Mike Nichols
Biography: Mike Nichols (born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was a German-born American film and theatre director, producer, actor and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of their acting experience. Nichols began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe, The Compass Players, predecessor of The Second City, in Chicago. He then teamed up with his improv partner, Elaine May, to form the comedy duo Nichols and May. Their live improv acts were a hit on Broadway resulting in three albums, with their debut album winning a Grammy Award. After Nichols and May disbanded their act in 1961, Nichols began directing plays. He soon earned a reputation as a skilled Broadway director with a flair for creating innovative productions and the ability to elicit polished performances from actors. His debut Broadway play was Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park in 1963, with Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. He next directed Luv in 1964 and in 1965 directed another Neil Simon play, The Odd Couple. Nichols received a Tony Award for each of those plays. Nearly five decades later, he won his sixth Tony Award as best director with a revival of Death of a Salesman in 2012. During his career, he directed or produced over twenty-five Broadway plays. In 1966, Warner Brothers invited Nichols to direct his first film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The groundbreaking and acclaimed film led critics to declare Nichols the "new Orson Welles". The film garnered 13 Academy Award nominations, winning five. It was also a box office hit and became the number 1 film of 1966. His next film was The Graduate in 1967, starring then unknown actor Dustin Hoffman, alongside Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross. The film was another critical and financial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1967 and receiving seven Academy Award nominations, winning Nichols the Academy Award for Best Directing. Among the other films he directed were Catch-22 (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), Silkwood (1983), Working Girl (1988), Wolf (1994), The Birdcage (1996), Closer (2004), and Charlie Wilson's War (2007). Along with an Academy Award, Nichols won a Grammy Award (the first for a comedian born outside the United States), four Emmy Awards and nine Tony Awards. He was also a three-time BAFTA Award winner. His other honors included the Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010. His films garnered a total of 42 Academy Award nominations and seven wins. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mike Nichols, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: November 06, 1931
Deathday: November 19, 2014
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Known For
Arthur Miller: Writer
2017-12-08
Arthur Miller: Writer
Overview: One of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century, Arthur Miller created such celebrated works as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, which continue to move audiences around the world today. He also made headlines for being targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee at the height of the McCarthy Era and entering into a tumultuous marriage with Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. Told from the unique perspective of his daughter, filmmaker Rebecca Miller, Arthur Miller: Writer is an illuminating portrait that combines interviews spanning decades and a wealth of personal archival material, and provides new insights into Miller’s life as an artist and exploring his character in all its complexity.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-12-08
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The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
2003-08-16
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
Overview: Twenty-three years after the release of the original Beatles mockumentary, 'The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash', famous artists, actors and musicians speak out on how The Rutles influenced them.
Genres: Comedy Music TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-08-16
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The Designated Mourner
1997-05-23
The Designated Mourner
Overview: Jack and Judy are husband and wife, and Howard is Judy's father. They live in some fictional undemocratic and repressive country, and tell us a story about their lives, mostly from Jack's point of view.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-05-23
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Inventing David Geffen
2012-11-19
Inventing David Geffen
Overview: Notoriously press and camera-shy, David Geffen reveals himself for the first time in this unflinching portrait of a complex and compelling man. His far-reaching influence - as an agent and manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and billionaire philanthropist - has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. This documentary offers a rare insight into the world of the man responsible for launching the early successes of Joni Mitchell, Tom Cruise, and Guns N’ Roses; co-founded DreamWorks; produced Cats and Dreamgirls; and is one of the largest contributors to the fight against AIDS. (SBS AU) Geffen narrates his unorthodox rise from working class Brooklyn boy to billionaire entertainment power broker in extensive interviews. American Masters explores the highs and the lows in Geffen’s professional and personal life through more than 50 new interviews with his friends, colleagues and clients, as well as other media luminaries. (PBS)
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-11-19
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King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970-03-24
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Overview: Constructed from a wealth of archival footage, the documentary follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1955 to 1968, in his rise from regional activist to world-renowned leader of the Civil Rights movement. Rare footage of King's speeches, protests, and arrests are interspersed with scenes of other high-profile supporters and opponents of the cause, punctuated by heartfelt testimonials by some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1970-03-24
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Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner
2006-01-15
Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner
Overview: Filmmaker Freida Lee Mock explores the life and work of playwright Tony Kushner. Starting in 2001, when Kushner was mounting the production of his play Homebody/Kabul and running through 2004, as he worked on John Kerry's presidential campaign, got married to Mark Harris, worked with Maurice Sendak, and opened the Broadway musical Caroline, or Change.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-01-15
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Becoming Mike Nichols
2016-01-28
Becoming Mike Nichols
Overview: This intimate portrait of director, producer, and improvisational comedy icon Mike Nichols shows his final and historic interviews filmed just months before his death. Director Douglas McGrath documents Nichols’s early life, as he opens up to his friend, director Jack O’Brien, about the storied beginnings of his career.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-01-28
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Everything Is Copy
2015-09-29
Everything Is Copy
Overview: A candid portrait of writer/director Nora Ephron, directed by her son, journalist Jacob Bernstein.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-09-29
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The Fabulous Fifties
1960-01-22
The Fabulous Fifties
Overview: The Fabulous Fifties, CBS, combines style, humor, and imagination. It was rich in touches of quality showmanship and equally rich in the memories of a decade which it revived. In recognition, the Peabody Television Award for entertainment is presented to The Fabulous Fifties, with a special word of praise for producer Leland Hayward and the top talent which appeared in this memorable entertainment special*. *The two-hour special featured comic takes and commentary about the previous decade by, among others, Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Dick Van Dyke, Shelley Berman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Jackie Gleason, Eric Severeid and Henry Fonda.
Genres: Music TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1960-01-22
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Love & Loyalty: The Making of 'The Remains of the Day'
2001-10-22
Love & Loyalty: The Making of 'The Remains of the Day'
Overview: The filmmakers and lead actors of The Remains of the Day (1993) discuss how they came to make the film, and the subtle power of its execution.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-10-22
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Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary
1986-01-14
Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary
Overview: Celebrities are interviewed about the social and working lives of Bugs, Daffy, Porky and the rest of the Looney Tunes.
Genres: Animation Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-01-14
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The Madness of Boy George
2006-10-17
The Madness of Boy George
Overview: Documenting the days and weeks preceding Boy George's appearance in a New York courtroom in June 2006 for cocaine possession and his subsequent sentencing to 5 days community service as a street cleaner by order of the US justice department.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-10-17
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Mike Nichols: An American Master
2016-01-29
Mike Nichols: An American Master
Overview: With charm and wit, Nichols discusses his life and 50-year career as a performer and director.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-01-29
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Bach to Bach
1967-09-23
Bach to Bach
Overview: A Bach recording plays in a New York apartment, while off-screen a man and a woman in bed together for the first time engage in pseudo-intellectual conversation. Based on the Nichols and May sketch.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-09-23
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In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
1988-09-20
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Overview: Tony Palmer's award-winning feature-length documentary profile of Richard Burton.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-09-20
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Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light
1996-01-24
Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light
Overview: Richard Avedon was one of the great geniuses of 20th century photography, famous for his fashion photography done for the likes of Vogue, Versace, and Armani, and equally famous for his black and white portraits of American people, both famous and unknown.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-01-24
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Nichols and May: Take Two
1996-05-22
Nichols and May: Take Two
Overview: A documentary made for the PBS program American Masters about the comedy team Nichols and May.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-05-22
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