Neil Simon
Also Known As: Marvin Neil Simon, Doc Simon
Biography: 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 film adaptations of his plays. He has received three Tony Awards, and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for four Academy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. He was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1975, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor. Description above from the Wikipedia article Neil Simon, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Department: Writing
Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Birthday: July 04, 1927
Deathday: August 26, 2018
Adult: No
Gender: Male
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Pitch
Overview: A Canadian documentary featuring two young filmmakers attending the Toronto Film Festival to pitch a film concept to various celebrities. Their film idea, titled "The Dawn", concerns a Mafia don who goes for a hernia operation but gets a sex change instead. During the 1996 Toronto Fest, they approach Roger Ebert, Norman Jewison (at a packed press conference), Eric Stoltz (leaving a limo), Al Pacino, and others without much success. On a roll, they leave Toronto for Hollywood, getting advice from Arthur Hiller and Neil Simon and finding an agent who expresses interest in their pitch.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-09-04
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The Sid Caesar Collection: The Magic of Live TV
Overview: One of the greatest comedians of early television, Sid Caesar hasn't had his work shown in perennial reruns, so it's especially gratifying to see a collection of his classic sketches released on video, with Caesar himself introducing the material. Besides being a truly gifted comic, Caesar benefited from having some brilliant supporting players, including Carl Reiner, Imogene Coca, and Nanette Fabray. Some of his illustrious writers, including Neil Simon, Woody Allen, and Mel Brooks, appear in interviews setting up the sketches. The sketches themselves include some all-time classics such as Caesar and company playing the figurines populating a medieval town clock (a brilliant bit partly written by Neil Simon and his brother, Danny, who reminisce after the sketch).
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-06-20
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Sid Caesar Collection: Buried Treasures - The Legend of Sid Caesar
Overview: A collection of Ceasar's finest comedy moments.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-01-01
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The Amazing Miss Cummings: An Actress at Work and Play
Overview: A promotional short for The Goodbye Girl. It takes a behind the scenes look at the production, with a focus on actress Quinn Cummings.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-01-01
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Caesar's Writers
Overview: On January 24, 1996, at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles, CA, legendary comic Sid Caesar was reunited with nine of his writers from Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour. The event was taped for release on PBS and BBC in a 1-hour cut, and later on VHS and DVD in its full 2-hour length. Be prepared to laugh non-stop as the panel, made up of head writer Mel Tolkin, Caesar, Carl Reiner, Aaron Ruben, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Sheldon Keller, and Gary Belkin share stories about their time working on Caesar's shows and offer their insights about writing comedy.
Genres: Documentary Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-08-19
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The Sid Caesar Collection: Inside the Writer's Room
Overview: The Big Daddy of televised comedy sketches, Sid Caesar had millions of Americans holding their sides and howling at his uproarious antics and those of his inspired sidekicks--Imogene Coca, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris. These are compilations of fan favorites--digitally remastered to be as crisp as they were in the 1950s. "The Fan Favorites" includes gems from the heyday of live TV, as well as interviews with writers and actors, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Neil Simon. 3-3/4 hours on 3 cassettes or 3 DVDs. Set 1 features live gut-busters from "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour", including 18 of Caesar's own favorite sketches, plus revealing interviews with contemporaries, including Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. Three digitally remastered volumes: "The Magic of Live TV, Inside the Writer's Room," and "Creating the Comedy". Almost 4 hours on 3 cassettes or 3 DVDs.
Genres: Documentary Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-06-20
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The Sid Caesar Collection: Creating the Comedy
Overview: The Big Daddy of televised comedy sketches, Sid Caesar had millions of Americans holding their sides and howling at his uproarious antics and those of his inspired sidekicks--Imogene Coca, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris. These are compilations of fan favorites--digitally remastered to be as crisp as they were in the 1950s. "The Fan Favorites" includes gems from the heyday of live TV, as well as interviews with writers and actors, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Neil Simon. 3-3/4 hours on 3 cassettes or 3 DVDs. Set 1 features live gut-busters from "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour", including 18 of Caesar's own favorite sketches, plus revealing interviews with contemporaries, including Mel Brooks and Neil Simon.
Genres: Documentary Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-06-20
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Bob Fosse: Steam Heat
Overview: A documentary profile of director/choreographer Bob Fosse. Includes clips from his films and television specials as well as interviews with Fosse, remembrances from his friends, and commentary by Gwen Verdon. A Dance in America presentation, broadcast as part of Great Performances.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-02-23
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Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman
Overview: Jack Lemmon made over 60 films and received numerous awards, including eight Academy Award Nominations and two Oscars. Later in life, his achievement was enriched by new challenges in which he exposed the vulnerability and emotion of the later years as few had dared. He reveled in his ongoing screen partnerships with directors like Billy Wilder and stars like Walter Matthau. Narrated on-camera by Jack Lemmon, this documentary includes interviews with Lemmon's son, the actor Chris Lemmon. Also appearing are such legends as Jack's life-long friend, the writer and director Billy Wilder, writer-director Garson Kanin, drama teacher Uta Hagen and actor Gregory Peck.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-11-25
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Murder By Death - A Conversation with Neil Simon
Overview: Neil Simon discusses the writing and making of his film "Murder by Death".
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-01-01
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In the Beginning: The Caesar Years
Overview: New interviews with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, footage from the reunion of Caesar's Writers (1996), and sketches from Your Show of Shows (1950) and Caesar's Hour (1954).
Genres: Documentary Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-11-13
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Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough
Overview: A profile of the life of actor Walter Matthau.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-01-01
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Private Screenings: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
Overview: Robert Osborne hosts this TCM original featuring an exclusive interview with the original Odd Couple.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-08-12
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AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories
Overview: A look at one hundred years of romance in American cinema.
Genres: TV Movie Documentary Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-06-11
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