
That when he arrived in this country at age seven, he
only knew two English sentences: “I do not speak English” and “Please, do not
kiss me.” I also learned that he lost
his hair at age four from side effects of a Whooping Cough vaccine and
consequently wore wigs until he died at age 83.

Although he won awards for film, TV, and a Grammy for
records made with Elaine May, he greatest love and passion was for the theater. The first play he directed won him a
Tony. It was Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. Coincidently that was the first play I was
cast in as a principle, playing Victor Velasco, the rather strange
neighbor. Of course my production was
not on Broadway, but rather a group of local players who performed on a school
stage.
The last play Nichols directed was last year, Betrayal, which opened to mixed reviews
and quickly closed. The play before that though won
another Tony. It was a brilliantly cast Death of a Salesman, which played a limited run because of cast project conflicts. Phillip Seymour
Hoffman and two other actors were nominated for Tony Awards, as was the stage
and lighting Director.
Although his most famous film was The Graduate the one he directed the year before got him that
job. It was Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe? adapted from a play he was familiar
with because he once was cast as the lead played in the film by Richard
Burton. One can only imagine how Nichols
directed Burton, particularly at that time in Burton's career. Nichol's Direction earned him an Oscar nomination,
which would be repeated the next year.
He had a reputation as a strong, committed
director. The story is told of his
directing Walter Matthau in the The Odd Couple that eventually would play 964
performances on Broadway and spawn a television series, a movie and a revival
in 1988 with two females as the couple.
Presumably, Matthau at one point said, “You’re emasculating me. Give me back my balls!” To which Nichols replied, “Certainly. Props!”
He won a directorial Tony for Spamalot,
a production Mary and I saw when on our annual NYC visit for the Greater New
York Dental Meeting.

About the only project we did not follow closely was
the television Miniseries that won him one of his two Emmys: Angels in America. As Netflix is now allowing stream-watching, I
may revisit the project.
It is not surprising that, being one of a few select
persons who have won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy, he would be
honored for life achievement. Two of these that I recently watched in YouTube
were the AFI Award, with a great
tribute by Elaine May, and the KennedyCenter Award with about a 25-minute show featuring many of the actors and
performers who felt his genius.
Genius may in fact be the operative word. He was, after all, a second cousin, on his
mother’s side, some ways removed, to Albert Einstein.
In my next Post, I will share with you how I have joined
the legions who have a handicap placard.
You might find it interesting.
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