
  • 1970 Writers Guild of America Award Last of the Red Hot Lovers[25]
  • 1971 Writers Guild of America Award The Out-of-Towners[25]
  • 1972 Writers Guild of America Award The Trouble With People[25]
  • 1972 Cue Entertainer of the Year Award [25]
  • 1975 Special Tony Award for contribution to theatre[23]
  • 1975 Writers Guild of America Award The Prisoner of Second Avenue[23]
  • 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay – The Goodbye Girl[24]
  • 1979 Writers Guild of America Award Screen Laurel Award
  • 1981 Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University
  • 1983 American Theater Hall of Fame[25]
  • 1983 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award – Brighton Beach Memoirs[25]
  • 1983 Outer Critics Circle Award – Brighton Beach Memoirs
  • 1985 Tony Award for Best Play – Biloxi Blues[23]
  • 1986 New York State Governor's Award
  • 1989 American Comedy Awards – Lifetime Achievement
  • 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play – Lost in Yonkers[23]
  • 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – Lost in Yonkers[25]
  • 1991 Tony Award for Best Play – Lost in Yonkers
  • 1995 Kennedy Center Honoree[24]
  • 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor[26]

Works

Simon was credited as contributing writer to at least 49 plays on Broadway:[33]

Theatre

  • 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)
  • 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)
  • 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)

In addition to the plays and musicals above, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play The Odd Couple, both of which versions have run under new titles. These new versions are The Female Odd Couple (1985), and Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2002).

Screenplays

  • 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) †
  • Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) †
  • The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
  • The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) †
  • The Sunshine Boys (1975) †
  • Murder by Death (1976)
  • The Goodbye Girl (1977)
  • The Cheap Detective (1978)
  • California Suite (1978) †
  • 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) (adaptation only; screenplay by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels)
  • The Slugger's Wife (1985)
  • Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) †
  • Biloxi Blues (1988) †
  • The Marrying Man (1991)
  • Lost in Yonkers (1993) †
  • The Odd Couple II (1998)


  • † Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name.[34]
  • ‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady.[35]

Television

Television series

Simon, as a member of a writing staff, penned material for the following shows:[34]

  • The Garry Moore Show (1950)
  • Your Show of Shows (1950–54)
  • Caesar's Hour (1954–57)
  • Stanley (1956)
  • The Phil Silvers Show (1958–59)
  • Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965)[36] (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965)

Movies made for television

The following made-for-TV movies were all written solely by Simon, and all based on his earlier plays:[34]

  • The Good Doctor (1978)
  • Plaza Suite (1987)
  • Broadway Bound (1992)
  • The Sunshine Boys (1996)
  • Jake's Women (1996)
  • London Suite (1996)
  • Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001)
  • The Goodbye Girl (2004)

Memoirs

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About Neil Simon", "American Masters", PBS, November 3, 2000. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  2. Samuel G. Freedman, Neil Simon Unbound Tablet, October 27, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Gary Konas, (ed.), Neil Simon: A Casebook (Routledge, 1997, ISBN 978-0815321323)
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 Susan Koprince, Understanding Neil Simon (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1570034268).
  5. 5.0 5.1 Lawrence Grobel, "Playboy Interview with Neil Simon", Playboy Magazine, February, 1979.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Lawrence Grobel, Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives (Da Capo Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0306810046).
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Robert K. Johnson, Neil Simon (Twayne Pub, 1983, ISBN 978-0805773873).
  8. Deborah Weitzmann, On this day: Neil Simon is born The Jewish Chronicle, July 4, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  9. Neil Simon's pal gives him kidney Reuters, March 4, 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  10. Daniel Kreps, Neil Simon, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright, Dead at 91 Rolling Stone, August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  11. Charles Isherwood, Neil Simon, Broadway Master of Comedy, Is Dead at 91 The New York Times, August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  12. Phyllis Hartnoll and Peter Found (eds.), The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre (Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0192825742).
  13. Christopher J. Wheatley, (ed.), Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Fourth Series (Gale Research Inc., 2002, ISBN 978-0787660109).
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 Edythe M. McGovern, Neil Simon: A Critical Study (Ungar Publishing, 1979, ISBN 978-0804425674).
  15. Sweet Charity Playbill Palace Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  16. The Star-Spangled Girl Playbill Plymouth Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  17. The Odd Couple Playbill Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  18. Barefoot in the Park Playbill Biltmore Theatre. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  19. ‘In Defense of Neil Simon’: Revisit a Voice Critic’s Appreciation of the Late New York Playwright Village Voice, August 27, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  20. Michael Riedel, Simon keeps 'Promises' New York Post, April 9, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  21. Colleen Hughes, A Chorus Line: The Story Behind the Show Berkshire Theatre Group, July 5, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  22. Ralph McLean, Cult Movie: Neil Simon's classic comedy The Odd Couple The Irish News, August 31, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 23.7 23.8 Otis L. Guernsey and Jeffrey Sweet, The Applause-Best Plays Theater Yearbook, 1990–1991: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2000, ISBN 978-1557831071).
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Elysa Gardner, America's playwright Neil Simon, who wrote 'The Odd Couple' and 'Sweet Charity,' has died USA Today, August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  25. 25.00 25.01 25.02 25.03 25.04 25.05 25.06 25.07 25.08 25.09 25.10 25.11 Elizabeth C. Brennan and Elizabeth C. Clarage, Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN 978-1573561112).
  26. 26.0 26.1 Neil Simon, Broadway's Master of Comedy, Dies at 91 Associated Press, August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  27. Neil Simon Takes His Honorary LL.D with a Grain of Salt The New York Times, June 4, 1984. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  28. Dennis Kennedy, (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance (Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0199574575).
  29. Carol Lawson, Theater Hall of Fame Gets 10 New Members The New York Times, May 10, 1983. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  30. Roxana Orellana, Neil Simon Festival: Cedar City's other festival keeps on with the show Salt Lake Tribune, August 1, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  31. Neil Simon Festival Simonfest.org. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  32. 1954 Emmy nominations for Best Variety Program Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), February 11, 1954. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  33. Neil Simon Broadway Credits Playbill. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Neil Simon: Credits TV Guide. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  35. Only When I Laugh TV Guide. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  36. Vincent Terrace, Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012 (McFarland, 2013, ISBN 978-0786474455), 2449.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Brennan, Elizabeth C., and Elizabeth C. Clarage. Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998 ISBN 978-1573561112
  • Grobel, Lawrence. Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives. Da Capo Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0306810046
  • Guernsey, Otis L., and Jeffrey Sweet. The Applause-Best Plays Theater Yearbook, 1990–1991: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2000. ISBN 978-1557831071
  • Hartnoll, Phyllis, and Peter Found (eds.). The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre. Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0192825742
  • Johnson, Robert K. Neil Simon. Twayne Pub, 1983. ISBN 978-0805773873
  • Kennedy, Dennis (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance. Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0199574575
  • Konas, Gary (ed.). Neil Simon: A Casebook. Routledge, 1997. ISBN 978-0815321323
  • Koprince, Susan. Understanding Neil Simon. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1570034268
  • McGovern, Edythe M. Neil Simon: A Critical Study. Ungar Publishing, 1979. ISBN 978-0804425674
  • Wheatley, Christopher J. (ed.). Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Fourth Series. Gale Research Inc., 2002. ISBN 978-0787660109

External links

All links retrieved November 11, 2022.

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