Dearly Departed

Legendary director, Mike Nicols, passes away at 83.

Mike Nicols, the legendary director and one of the few people to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy, has passed away suddenly at the age of 83. According to ABC News, the cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin, Germany, in 1931, Mike Nichols came to the U.S. at age 7 with his parents, who were fleeing Nazi Germany. While attending the University of Chicago, he discovered comedy and joined forces with Elaine May. Their comedy collaboration earned them a Grammy.

Nicols went on to direct numerous Broadway plays and critically acclaimed films. He earned an Oscar in 1968 for The Graduate and Emmys for Wit and Angels in America. He earned 9 Tony awards and, in 2010, was awarded the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. He is survived by his three children, Daisy, Max, and Jenny, four grandchildren, and his wife, Diane Sawyer.

“This is a seismic loss,” director and producer Steven Spielberg said in a statement. “Mike was a friend, a muse, a mentor, one of America’s all time greatest film and stage directors, and one of the most generous people I have ever known. For me, The Graduate was life altering—both as an experience at the movies as well as a master class about how to stage a scene. Mike had a brilliant cinematic eye and uncanny hearing for keeping scenes ironic and real. Actors never gave him less than their personal best—and then Mike would get from them even more. And in a room full of people, Mike was always the center of gravity.”

Read the full story: Mike Nichols, ‘Graduate’ Director, Dead At 83

Read the NY Times Coverage of Mr. Nicols Death