Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (born
July_4,
1927 in
The Bronx,
New York City), is an
American playwright and
screenwriter. He began his career as a
TV comedy writer, most notably for
Sid Caesar's
Your Show of Shows. He is the author of over forty
Broadway plays since
1961, ranging from humorous, lighthearted plays of the
1960s (
Barefoot in the Park,
The Odd Couple) to darker, more
autobiographical works in
1970s and 1980s (
Chapter Two, the
Eugene trilogy featuring
Brighton Beach Memoirs,
Biloxi Blues, and
Broadway Bound). Simon also contributed librettos to such hit
musical comedies as
Sweet Charity,
Promises, Promises, and
They're Playing Our Song. His plays are known for their
family-based New York settings, where world-weary characters use one-liners to hide often-fractured psyches. Simon's second wife (of four) was actress
Marsha Mason, who starred in several of his plays and movies. His brother
Danny Simon also was a TV comedy writer.
*
Come Blow Your Horn*
Barefoot in the Park*
The Odd Couple*
The Odd Couple (Female Version) (1985)
*
Sweet Charity*
The Star-Spangled Girl*
Plaza Suite*
Promises, Promises*
Last of the Red Hot Lovers*
The Gingerbread Lady*
The Prisoner of Second Avenue*
The Sunshine Boys*
The Good Doctor*
God's Favorite*
California Suite*
Chapter Two*
They're Playing Our Song*
I Ought to Be in Pictures*
Fools*
Brighton Beach Memoirs*
Biloxi Blues*
Broadway Bound*
Jake's Women*
Rumors*
Lost in Yonkers*
Laughter on the 23rd Floor*
London Suite*
Proposals*
The Dinner Party*
1963 -
Come Blow Your Horn - Director:
Bud Yorkin, screenplay by
Norman Lear (with
Frank Sinatra and
Lee J. Cobb)
*
1966 -
After the Fox - Director:
Vittorio DeSica (with
Peter Sellers and
Victor Mature)
*
1967 -
Barefoot in the Park - Director:
Gene Saks (with
Robert Redford and
Jane Fonda)
*
1968 -
The Odd Couple - Director: Gene Saks (with
Jack Lemmon and
Walter Matthau)
*
1969 -
Sweet Charity - Director:
Bob Fosse (with
Shirley MacLaine,
Chita Rivera and
Sammy Davis Jr.)
*
1970 -
The Out-of-Towners - Director:
Arthur Hiller (with Jack Lemmon)
*
1971 -
Plaza Suite - Director: Arthur Hiller (with Walter Matthau)
*
1972 -
Last of the Red Hot Lovers - Director: Gene Saks (with
Alan Arkin)
*
1975 -
The Prisoner of Second Avenue - Director:
Melvin Frank (with Jack Lemmon and
Anne Bancroft)
* 1975 -
The Sunshine Boys - Director:
Herbert Ross (with Walter Matthau and
George Burns)
*
1976 -
Murder by Death - Director:
Robert Moore (with Walter Matthau,
Truman Capote,
Peter Falk,
Alec Guinness,
David Niven and
Peter Sellers)
*
1977 -
The Goodbye Girl - Director: Herbert Ross (with
Richard Dreyfuss)
*
1978 -
The Cheap Detective - Director: Robert Moore (with Peter Falk,
Louise Fletcher,
Stockard Channing,
Madeline Kahn,
John Houseman,
Nicol Williamson and
Eileen Brennan)
* 1978 -
California Suite - Director: Herbert Ross (with Jane Fonda,
Alan Alda,
Maggie Smith,
Michael Caine, Walter Matthau,
Richard Pryor and
Bill Cosby)
*
1980 -
Seems Like Old Times - Director:
Jay Sandrich (with
Goldie Hawn and
Chevy Chase)
*
1982 -
I Ought To Be In Pictures - Director: Herbert Ross (with Walter Matthau)
* 1982 -
Sonny Boys - Director:
Rolf von Sydow (with
Carl-Heinz Schroth and
Johannes Heesters)
*
1983 -
Max Dugan Returns - Director: Herbert Ross (with
Matthew Broderick,
Marsha Mason,
Jason Robards,
Kiefer Sutherland and
Donald Sutherland)
*
1984 -
The Lonely Guy - Director: Arthur Hiller (with
Steve Martin)
*
1985 -
The Slugger's Wife - Director:
Hal Ashby (with
Michael O'Keefe and
Rebecca De Mornay)
*
1988 -
Biloxi Blues - Director:
Mike Nichols (with Matthew Broderick and
Christopher Walken)
*
1991 -
The Marrying Man - Director:
Jerry Rees (with
Kim Basinger and
Alec Baldwin)
*
1993 -
Lost in Yonkers - Director:
Martha Coolidge (with Richard Dreyfuss)
*
1995 -
The Sunshine Boys - Director:
John Erman (with
Woody Allen and Peter Falk)
*
1998 -
The Odd Couple II - Director:
Howard Deutch (with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau)
*
2001 -
Sonny Boys - Director: Jörg Hube (with
Werner Schneyder and
Dieter Hildebrandt)
*
2003 -
Laughter on the 23rd floor*
2004 -
The Goodbye Girl*
2006 -
The Heartbreak Kid*
Tony Award - for his plays:
**
The Odd Couple (1965, Best Author, Play)
**
Biloxi Blues (1985, Best Play)
**
Lost in Yonkers (1991, Best Play)
*
Pulitzer Prize for Drama —
Lost in Yonkers (1991)
*
Drama Desk Award —
Lost in Yonkers (1991, Outstanding New Play)
*
American Comedy Award– for his life work (1989, Creative Achievement Award)
*
Golden Globe —
The Goodbye Girl (1978, Best Screenplay - Motion Picture, Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy)
*
Kennedy Center Honor (1995)
* On 14 June 2006, it was announced that Simon will be awarded the
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on 15 October 2006.
