Neil Simon
1927 - 2018
A true American cultural treasure (he was even born on the 4th of July), Neil Simon, died today at the age of 91. Just two days ago in writing about the movie, "The Sunshine Boys", on this blog, I wrote the following...."Let's face it, trying to name your favorite Neil Simon play/movie is like trying to name your favorite Sinatra or Beatles song. There is just too much rich material from which to choose to come up with a definitive favorite."
Simon was a comedy writer for one of the earliest television classics, Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows", where he worked with such great writers as Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, and Larry Gelbart. He went on to become one of the greatest playwrights in American history. Thirty-three of his players were produced on Broadway, and they include undeniable classics such as "The Odd Couple", "Barefoot in the Park", "Sweet Charity", "Plaza Suite", and the aforementioned "The Sunshine Boys". At two different points in time, the late 1960's and the mid 1990's, there were four Simon plays running simultaneously on Broadway.
He is also credited with 28 different movie screenplays.
He has won two Tony Awards, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize. He is a Kennedy Center Honoree and the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American humor.
I have seen three shows on Broadway in my life, and I am thrilled that first one that I saw was a Neil Simon play, "Plaza Suite", in 1969 when my Dad took me to New York with him on a business trip as a high school graduation celebration.
The wonderful thing about people like Neil Simon is that even when they die, they continue to live on. Neil Simon's plays will continue to be staged professionally, in local theaters, and in high schools for as long as the English language will continue to exist, and they will always - ALWAYS - be funny.
Is there a better gift for anyone to give the public?
RIP Neil Simon.
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