Mike Nichols, Beloved and EGOT-Winning Director of Stage & Screen, Dies at 83

Celebrated director of stage and screen Mike Nichols died on Wednesday, November 19. His death was announced in a statement by James Goldston, President of ABC News. The Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner was 83 years old.

Nichols, born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky on November 6, 1931, moved to the United States from Germany at the age of seven with his younger brother. The two joined their father in the states, who had fled months earlier from the rise of the Nazi regime. Once their mother joined them two years later, the family moved to New York. He attended New York University before dropping out to study pre-med at the University of Chicago. It was there that he awakened his passion for comedy and theater.

While in Chicago, he joined the improv group Compass Players with Elaine May, and the two soon formed their eponymous comedy duo Nichols and May. Though Nichols would later have nearly 30 Broadway credits to his name as director or producer, he got his start on the Great White Way in 1960 performing opposite May in An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May. The recording of their Broadway debut earned the pair a Grammy Award for Best Comedic Performance—the first award toward Nichols’ EGOT achievement.

Following Nichols and May’s professional split, he made his Broadway directorial debut with Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park in 1963. The following year, the production earned him his first of nine Tony Awards, six of which were for Best Direction of a Play—more than any other individual in that category. He took home the award again two years later, being recognized for helming both Luv and The Odd Couple.

Moving from stage to screen, though still sticking to his theatrical roots, Nichols began his successful career as film director with the 1966 adaptation of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Nichols was nominated for an Academy Award. While he lost to Fred Zinnemann for another adaptation of a play, A Man for All Seasons, his film took home five awards out of its 13 nominations. He would take home the trophy the following year for The Graduate.

Practically seamlessly, Nichols continued to direct on both Broadway and Hollywood. He took home Tonys for directing Plaza Suite, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Real Thing, Spamalot and the 2012 revival of Death of a Salesman. All the while, he received Oscar nominations for directing Silkwood and Working Girl and received Emmy Awards for his small screen adaptations of Wit (completing his EGOT) and Angels in America.

His illustrious stage career also included directing The Apple Tree, Streamers, Hurlyburly and the recent revival of Betrayal on Broadway, in addition to taking on the role of producer for many of those productions and more (including the Tony-winning Annie and The Real Thing) as head of Icarus Productions. His equally renowned calling as screen director included helming films inspired by theater, including Closer, The Birdcage and Biloxi Blues, in addition to such movies as Catch-22, Carnal Knowledge, Silkwood, Working Girl and Postcards from the Edge. He had been tapped to direct Meryl Streep in an HBO adaptation of Master Class.

Nichols wed ABC New Anchor Diane Sawyer in 1988. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his three children, Daisy, Max and Jenny, as well as four grandchildren.