Mike Nichols

American film and theatre director (1931–2014)

For other people named Mike Nichols, see Mike Nichols (disambiguation).

Mike Nichols

Nichols in 1958

Born|

Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky

(1931-11-06)November 6, 1931

Berlin, Germany

Died| November 19, 2014(2014-11-19) (aged 83)

New York City, U.S.

Citizenship|

* Germany (until 1935)
* Stateless (1935–1944)
* United States (from 1944)

Alma mater| University of Chicago
Occupations|

* Director
* producer
* actor
* comedian

Years active| 1955–2014
Spouses|

Patricia Scot

(m. 1957; div. 1960)​

Margot Callas

(m. 1963; div. 1974)​

Annabel Davis-Goff

(m. 1975; div. 1986)​

Diane Sawyer

(m. 1988)​

Children| 3
Relatives| Rachel Nichols (daughter-in-law)
Signature

Mike Nichols (born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of their experience. He is one of 19 people to have won all four of the major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). His other honors included three BAFTA Awards, the Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001,[1] the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010. His films received a total of 42 Academy Award nominations, and seven wins.

Nichols began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe The Compass Players, predecessor of The Second City, in Chicago. He then teamed up with his improv partner, Elaine May, to form the comedy duo Nichols and May. Their live improv act was a hit on Broadway, and each of their three albums was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album; their second album, An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May, won the award in 1962. After they disbanded, he began directing plays, and quickly became known for his innovative theatre productions.

His Broadway directing debut was Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park in 1963, with Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. He continued to direct plays on Broadway, including Luv (1964), and The Odd Couple (1965) for each of which he received Tony Awards. He won his sixth Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play with a revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (2012) starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. His final directing credit was the revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal (2013). Nichols directed and/or produced more than 25 Broadway plays throughout his prolific career.

Warner Bros. invited Nichols to direct his first film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), followed by The Graduate (1967) for which Nichols won the Academy Award for Best Director. Nichols also directed Catch-22 (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Day of the Dolphin (1973), Silkwood (1983), Working Girl (1988), Postcards from the Edge (1990), The Birdcage (1996), Primary Colors (1998), Closer (2004), and Charlie Wilson's War (2007). Nichols also directed the HBO television film Wit (2001), and miniseries Angels in America (2003), both of which won him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

## Early life[edit]

Nichols was born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky[2] on November 6, 1931, in Berlin, Germany. He was a son of Brigitte (née Landauer) and Pavel Peschkowsky, a physician.[2] His father was born in Vienna, Austria, to a Russian-Jewish immigrant family. Nichols's father's family had been wealthy and lived in Siberia, leaving after the Russian Revolution, and settling in Germany around 1920.[2] Nichols's mother's family were German Jews.[2] His maternal grandparents were Gustav Landauer,[3][4] a leading theorist on anarchism, and author Hedwig Lachmann.

Around age four, Nichols had lost his hair following an allergic reaction to an inoculation for whooping cough; consequently, when he reached adulthood he wore wigs and false eyebrows for the rest of his life.[3][5]

In April 1939, when the Nazis were arresting Jews in Berlin, seven-year-old Michael and his three-year-old brother Robert were sent alone to the United States to join their father, who had fled months earlier. His mother joined the family by escaping through Italy in 1940.[6] The family moved to New York City on April 28, 1939.[2][7] His father, whose original name was Pavel Nikolaevich Peschkowsky, changed his name to Paul Nichols, Nichols derived from his Russian patronymic. Before Paul Nichols had received his U.S. medical license, he was employed by a union on 42nd Street, X-raying union members.[8][9] He later had a successful medical practice in Manhattan, enabling the family to live near Central Park.[10][11]

> Before he established his practice, he was a union doctor, and part of his job was X-raying union members. They didn't know about shielding X-ray machines, and he died of leukemia at 44. [in 1944[12]]

>     – Mike Nichols[8]

He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944 and attended public elementary school in Manhattan (PS 87).[13] After graduating from the Walden School, a private progressive school on Central Park West, Nichols briefly attended New York University before dropping out. In 1950, he enrolled in the pre-med program at the University of Chicago.[11] He later described this college period as "paradise", recalling how "I never had a friend from the time I came to this country until I got to the University of Chicago."[3]

While in Chicago in 1953, Nichols joined the staff of struggling classical music station WFMT, 98.7 FM, as an announcer. Co-owner Rita Jacobs asked Nichols to create a folk music program on Saturday nights, which he named The Midnight Special. He hosted the program for two years before leaving for New York City. Nichols frequently invited musicians to perform live in the studio and eventually created a unique blend of "folk music and farce, showtunes and satire, odds and ends", along with his successor Norm Pellegrini. The program celebrated its 70th anniversary in the same time slot in 2023.[14][15]

## Comedy career[edit]

Main article: Nichols and May

Nichols and May, c. 1960

Nichols first saw Elaine May when she was sitting in the front row while he was playing the lead in a Chicago production of Miss Julie, and they made eye contact.[16] : 39 Weeks later he ran into her in a train station where he started a conversation in an assumed accent, pretending to be a spy, and she played along, using another accent.[17] : 325 They hit it off immediately, which led to a brief romance. Later in his career, he said "Elaine was very important to me from the moment I saw her."[17]: 325

In 1953, Nichols left Chicago for New York City to study method acting under Lee Strasberg, but was unable to find stage work there.[18] He was invited back to join Chicago's Compass Players in 1955, the predecessor to Chicago's Second City, whose members included May, Shelley Berman, Del Close, and Nancy Ponder,[11][16] directed by Paul Sills. In Chicago, he started doing improvisational routines with May, which eventually led to the formation of the comedy duo Nichols and May in 1958, first performing in New York City.

They performed live satirical comedy acts and eventually released three records of their routines, which became best-sellers. They also appeared in nightclubs and were on radio and television. Jack Rollins, who later became Woody Allen's manager and producer, invited them to audition and was most impressed: "Their work was so startling, so new, as fresh as could be. I was stunned by how really good they were, actually as impressed by their acting technique as by their comedy ... I thought, My God, these are two people writing hilarious comedy on their feet!"[17]: 340

In 1960, Nichols and May opened the Broadway show An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May, directed by Arthur Penn. The LP album of the show won the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Personal idiosyncrasies and tensions, such as on the unsuccessful A Matter of Position, a play written by May and starring Nichols, eventually drove the duo apart to pursue other projects in 1961. About their sudden breakup, director Arthur Penn said, "They set the standard and then they had to move on,"[17]: 351 while talk show host Dick Cavett said "they were one of the comic meteors in the sky."[17]: 348 Comedy historian Gerald Nachman describes the effect of their break-up on American comedy:

> Nichols and May are perhaps the most ardently missed of all the satirical comedians of their era. When Nichols and May split up, they left no imitators, no descendants, no blueprints or footprints to follow. No one could touch them.[17] : 319

They later reconciled and worked together many times. They appeared together at President Jimmy Carter's inaugural gala, in 1977, and in a 1980 New Haven stage revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Swoosie Kurtz and James Naughton.[19] May scripted Nichols's films The Birdcage (1996) and Primary Colors (1998). In 2010, at the AFI's "Life Achievement Award" ceremony, May gave a humor-filled tribute to Nichols.[20]

## Career as a director[edit]

### 1960–1970: Broadway debut and film breakthrough[edit]

Nichols directed several of Neil Simon's plays

Pre-film stage career

After the professional split with May, Nichols went to Vancouver, British Columbia, to work in the theater directing a production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and acted in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's St. Joan.[11] In 1963, Nichols was chosen to direct Neil Simon's play Barefoot in the Park. He realized at once that he was meant to be a director, saying in a 2003 interview: "On the first day of rehearsal, I thought, 'Well, look at this. Here is what I was meant to do.' I knew instantly that I was home".[18] Barefoot in the Park was a big hit, running for 1530 performances and earning Nichols a Tony Award for his direction.[11]

This began a series of highly successful plays on Broadway (often from works by Simon) that would establish his reputation. After directing an off-Broadway production of Ann Jellicoe's The Knack, Nichols directed Murray Schisgal's play Luv in 1964. Again the show was a hit and Nichols won a Tony Award (shared with The Odd Couple). In 1965 he directed another play by Neil Simon, The Odd Couple. The original production starred Art Carney as Felix Ungar and Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison. The play ran for 966 performances and won Tony Awards for Nichols, Simon and Matthau.[11] Overall, Nichols won nine Tony Awards:[21][22] including six for Best Director of either a play or a musical, one for Best Play, and one for Best Musical.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

In 1966, Nichols was a star stage director and Time magazine called him "the most in-demand director in the American theatre."[11] Although he had no experience in filmmaking, after befriending[23] Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Warner Bros. invited Nichols to direct a screen adaptation of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis for which he received a fee of $400,000.[24] The film was critically acclaimed, with critics calling Nichols "the new Orson Welles",[11] and a financial success,[25][26] the number 1 film of 1966.[27]

The film was considered groundbreaking for having a level of profanity and sexual innuendo unheard of at that time.[28][29][30] It won five Academy Awards and garnered thirteen nominations (including Nichols's first nomination for Best Director), earning the distinctions of being one of only two films nominated in every eligible category at the Oscars (the other being Cimarron), and the first film to have its entire credited cast nominated for acting Oscars. It also won three BAFTA Awards and was later ranked No. 67 in AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition).

The Graduate

Dustin Hoffman (1968) appeared in the Nichols-directed film The Graduate

His next film was The Graduate (1967), starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross for which he was paid $150,000, a deal he had made four years earlier with producer Joseph E. Levine.[24] It became the highest-grossing film of 1967 and one of the highest-grossing films in history up to that date,[31] with Nichols receiving 16⅔% of the profits, making him a millionaire.[24] It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, with Nichols winning as Best Director. In 2007, it was ranked #17 in AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition).

However, getting the film made was difficult for Nichols, who, while noted for being a successful Broadway director, was still an unknown in Hollywood. Producer Lawrence Turman, who wanted only Nichols to direct it, was continually turned down for financing. He then contacted Levine, who said he would finance the film because he had associated with Nichols on The Knack,[24] and because he heard that Elizabeth Taylor specifically wanted Nichols to direct her and Richard Burton in Virginia Woolf.[32] With financing assured, Nichols suggested Buck Henry for screenwriter, although Henry's experience had also been mostly in improvised comedy, and had no writing background. Nichols said to Henry, "I think you could do it; I think you should do it."[32]

Nichols also took a chance on using Dustin Hoffman, who had no film experience, for the lead, when others had suggested using known star Robert Redford. Hoffman credits Nichols for having taken a great risk in giving him, a relative unknown, the starring role: "I don't know of another instance of a director at the height of his powers who would take a chance and cast someone like me in that part. It took tremendous courage."[32] The quality of the cinematography was also influenced by Nichols, who chose Oscar winner Robert Surtees to do the photography. Surtees, who had photographed major films since the 1920s, including Ben-Hur, said later, "It took everything I had learned over 30 years to be able to do the job. I knew that Mike Nichols was a young director who went in for a lot of camera. We did more things in this picture than I ever did in one film."[32]

Nichols chose Simon & Garfunkel to write the music for The Graduate

Nichols also chose the music by Simon and Garfunkel. When Paul Simon was taking too long to write new songs for the film, he used existing songs, originally planning to replace them with newly written ones. In the end only one new song was available, and Nichols used the existing previously released songs. At one point, when Nichols heard Paul Simon's song, "Mrs. Roosevelt", he suggested to Simon that he change it to "Mrs. Robinson". The song won a Grammy after the film was released and became America's number 1 pop song. Nichols selected all the numerous songs for the film and chose which scenes they would be used in. The placement and selection of songs would affect the way audiences understood the film. Even actor William Daniels, who played Hoffman's father, remembers that after first hearing the songs, especially "The Sound of Silence", he thought, "Oh, wait a minute. That changed the whole idea of the picture for me," suddenly realizing the film would not be a typical comedy.[32]

Nichols had previously returned to Broadway to direct The Apple Tree, starring Second City alumna, Barbara Harris. After doing The Graduate, he again returned to the Broadway stage with a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes in 1967, which ran for 100 performances.[33] He then directed Neil Simon's Plaza Suite in 1968, earning him another Tony Award for Best Director. He also directed the short film Teach Me! (1968), which starred actress Sandy Dennis. In 1969 his film production company, Friwaftt, was acquired by Avco Embassy, the distributor of The Graduate, who also appointed him to the board of directors.[34] Friwaftt stood for "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."[35]

Nichols's next film was a big-budget adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 (1970), followed by Carnal Knowledge (1971) starring Jack Nicholson, Ann-Margret, Art Garfunkel and Candice Bergen. Carnal Knowledge was highly controversial upon release because of the casual and blunt depiction of sexual intercourse.[36] In Georgia, a theatre manager was convicted in 1972 of violating the state's obscenity statutes by showing the film, a conviction later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Jenkins v. Georgia.[37]

### 1971–1989: Rise to prominence and stardom[edit]

Nichols at the National Film Society in 1979

Nichols returned to Broadway to direct Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue in 1971. The play won Nichols another Tony Award for Best Director. In 1973, Nichols directed a revival of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya on Broadway starring George C. Scott and with a new translation by himself and Albert Todd.[11] In 1973 Nichols directed the film The Day of the Dolphin starring George C. Scott, based on the French novel Un animal doué de raison (lit. A Sentient Animal) by Robert Merle and adapted by Buck Henry. The film was not successful financially and received mixed reviews from critics.[11] Nichols next directed The Fortune (1975), starring Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Stockard Channing. Again, the film was a financial failure and received mostly negative reviews. In 1975, Nichols began filming Bogart Slept Here, an original screenplay by Neil Simon. The film starred Robert De Niro and Simon's wife, Marsha Mason. After one week of filming, displeased with the results, Nichols and the studio fired De Niro and shut the production down. Simon would retool the script two years later as The Goodbye Girl.[38] Nichols would not direct another narrative feature film for eight years.[11]

Nichols returned to the stage with two moderately successful productions in 1976; David Rabe's Streamers opened in April and ran for 478 performances.[39] Trevor Griffiths's Comedians ran for 145 performances.[40] In 1976 Nichols also worked as Executive Producer to create the television drama Family for ABC. The series ran until 1980. In 1977, Nichols produced the original Broadway production of the hugely successful musical Annie, which ran for 2,377 performances until 1983. Nichols won the Tony Award for Best Musical.[41] Later in 1977, Nichols directed D.L. Coburn's The Gin Game. The play ran for 517 performances and won a Tony Award for Best Actress for Jessica Tandy.[42]

In 1980, Nichols directed the documentary Gilda Live, a filmed performance of comedian Gilda Radner's one-woman show Gilda Radner Live on Broadway. It was released at the same time as the album of the show, both of which were successful. Nichols was then involved with two unsuccessful shows: he produced Billy Bishop Goes to War, which opened in 1980 and closed after only twelve performances,[43] and directed Neil Simon's Fools, in 1981, which closed after forty performances.[44] Returning to Hollywood, Nichols's career rebounded in 1983 with the film Silkwood, starring Meryl Streep, Cher and Kurt Russell, based on the life of whistleblower Karen Silkwood. The film was a financial and critical success, with film critic Vincent Canby calling it "the most serious work Mike Nichols has yet done."[11] The film received five Academy Award nominations, including a Best Director nomination for Nichols.

That same year, Nichols and Peter Stone helped to fix up and rewrite the musical My One and Only just days before its Boston premiere.[45] The show eventually went to Broadway and ran for 767 performances, winning Tony Awards for Best Actor, Best Choreography (both for Tommy Tune) and Best Supporting Actor (Charles "Honi" Coles). In 1984, Nichols directed the Broadway premiere of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing. The New York Times critic Frank Rich wrote that "The Broadway version of The Real Thing—a substantial revision of the original London production—is not only Mr. Stoppard's most moving play, but also the most bracing play that anyone has written about love and marriage in years."[46] The play was nominated for seven Tony Awards and won five, including a Best Director Tony for Nichols. Nichols followed the success with the Broadway premiere of David Rabe's Hurlyburly, also in 1984. It was performed just two blocks away from the theater showing The Real Thing. It was nominated for three Tony Awards and won Best Actress for Judith Ivey.[11]

Whoopi Goldberg credits Nichols with discovering her after seeing her perform her one woman show in 1983

In 1983, Nichols had seen comedian Whoopi Goldberg's one woman show, The Spook Show, at Dance Theater Workshop and wanted to help her expand it. Goldberg's self-titled Broadway show opened in October 1984 and ran for 156 performances. Rosie O'Donnell later said that Nichols had discovered Goldberg while she was struggling as a downtown artist: "He gave her the entire beginning of her career and recognized her brilliance before anyone else."[47] In 1986 Nichols directed the Broadway premiere of Andrew Bergman's Social Security and in 1988 directed Waiting for Godot, starring Robin Williams and Steve Martin.[48] Williams cited Nichols and May as among his early influences for performing intelligent comedy.[49]

In 1986, Nichols directed the film Heartburn, which received mixed reviews, and starred Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. In 1988, Nichols completed two feature films. The first was an adaptation of Neil Simon's autobiographical stage play Biloxi Blues starring Matthew Broderick, also receiving mixed critical reviews. Nichols directed one of his most successful films, Working Girl, which starred Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver. The film was a huge hit upon its release. It also received mostly positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for six Academy Awards (including Best Director for Nichols) and won the Academy Award for Best Song for Carly Simon's "Let the River Run". At one point in the 1980s, Nichols—who was prone to bouts of depression—reported that he had considered suicide, a feeling apparently brought on by a psychotic episode he experienced after taking the drug Halcion.[3]

### 1990–1999: Established career[edit]

In the 1990s, Nichols directed several more successful, well-received films including Postcards from the Edge (1990) starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine; Primary Colors (1998) starring John Travolta and Emma Thompson; and The Birdcage (1996), an American remake of the 1978 French film La Cage aux Folles starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest. Both The Birdcage and Primary Colors were written by Elaine May, Nichols's comedy partner earlier in his career. Other films directed by Nichols include Regarding Henry (1991) starring Harrison Ford and Wolf (1994) starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer. When he was honored by Lincoln Center in 1999 for his life's work, Elaine May—speaking once again as his friend—served up the essence of Nichols with the following:

> So he's witty, he's brilliant, he's articulate, he's on time, he's prepared and he writes. But is he perfect? He knows you can't really be liked or loved if you're perfect. You have to have just enough flaws. And he does. Just the right, perfect flaws to be absolutely endearing.[50]

### 2000–2016: Career expansion and later work[edit]

In the 2000s, Nichols directed the films What Planet Are You From? (2000), Closer (2004) and Charlie Wilson's War (2007), a political drama that was ultimately his final feature film. What Planet Are You From? received mixed reviews from critics,[51] while Closer and Charlie Wilson's War received generally positive reviews[52][53] and were both nominated for Academy Awards, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards.[54][55]

Nichols also directed widely acclaimed adaptations of Wit (2001) and Angels in America (2003) for television, winning Emmy Awards for both of them.[56] For his direction of the Broadway musical Spamalot, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2005.

Nichols in 2010

In 2012, Nichols won the Best Direction of a Play Tony Award for a revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. In 2013, he directed Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz in a Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal.[57] The play began previews of its limited run on October 1, 2013[58] at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, opened on October 27,[59] and closed on January 4, 2014.[60]

Among projects that remained uncompleted when he died, in April 2013 it was announced that Nichols was in talks to direct a film adaptation of Jonathan Tropper's novel One Last Thing Before I Go. The film was to be produced by J. J. Abrams, who previously wrote the Nichols-directed film Regarding Henry (1991).[61] In July 2014, it was announced that Nichols and Streep would reunite for an HBO film of Terrence McNally's 1985 play Master Class, with Nichols directing Streep in the starring role of opera singer Maria Callas.[62]

Nichols was a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. He was also a co-founder of The New Actors Workshop in New York City, where he occasionally taught.[63] In addition, he remained active in the Directors Guild of America, interviewing fellow film director Bennett Miller on stage in October 2011 after the Guild's screening of Miller's Moneyball.

In January 2016, PBS aired Mike Nichols: American Masters, an American Masters documentary about Nichols directed by his former improv partner, Elaine May.[64][65][66] On February 22, 2016, HBO aired the documentary Becoming Mike Nichols.[67]

## Directing style[edit]

After his early successes as a stage and film director, Nichols had developed a reputation as an auteur who likes to work intimately with his actors and writers, often using them repeatedly in different films. Writer Peter Applebome noted that "few directors have such a gift for getting performances out of actors."[68] During a half-year period in 1967 he had four hit plays running simultaneously on Broadway, during which time his first Hollywood feature, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, had also become a popular and critical success. Combined with his second film, The Graduate, in 1967, the two films had already earned a total of 20 Oscar nominations, including two for Best Director, and winning it for The Graduate.

Nichols was able to get the best out of actors regardless of their acting experience, whether an unknown such as Dustin Hoffman or a major star like Richard Burton. For his first film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, each of the four actors was nominated for an Oscar, with Elizabeth Taylor and Sandy Dennis winning. Burton later said, "I didn't think I could learn anything about comedy—I'd done all of Shakespeare's. But from him I learned," adding, "He conspires with you to get your best."[50]

However, it was Taylor who chose Nichols to be their director, because, writes biographer David Bret, "she particularly admired him because he had done a number of ad-hoc jobs to pay for his education after arriving in America as a seven-year-old Jewish refugee."[69] Producer Ernest Lehman agreed with her choice: "He was the only one who could handle them," he said. "The Burtons were quite intimidating, and we needed a genius like Mike Nichols to combat them."[70] Biographer Kitty Kelley says that neither Taylor nor Burton would ever again reach the heights of acting performance they did in that film.[70]

The same style of directing was used for The Graduate, where, notes film historian Peter Biskind, Nichols took Dustin Hoffman, with no movie acting experience, along with Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross and others, and managed to get some of their finest acting on screen. This ability to work closely with actors would remain consistent throughout his career. Hoffman credits Nichols for permitting the realistic acting needed for the satirical roles in that film:

> It's Nichols's style—he walks that edge of really going as far as he can without falling over the cliff, into disbelief. It's not caricature. That's the highest compliment for satire.[68]

In a similar way, Jeremy Irons, who acted in the play The Real Thing, said that Nichols creates a very "protective environment: he makes you feel he's only there for you,"[18] while Ann-Margret, for her role in Carnal Knowledge, felt the same: "What's wonderful about Mike is that he makes you feel like you're the one that's come up with the idea, when it's actually his."[71]

## Personal life[edit]

Nichols was married four times; the first three ended in divorce, the last upon his death.[72]

Nichols's first marriage was to Patricia Scot; they were married from 1957 to 1960. His second was to Margot Callas, a former "muse" of the poet Robert Graves, from 1963 to 1974.[73][74] The couple had a daughter together, Daisy Nichols. His third marriage, in 1975, to Annabel Davis-Goff, produced two children, Max Nichols and Jenny Nichols; it ended in divorce in 1986.[75] His fourth was to former Good Morning America and ABC World News anchor Diane Sawyer, whom he married on April 29, 1988.[76] None of his wives were Jewish and his children were not brought up according to a religion, but they identify as Jewish.[77] His son Max married former ESPN journalist Rachel Nichols.

Nichols had a lifelong interest in Arabian horses. From 1968 to 2004, he owned a farm in Connecticut and was a noted horse breeder. He also imported quality Arabian horses from Janów Podlaski Stud Farm in Poland, some of which sold for record-setting prices.[78] While in high school, Nichols had been an instructor at the Claremont Riding Academy in Manhattan's Upper West Side and also had "ridden in horse shows in Chicago."[79]

In 2009, Nichols signed a petition in support of releasing director Roman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."[80][81]

## Death and legacy[edit]

Nichols died of a heart attack on November 19, 2014, at his apartment in Manhattan.[82][83] During the 87th annual Academy Awards on 22 February 2015, Nichols was featured in the In Memoriam segment, in anchor position.[84][85][86][87] Nichols left John Frederick Herring Sr.'s painting "Horse with Groom" to his son Max.[88][89]

When Nichols died, many celebrities paid tribute to him, including Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey and Tom Stoppard.[90] On November 8, 2015, stars and artists gathered at New York's IAC Building to pay tribute to Nichols. Hosts for the private event included Elaine May and Lorne Michaels. Eric Idle and John Cleese performed. Guests included Streep, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Natalie Portman, Carly Simon, Nathan Lane and Christine Baranski.[91]

In 2017, during an Oscars Actress Roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, Amy Adams, Natalie Portman, and Annette Bening spoke about the impact Nichols had on their lives.[92] In 2020 Woody Allen described Nichols as "maybe the best comedy director ever on the stage."[93]

## Filmography and theatre credits[edit]

Main article: Mike Nichols on screen and stage

Directed features  Year  | Title  | Distribution

|
|

1966  | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Warner Bros.
1967  | The Graduate | Embassy Pictures
1970  | Catch-22 | Paramount Pictures
1971  | Carnal Knowledge | Embassy Pictures
1973  | The Day of the Dolphin
1975  | The Fortune | Columbia Pictures
1980  | Gilda Live | Warner Bros.
1983  | Silkwood | 20th Century Fox
1986  | Heartburn | Paramount Pictures
1988  | Biloxi Blues | Universal Pictures
Working Girl | 20th Century Fox
1990  | Postcards from the Edge | Columbia Pictures
1991  | Regarding Henry | Paramount Pictures
1994  | Wolf | Columbia Pictures
1996  | The Birdcage | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1998  | Primary Colors | Universal Pictures
2000  | What Planet Are You From? | Sony Pictures Releasing
2004  | Closer
2007  | Charlie Wilson's War | Universal Pictures

## Discography[edit]

* Improvisations to Music (1958) Mercury[94] ASIN B000W0V9BW
* An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May (1960) Mercury ASIN B000W06CCS
* Mike Nichols & Elaine May Examine Doctors (1961) Mercury MG 20680/SR 60680 ASIN B000W0AGDY
* In Retrospect (1962) Polygram, compilation, re-released as compact disc in 1996 ASIN B000001EKT

## Awards and honors[edit]

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Mike Nichols

Nichols is one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.[95]

Nichols received five Academy Award nominations, winning Best Director for The Graduate (1967). He was also nominated for his work on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Silkwood (1983), Working Girl (1988) and for producing The Remains of the Day (1993). For his collaborations with Elaine May, Nichols was nominated for three Grammy Awards winning for Best Comedy Album in 1962. Nichols also known for his extensive work on Broadway and received 16 Tony Award nominations, winning eight times for Barefoot in the Park (1964), Luv/The Odd Couple (1965), Plaza Suite (1968), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1972), Annie (1977), The Real Thing (1984), Monty Python's Spamalot (2005), and Death of a Salesman (2012). Nichols also received Primetime Emmy Awards for directing and producing the HBO television film Wit (2001) and miniseries Angels in America (2003).

In 1989 Nichols was presented the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement by Awards Council member Diane Sawyer.[96][97] He also received a Gala tribute from Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1999.[98] In 2001, he received the Peabody Award for his HBO television film Wit which starred Emma Thompson. In 2003 he was awarded with the Kennedy Center Honors where he was honored by Elaine May, Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen and Tom Stoppard.[99] In 2010 he was honored with the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award where he was honored by Elaine May, Nora Ephron, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Julia Roberts, Candice Bergen, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Harrison Ford, and Shirley MacLaine.[100]

Awards and nominations received by Nichols' films  Year  | Title  | Academy Awards  | BAFTA Awards  | Golden Globe Awards

|
|
|
|

Nominations  | Wins  | Nominations  | Wins  | Nominations  | Wins
1966  | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | 13  | 5  | 3  | 3  | 7  |
1967  | The Graduate | 7  | 1  | 7  | 5  | 7  | 5
1970  | Catch-22 |  |  | 2  |  |  |
1971  | Carnal Knowledge | 1  |  |  |  | 3  | 1
1973  | The Day of the Dolphin | 2  |  |  |  | 1  |
1975  | The Fortune |  |  |  |  | 1  |
1983  | Silkwood | 5  |  | 2  |  | 5  | 1
1988  | Working Girl | 6  | 1  | 3  |  | 6  | 4
1990  | Postcards from the Edge | 2  |  | 3  |  | 3  |
1996  | The Birdcage | 1  |  |  |  | 2  |
1998  | Primary Colors | 2  |  | 3  | 1  | 2  |
2001  | Wit |  |  |  |  | 2  |
2003  | Angels in America |  |  |  |  | 7  | 5
2004  | Closer | 2  |  | 3  | 1  | 5  | 2
2007  | Charlie Wilson's War | 1  |  | 1  |  | 5  |
Total  | 43  | 7  | 27  | 10  | 56  | 17

## See also[edit]

* Mike Nichols' unrealized projects
* List of people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards

## References[edit]

1. ^ "National Medal of Arts". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
2. ^ a b c d e Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (2010). Faces of America: How 12 Extraordinary People Discovered Their Pasts. New York: New York University Press. pp. 14–33. ISBN 978-0-8147-3264-9.
3. ^ a b c d Weber, Bruce (November 20, 2014). "Mike Nichols, Urbane Director Loved by Crowds and Critics, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
4. ^ American Masters (January 5, 2016). "Mike Nichols - Timeline". pbs.org. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
5. ^ Callow, Simon (September 24, 2020). "Charm Defensive". The New York Review of Books 67 (14): 40–42.
6. ^ "Faces of America: Mike Nichols". Public Broadcasting Service. January 4, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
7. ^ Kenny, Glenn (December 16, 2007). "Mike Nichols' life in the trenches". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
8. ^ a b "How Oedipus Wrecks - The New York Times". The New York Times. January 30, 2018. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
9. ^ Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (July 6, 2010). Faces of America: How 12 Extraordinary People Discovered Their Pasts. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814732649. Retrieved July 27, 2018 - via Google Books.
10. ^ "Mike Nichols: 'Salesman' By Day, Artist Always", NPR.org, National Public Radio, March 9, 2012, retrieved September 24, 2012
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wakeman, John (1988). World Film Directors 2 : 1945–1985. New York: H.W. Wilson. pp. 704–710. ISBN 978-0-8242-0763-2.
12. ^ Becoming Mike Nichols (2016, Documentary)
13. ^ Stated on an episode of Faces of America, in 2010
14. ^ Cohen, Ronald D. (2002). Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940–1970. Amherst: University of Massachusetts press. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-55849-348-3.
15. ^ "WFMT history". Retrieved May 21, 2023.
16. ^ a b Coleman, Janet (1991). The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre That Revolutionized American Comedy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-11345-6.
17. ^ a b c d e f Nachman, Gerald (2003). Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. pp. 659. ISBN 978-0-375-41030-7. OCLC 50339527.
18. ^ a b c McLellan, Dennis (November 20, 2014). "Mike Nichols, acclaimed director of 'The Graduate,' dies at 83". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
19. ^ Hill, Lee (June 2003). "Great Directors Critical Database: Mike Nichols". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
20. ^ video clip: "Elaine May Salutes Mike Nichols at the AFI Life Achievement Award", American Film Institute
21. ^ Thomas, Mike (November 21, 2014). "The best of Mike Nichols". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
22. ^ "Mike Nichols – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
23. ^ Kashner, Sam (September 11, 2015). "Mike Nichols's Life and Career: The Definitive Oral History". Vanity Fair. No. October. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
24. ^ a b c d "Nichols' $1-Mil. To Direct His Next". Variety. April 17, 1968. p. 1.
25. ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966", Variety, January 4, 1967 p 8
26. ^ Clooney, Nick (November 2002). The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen. New York: Atria Books, a trademark of Simon & Schuster. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-7434-1043-4. "Nichols's golden touch was intact. He pulled it off. Virginia Woolf was a critical success and, more important to the studio, a financial success."
27. ^ Clooney, p. 90
28. ^ Jack Valenti. "How It All Began". Motion Picture Association of America. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
29. ^ "'Virginia Woolf' Not For Kids". St. Petersburg Times. May 27, 1966. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
30. ^ Clooney, p. 82–84, 90
31. ^ The Graduate, Box Office Mojo
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33. ^ "The Little Foxes". Playbill Vault. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
34. ^ Green, Abel (March 19, 1969). "Mike Nichols On Avco Embassy Board; Joe Levine's Peace With Ponti-Loren". Variety. p. 1.
35. ^ "What's Friwaftt". Variety. March 19, 1969. p. 28.
36. ^ "Censored Films and Television II". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
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40. ^ "Comedians". The Broadway League. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
41. ^ Morrison, William (1999). Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. pp. 154–155. ISBN 978-0-486-40244-4.
42. ^ "The Gin Game". The Broadway League. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
43. ^ Billy Bishop Goes to War. The Broadway League. Retrieved March 12, 2010
44. ^ Rich, Frank (April 7, 1981). "Theater Review. 'Fools' by Simon' " The New York Times
45. ^ Shewey, Don (May 1, 1983). "How 'My One and Only' came to Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
46. ^ Rich, Frank (January 6, 1984). "Tom Stoppard's Real Thing". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
47. ^ Rivera, Zayda (November 20, 2014). "Mike Nichols dead at 83: Whoopi Goldberg breaks down on 'The View' when talking about her 'mentor'". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
48. ^ Kornbluth, Jesse. "Robin Williams's Change of Life", New York Magazine, November 22, 1993
49. ^ Herbert, Emily. Robin Williams: When the Laughter Stops 1951–2014, John Blak Publishing (2014) e-bk
50. ^ a b Weber, Bruce (November 20, 2014). "Mike Nichols, 83, Acclaimed Director on Broadway and in Hollywood, Dies". The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
51. ^ "What Planet Are You From?: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
52. ^ "Closer (2004): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
53. ^ "Charlie Wilson's War (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
54. ^ "Closer - Awards". IMDb.
55. ^ "Charlie Wilson's War - Awards". IMDb.
56. ^ "Awards Search: Mike Nichols". Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
57. ^ Fung, Lisa (April 4, 2013). "Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz heading to Broadway in 'Betrayal'". The Wrap. MSN News. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
58. ^ Brantley, Ben (October 28, 2013). "Threesome to Tantalize and Behold". The New York Times.
59. ^ "'Betrayal' with Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz: What did the critics think?". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 2013.
60. ^ "Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz claim huge success with Betrayal on Broadway". TheGuardian.com. January 7, 2014.
61. ^ Siegel, Tatiana; Borys Kit (April 23, 2013). "Mike Nichols in Talks to Direct 'One Last Thing Before I Go'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
62. ^ "Meryl Streep to Star in Master Class Movie on HBO". July 10, 2014.
63. ^ "The Founders". The New Actors Workshop. 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
64. ^ "Elaine May to Direct Mike Nichols Documentary for PBS", New York Times, November 1, 2015
65. ^ Interview: "Revisiting The Craft And Vision 'Graduate' Director Mike Nichols", NPR, January 29, 2016
66. ^ Lowry, Brian (January 26, 2016). "TV Review: 'American Masters: Mike Nichols's". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
67. ^ "Becoming Mike Nichols, an HBO Master Class in Theater, Film and TV", Huffington Post, February 11, 2016
68. ^ a b Whitehead, J.W. (2014). Mike Nichols and the Cinema of Transformation. McFarland & Company. pp. 5, 90. ISBN 978-0-7864-7145-4.
69. ^ Bret, David (2011). Elizabeth Taylor : the lady, the lover, the legend : 1932–2011 : a new biography. Vancouver: Greystone Books. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-55365-440-7.
70. ^ a b Kelley, Kitty (2011). Elizabeth Taylor : the last star. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 222\. ISBN 978-1-4516-5676-3.
71. ^ Crane, Robert; Fryer, Christopher (2012). Jack Nicholson : the early years. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 101\. ISBN 978-0-8131-3615-8.
72. ^ "Mike Nichols - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. November 20, 2014.
73. ^ Daisy and Jenny Nichols: Director Mike Nichols' Daughters "Daily Entertainment News" online webzine, November 20, 2014
74. ^ New Yorker essayist Alastair Reid obituary The Guardian newspaper, publish date September 24, 2014
75. ^ Bloom, Nate (February 2, 2010). "American Olympic Medal Hopefuls". InterfaithFamily.com. "Nichols and his third wife, Annabel Davis-Goff, who were married between 1975 and 1986, had two children: a daughter, Jenny, now around 32, and a son, Max, now 35. Davis-Goff is of Irish Protestant background and she has become a well known novelist in the last two decades."
76. ^ Krishnadev, Calamur (November 20, 2014). "Award-Winning Director Mike Nichols Dies At 83". NPR. National Public Radio. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
77. ^ Tampa Jewish Federation: "Jews in the News: Mike Nichols, Yael Grobglas and Dominic Fumusa" retrieved March 18, 2017 |"Nichols told Pogrebin that his parents were not religious observant at all. He said he was connected to his Jewish heritage, but did not practice Judaism or any other religion. His three children, he told her, were not raised in any faith. Despite their secular upbringing, Nichols said, all three of his children ultimately came to see themselves as Jewish. Nichols told Pogrebin that his daughter, Jenny, once said to him, "In the end you pick Jewish because it is harder."
78. ^ Cochran, Marsha (June 7, 1976). "They Sell Horses, Don't They? Not the Spectacular Way Mike Nichols Does It". People. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
79. ^ McCarten, John (September 4, 2023). "November 12, 1960 Nichols, May and Horses". The New Yorker. No. Animals. pp. 9–10.
80. ^ "Le cinéma soutient Roman Polanski / Petition for Roman Polanski - SACD". archive.ph. June 4, 2012. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
81. ^ Shoard, Catherine; Agencies (September 29, 2009). "Release Polanski, demands petition by film industry luminaries". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
82. ^ Staff (November 20, 2014). "Mike Nichols, Graduate director, dies at 83". BBC News. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
83. ^ Dennis McLellan (November 20, 2014). "Mike Nichols, groundbreaking director of 'The Graduate,' dies at 83". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
84. ^ "Which Dead Celebrity Will Anchor The Oscars "In Memoriam" Montage?". decider.com. February 22, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
85. ^ "Oscars 2015: Watch In Memoriam Tribute with Robin Williams". hollywoodreporter.com. February 22, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
86. ^ "Oscars 2015: In Memoriam - Oscars 2015 - 87th Academy Awards". February 20, 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
87. ^ "Which Fallen Star Will Anchor This Year's Oscars 'In Memoriam' Segment?". laist.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
88. ^ "'The Graduate' Director Mike Nichols Excellent Estate Planning". bmcestateplanning.com. February 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
89. ^ "Mike Nichols' Will". Scribd. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
90. ^ "Mike Nichols: Stars pay tribute to director". BBC News. November 21, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
91. ^ "Starry Group Pays Tribute to Late Director-Producer Mike Nichols". Playbill.com. May 10, 2020.
92. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "THR Full Oscar Actress Roundtable: Emma Stone, Natalie Portman, Taraji P. Henson, & More". YouTube.com. January 30, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
93. ^ Allen, Brooke (January 3, 2020). "'Life Isn't Everything' Review: A Rare Rapport With Actors". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
94. ^ Anon. (December 15, 1958). "Sold Out". Billboard. p. 17. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
95. ^ "16 stars who are EGOT winners". Entertainment Weekly. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
96. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
97. ^ "Looking Up to The Stars" (PDF). San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 1989.
98. ^ "Mike Nichols to Be Honored by Lincoln Center Thursday Night". TheWrap. November 20, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
99. ^ "Carol Burnett and Mike Nichols to Receive 2003 Kennedy Center Honors". Playbill. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
100. ^ "AFI Lifetime Achievement Award honoring Mike Nichols". Los Angeles Times. June 11, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2023.

## Bibliography[edit]

* Carter, Ash; Kashner, Sam (2019). Life isn't everything: Mike Nichols, as remembered by 150 of his closest friends. New York: Henry Holt & Company. p. 368\. ISBN 9781250112873.
* Harris, Mark (2021). Mike Nichols: A Life (First ed.). New York: Penguin Press. p. 688\. ISBN 9780399562242.
* Schuth, H. Wayne (1978). Mike Nichols. Boston: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 9780805792553.
* Stevens, Kyle (2015). Mike Nichols: Sex, Language and the Reinvention of Psychological Realism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199375813.
* Whitehead, J. W. (2014). Mike Nichols and the Cinema of Transformation. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 9780786471454.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mike Nichols.

Wikiquote has quotations related to films by Mike Nichols.

* Mike Nichols Accepts the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010 on YouTube \- American Film Institute
* 2010 Life Achievement Award \- American Film Institute
* The Evolution of Mike Nichols, New York article
* Mike Nichols at IMDb
* Mike Nichols at the Internet Broadway Database
* Mike Nichols at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

* v
* t
* e

Mike Nichols

* On screen and stage
* Awards and nominations
* Unrealized projects

Feature films|

* Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
* The Graduate (1967)
* Catch-22 (1970)
* Carnal Knowledge (1971)
* The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
* The Fortune (1975)
* Gilda Live (1980)
* Silkwood (1983)
* Heartburn (1986)
* Biloxi Blues (1988)
* Working Girl (1988)
* Postcards from the Edge (1990)
* Regarding Henry (1991)
* Wolf (1994)
* The Birdcage (1996)
* Primary Colors (1998)
* What Planet Are You From? (2000)
* Closer (2004)
* Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

Television|

* Wit (2001)
* Angels in America (2003)

Related|

* Nichols and May
* Mike Nichols: American Masters (2016 documentary)
* Becoming Mike Nichols (2016 documentary)

Awards for Mike Nichols

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best Director

1927–1950|

* Frank Borzage (1927/28; Dramatic Picture)
* Lewis Milestone (1927/28; Comedy Picture)
* Frank Lloyd (1928/29)
* Lewis Milestone (1929/30)
* Norman Taurog (1930/31)
* Frank Borzage (1931/32)
* Frank Lloyd (1932/33)
* Frank Capra (1934)
* John Ford (1935)
* Frank Capra (1936)
* Leo McCarey (1937)
* Frank Capra (1938)
* Victor Fleming (1939)
* John Ford (1940)
* John Ford (1941)
* William Wyler (1942)
* Michael Curtiz (1943)
* Leo McCarey (1944)
* Billy Wilder (1945)
* William Wyler (1946)
* Elia Kazan (1947)
* John Huston (1948)
* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1949)
* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950)

1951–1975|

* George Stevens (1951)
* John Ford (1952)
* Fred Zinnemann (1953)
* Elia Kazan (1954)
* Delbert Mann (1955)
* George Stevens (1956)
* David Lean (1957)
* Vincente Minnelli (1958)
* William Wyler (1959)
* Billy Wilder (1960)
* Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise (1961)
* David Lean (1962)
* Tony Richardson (1963)
* George Cukor (1964)
* Robert Wise (1965)
* Fred Zinnemann (1966)
* Mike Nichols (1967)
* Carol Reed (1968)
* John Schlesinger (1969)
* Franklin J. Schaffner (1970)
* William Friedkin (1971)
* Bob Fosse (1972)
* George Roy Hill (1973)
* Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
* Miloš Forman (1975)

1976–2000|

* John G. Avildsen (1976)
* Woody Allen (1977)
* Michael Cimino (1978)
* Robert Benton (1979)
* Robert Redford (1980)
* Warren Beatty (1981)
* Richard Attenborough (1982)
* James L. Brooks (1983)
* Miloš Forman (1984)
* Sydney Pollack (1985)
* Oliver Stone (1986)
* Bernardo Bertolucci (1987)
* Barry Levinson (1988)
* Oliver Stone (1989)
* Kevin Costner (1990)
* Jonathan Demme (1991)
* Clint Eastwood (1992)
* Steven Spielberg (1993)
* Robert Zemeckis (1994)
* Mel Gibson (1995)
* Anthony Minghella (1996)
* James Cameron (1997)
* Steven Spielberg (1998)
* Sam Mendes (1999)
* Steven Soderbergh (2000)

2001–present|

* Ron Howard (2001)
* Roman Polanski (2002)
* Peter Jackson (2003)
* Clint Eastwood (2004)
* Ang Lee (2005)
* Martin Scorsese (2006)
* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2007)
* Danny Boyle (2008)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2009)
* Tom Hooper (2010)
* Michel Hazanavicius (2011)
* Ang Lee (2012)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2013)
* Alejandro González Iñárritu (2014)
* Alejandro González Iñárritu (2015)
* Damien Chazelle (2016)
* Guillermo del Toro (2017)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
* Bong Joon-ho (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020/21)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (2022)
* Christopher Nolan (2023)

* v
* t
* e

AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Director

* Robert Altman (2001)
* Roman Polanski (2002)
* Joel Schumacher (2003)
* Mike Nichols (2004)
* Steven Spielberg (2005)
* Clint Eastwood (2006)
* Tony Gilroy (2007)
* Gus Van Sant (2008)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2009)
* Danny Boyle (2010)
* Stephen Daldry (2011)
* Steven Spielberg (2012)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2013)
* Richard Linklater (2014)
* Ridley Scott (2015)
* Kenneth Lonergan (2016)
* Guillermo del Toro (2017)
* Spike Lee (2018)
* Martin Scorsese (2019)
* Aaron Sorkin (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* Baz Luhrmann (2022)
* Christopher Nolan (2023)

* v
* t
* e

AFI Life Achievement Award

* John Ford (1973)
* James Cagney (1974)
* Orson Welles (1975)
* William Wyler (1976)
* Bette Davis (1977)
* Henry Fonda (1978)
* Alfred Hitchcock (1979)
* James Stewart (1980)
* Fred Astaire (1981)
* Frank Capra (1982)
* John Huston (1983)
* Lillian Gish (1984)
* Gene Kelly (1985)
* Billy Wilder (1986)
* Barbara Stanwyck (1987)
* Jack Lemmon (1988)
* Gregory Peck (1989)
* David Lean (1990)
* Kirk Douglas (1991)
* Sidney Poitier (1992)
* Elizabeth Taylor (1993)
* Jack Nicholson (1994)
* Steven Spielberg (1995)
* Clint Eastwood (1996)
* Martin Scorsese (1997)
* Robert Wise (1998)
* Dustin Hoffman (1999)
* Harrison Ford (2000)
* Barbra Streisand (2001)
* Tom Hanks (2002)
* Robert De Niro (2003)
* Meryl Streep (2004)
* George Lucas (2005)
* Sean Connery (2006)
* Al Pacino (2007)
* Warren Beatty (2008)
* Michael Douglas (2009)
* Mike Nichols (2010)
* Morgan Freeman (2011)
* Shirley MacLaine (2012)
* Mel Brooks (2013)
* Jane Fonda (2014)
* Steve Martin (2015)
* John Williams (2016)
* Diane Keaton (2017)
* George Clooney (2018)
* Denzel Washington (2019)
* Julie Andrews (2022)
* Nicole Kidman (2024)

* v
* t
* e

BAFTA Award for Best Film

1940s

* The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)
* Hamlet (1948)
* Bicycle Thieves (1949)

1950s

* All About Eve (1950)
* La Ronde (1951)
* The Sound Barrier (1952)
* Forbidden Games (1953)
* The Wages of Fear (1954)
* Richard III (1955)
* Gervaise (1956)
* The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
* Room at the Top (1958)
* Ben-Hur (1959)

1960s

* The Apartment – Billy Wilder (1960)
* Ballad of a Soldier – Grigori Chukhrai / The Hustler – Robert Rossen (1961)
* Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
* Tom Jones (1963)
* Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
* My Fair Lady (1965)
* Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Mike Nichols (1966)
* A Man for All Seasons – Fred Zinnemann (1967)
* The Graduate – Mike Nichols (1968)
* Midnight Cowboy – John Schlesinger (1969)

1970s

* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1970)
* Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
* Cabaret (1972)
* Day for Night (1973)
* Lacombe, Lucien (1974)
* Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1975)
* One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1976)
* Annie Hall – Charles H. Joffe and Jack Rollins (1977)
* Julia – Richard Roth (1978)
* Manhattan (1979)

1980s

* The Elephant Man – David Lynch (1980)
* Chariots of Fire – David Puttnam (1981)
* Gandhi – Richard Attenborough (1982)
* Educating Rita – Lewis Gilbert (1983)
* The Killing Fields – David Puttnam (1984)
* The Purple Rose of Cairo – Woody Allen and Robert Greenhut (1985)
* A Room with a View – James Ivory and Ismail Merchant (1986)
* Jean de Florette – Claude Berri (1987)
* The Last Emperor – Bernardo Bertolucci and Jeremy Thomas (1988)
* Dead Poets Society – Peter Weir, Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas (1989)

1990s

* Goodfellas – Martin Scorsese, Robert Chartoff, and Irwin Winkler (1990)
* The Commitments – Alan Parker, Lynda Myles, and Roger Randall-Cutler (1991)
* Howards End – James Ivory and Ismail Merchant (1992)
* Schindler's List – Steven Spielberg, Branko Lustig, and Gerald R. Molen (1993)
* Four Weddings and a Funeral – Mike Newell and Duncan Kenworthy (1994)
* Sense and Sensibility – Ang Lee and Lindsay Doran (1995)
* The English Patient – Anthony Minghella and Saul Zaentz (1996)
* The Full Monty – Peter Cattaneo and Uberto Pasolini (1997)
* Shakespeare in Love – Donna Gigliotti, Marc Norman, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, and Edward Zwick (1998)
* American Beauty – Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks (1999)

2000s

* Gladiator – David Franzoni, Branko Lustig, and Douglas Wick (2000)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders, and Fran Walsh (2001)
* The Pianist – Robert Benmussa, Roman Polanski, and Alain Sarde (2002)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, and Fran Walsh (2003)
* The Aviator – Sandy Climan, Charles Evans Jr., Graham King, and Michael Mann (2004)
* Brokeback Mountain – Diana Ossana and James Schamus (2005)
* The Queen – Andy Harries, Christine Langan, and Tracey Seaward (2006)
* Atonement – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Paul Webster (2007)
* Slumdog Millionaire – Christian Colson (2008)
* The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, and Greg Shapiro (2009)

2010s

* The King's Speech – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Gareth Unwin (2010)
* The Artist – Thomas Langmann (2011)
* Argo – Ben Affleck, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov (2012)
* 12 Years a Slave – Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, and Brad Pitt (2013)
* Boyhood – Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland (2014)
* The Revenant – Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent, and Keith Redmon (2015)
* La La Land – Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, and Marc Platt (2016)
* Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, and Martin McDonagh (2017)
* Roma – Nicolás Celis, Alfonso Cuarón, and Gabriela Rodríguez (2018)
* 1917 – Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, and Jayne-Ann Tenggren (2019)

2020s

* Nomadland – Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, and Chloé Zhao (2020)
* The Power of the Dog – Jane Campion, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, Tanya Seghatchian, and Emile Sherman (2021)
* All Quiet on the Western Front – Malte Grunert (2022)
* Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, and Emma Thomas (2023)

* v
* t
* e

BAFTA Award for Best Direction

1968–2000|

* Mike Nichols (1968)
* John Schlesinger (1969)
* George Roy Hill (1970)
* John Schlesinger (1971)
* Bob Fosse (1972)
* François Truffaut (1973)
* Roman Polanski (1974)
* Stanley Kubrick (1975)
* Miloš Forman (1976)
* Woody Allen (1977)
* Alan Parker (1978)
* Francis Ford Coppola (1979)
* Akira Kurosawa (1980)
* Louis Malle (1981)
* Richard Attenborough (1982)
* Bill Forsyth (1983)
* Wim Wenders (1984)
* No Award (1985)
* Woody Allen (1986)
* Oliver Stone (1987)
* Louis Malle (1988)
* Kenneth Branagh (1989)
* Martin Scorsese (1990)
* Alan Parker (1991)
* Robert Altman (1992)
* Steven Spielberg (1993)
* Mike Newell (1994)
* Michael Radford (1995)
* Joel Coen (1996)
* Baz Luhrmann (1997)
* Peter Weir (1998)
* Pedro Almodóvar (1999)
* Ang Lee (2000)

2001–present|

* Peter Jackson (2001)
* Roman Polanski (2002)
* Peter Weir (2003)
* Mike Leigh (2004)
* Ang Lee (2005)
* Paul Greengrass (2006)
* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2007)
* Danny Boyle (2008)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2009)
* David Fincher (2010)
* Michel Hazanavicius (2011)
* Ben Affleck (2012)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2013)
* Richard Linklater (2014)
* Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2015)
* Damien Chazelle (2016)
* Guillermo del Toro (2017)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
* Sam Mendes (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* Edward Berger (2022)
* Christopher Nolan (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film

1948–1975|

* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1948)
* Robert Rossen (1949)
* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950)
* George Stevens (1951)
* John Ford (1952)
* Fred Zinnemann (1953)
* Elia Kazan (1954)
* Delbert Mann (1955)
* George Stevens (1956)
* David Lean (1957)
* Vincente Minnelli (1958)
* William Wyler (1959)
* Billy Wilder (1960)
* Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise (1961)
* David Lean (1962)
* Tony Richardson (1963)
* George Cukor (1964)
* Robert Wise (1965)
* Fred Zinnemann (1966)
* Mike Nichols (1967)
* Anthony Harvey (1968)
* John Schlesinger (1969)
* Franklin J. Schaffner (1970)
* William Friedkin (1971)
* Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
* George Roy Hill (1973)
* Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
* Miloš Forman (1975)

1976–2000|

* John G. Avildsen (1976)
* Woody Allen (1977)
* Michael Cimino (1978)
* Robert Benton (1979)
* Robert Redford (1980)
* Warren Beatty (1981)
* Richard Attenborough (1982)
* James L. Brooks (1983)
* Miloš Forman (1984)
* Steven Spielberg (1985)
* Oliver Stone (1986)
* Bernardo Bertolucci (1987)
* Barry Levinson (1988)
* Oliver Stone (1989)
* Kevin Costner (1990)
* Jonathan Demme (1991)
* Clint Eastwood (1992)
* Steven Spielberg (1993)
* Robert Zemeckis (1994)
* Ron Howard (1995)
* Anthony Minghella (1996)
* James Cameron (1997)
* Steven Spielberg (1998)
* Sam Mendes (1999)
* Ang Lee (2000)

2001–present|

* Ron Howard (2001)
* Rob Marshall (2002)
* Peter Jackson (2003)
* Clint Eastwood (2004)
* Ang Lee (2005)
* Martin Scorsese (2006)
* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2007)
* Danny Boyle (2008)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2009)
* Tom Hooper (2010)
* Michel Hazanavicius (2011)
* Ben Affleck (2012)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2013)
* Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2014)
* Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2015)
* Damien Chazelle (2016)
* Guillermo del Toro (2017)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
* Sam Mendes (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (2022)
* Christopher Nolan (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Movies for Television and Limited Series

1971–2000|

* Buzz Kulik for Brian's Song (1971)
* Lamont Johnson for That Certain Summer (1972)
* Joseph Sargent for The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973)
* John Korty for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)
* Sam O'Steen for Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975)
* Marvin J. Chomsky for Inside the Third Reich (1982)
* Edward Zwick for Special Bulletin (1983)
* Daniel Petrie for The Dollmaker (1984)
* John Erman for An Early Frost (1985)
* Lee Grant for Nobody's Child (1986)
* Jud Taylor for Foxfire (1987)
* Lamont Johnson for Lincoln (1988)
* Dan Curtis for War and Remembrance: "Parts VIII-XII: The Final Chapter" (1989)
* Roger Young for Murder in Mississippi (1990)
* Stephen Gyllenhaal for Paris Trout (1991)
* Ron Lagomarsino for Picket Fences: "Pilot" (1992)
* Michael Ritchie for The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993)
* Rod Holcomb for ER: "Pilot" (1994)
* Mick Jackson for Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995)
* Betty Thomas for The Late Shift (1996)
* John Herzfeld for Don King: Only in America (1997)
* Michael Cristofer for Gia (1998)
* Mick Jackson for Tuesdays with Morrie (1999)
* Jeff Bleckner for The Beach Boys: An American Family (2000)

2001–present|

* Frank Pierson for Conspiracy (2001)
* Mick Jackson for Live from Baghdad (2002)
* Mike Nichols for Angels in America (2003)
* Joseph Sargent for Something the Lord Made (2004)
* Joseph Sargent for Warm Springs / George C. Wolfe for Lackawanna Blues (2005)
* Walter Hill for Broken Trail (2006)
* Yves Simoneau for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)
* Jay Roach for Recount (2008)
* Ross Katz for Taking Chance (2009)
* Mick Jackson for Temple Grandin (2010)
* Jon Cassar for The Kennedys (2011)
* Jay Roach for Game Change (2012)
* Steven Soderbergh for Behind the Candelabra (2013)
* Lisa Cholodenko for Olive Kitteridge (2014)
* Dee Rees for Bessie (2015)
* Steven Zaillian for The Night Of: "The Beach" (2016)
* Jean-Marc Vallée for Big Little Lies (2017)
* Ben Stiller for Escape at Dannemora (2018)
* Johan Renck for Chernobyl (2019)
* Scott Frank for The Queen's Gambit (2020)
* Barry Jenkins for The Underground Railroad (2021)
* Helen Shaver for Station Eleven: "Who's There?" (2022)
* Sarah Adina Smith for Lessons in Chemistry: "Her and Him" (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award – Feature Film

* Cecil B. DeMille (1952)
* John Ford (1953)
* Henry King (1955)
* King Vidor (1956)
* Frank Capra (1958)
* George Stevens (1959)
* Frank Borzage (1960)
* William Wyler (1965)
* Alfred Hitchcock (1967)
* Fred Zinnemann (1969)
* David Lean and William A. Wellman (1972)
* George Cukor (1980)
* Rouben Mamoulian (1981)
* John Huston (1982)
* Orson Welles (1983)
* Billy Wilder (1984)
* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1985)
* Elia Kazan (1986)
* Robert Wise (1987)
* Ingmar Bergman (1989)
* Akira Kurosawa (1991)
* Sidney Lumet (1992)
* Robert Altman (1993)
* James Ivory (1994)
* Woody Allen (1995)
* Stanley Kubrick (1996)
* Francis Ford Coppola (1997)
* Steven Spielberg (1999)
* Martin Scorsese (2002)
* Mike Nichols (2003)
* Clint Eastwood (2005)
* Norman Jewison (2009)
* Miloš Forman (2012)
* Ridley Scott (2016)
* Spike Lee (2021)

* v
* t
* e

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play

1975–2000|

* John Dexter (1975)
* Ellis Rabb (1976)
* Mike Nichols / Alan Schneider (1977)
* Melvin Bernhardt (1978)
* Jack Hofsiss (1979)
* Vivian Matalon (1980)
* Peter Hall (1981)
* Tommy Tune (1982)
* Trevor Nunn (1983)
* Michael Blakemore (1984)
* John Malkovich (1985)
* Jerry Zaks (1986)
* Howard Davies (1987)
* John Dexter (1988)
* Jerry Zaks (1989)
* Frank Galati (1990)
* Jerry Zaks (1991)
* Patrick Mason (1992)
* George C. Wolfe (1993)
* Stephen Daldry (1994)
* Gerald Gutierrez (1995)
* Gerald Gutierrez (1996)
* Trevor Nunn (1999)
* Michael Blakemore (2000)

2001–present|

* Jack O'Brien (2001)
* Mary Zimmerman (2002)
* Robert Falls (2003)
* Jack O'Brien (2004)
* Doug Hughes (2005)
* Nicholas Hytner (2006)
* Jack O'Brien (2007)
* Anna D. Shapiro (2008)
* Matthew Warchus (2009)
* Michael Grandage (2010)
* Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe (2011)
* Mike Nichols (2012)
* Pam MacKinnon (2013)
* Tim Carroll (2014)
* Marianne Elliott (2015)
* Ivo van Hove (2016)
* Ruben Santiago-Hudson (2017)
* John Tiffany (2018)
* Sam Mendes (2019)
* Stephen Daldry (2020)
* No Award (2021)
* Rebecca Frecknall (2022)
* Max Webster (2023)
* Daniel Aukin (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

1970s|

* Fielder Cook (1971)
* Tom Gries (1972)
* Joseph Sargent (1973)
* John Korty (1974)
* George Cukor (1975)
* Daniel Petrie (1976)
* Daniel Petrie (1977)
* David Lowell Rich (1978)
* David Greene (1979)

1980s|

* Marvin J. Chomsky (1980)
* James Goldstone (1981)
* Marvin J. Chomsky (1982)
* John Erman (1983)
* Jeff Bleckner (1984)
* Lamont Johnson (1985)
* Joseph Sargent (1986)
* Glenn A. Jordan (1987)
* Lamont Johnson (1988)
* Simon Wincer (1989)

1990s|

* Joseph Sargent (1990)
* Brian Gibson (1991)
* Joseph Sargent (1992)
* James Steven Sadwith (1993)
* John Frankenheimer (1994)
* John Frankenheimer (1995)
* John Frankenheimer (1996)
* Andrei Konchalovsky (1997)
* John Frankenheimer (1998)
* Allan Arkush (1999)

2000s|

* Charles S. Dutton (2000)
* Mike Nichols (2001)
* David Frankel, Tom Hanks, David Leland, Richard Loncraine, David Nutter, Phil Alden Robinson, Mikael Salomon and Tony To (2002)
* Steven Schachter (2003)
* Mike Nichols (2004)
* Stephen Hopkins (2005)
* Tom Hooper (2006)
* Philip Martin (2007)
* Jay Roach (2008)
* Dearbhla Walsh (2009)

2010s|

* Mick Jackson (2010)
* Brian Percival (2011)
* Jay Roach (2012)
* Steven Soderbergh (2013)
* Colin Bucksey (2014)
* Lisa Cholodenko (2015)
* Susanne Bier (2016)
* Jean-Marc Vallée (2017)
* Ryan Murphy (2018)
* Johan Renck (2019)

2020s|

* Maria Schrader (2020)
* Scott Frank (2021)
* Mike White (2022)
* Lee Sung Jin (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala Tribute Honorees

* Charlie Chaplin (1972)
* Fred Astaire (1973)
* Alfred Hitchcock (1974)
* Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman (1975)
* George Cukor (1978)
* Bob Hope (1979)
* John Huston (1980)
* Barbara Stanwyck (1981)
* Billy Wilder (1982)
* Laurence Olivier (1983)
* Claudette Colbert (1984)
* Federico Fellini (1985)
* Elizabeth Taylor (1986)
* Alec Guinness (1987)
* Yves Montand (1988)
* Bette Davis (1989)
* James Stewart (1990)
* Audrey Hepburn (1991)
* Gregory Peck (1992)
* Jack Lemmon (1993)
* Robert Altman (1994)
* Shirley MacLaine (1995)
* Clint Eastwood (1996)
* Sean Connery (1997)
* Martin Scorsese (1998)
* Mike Nichols (1999)
* Al Pacino (2000)
* Jane Fonda (2001)
* Francis Ford Coppola (2002)
* Susan Sarandon (2003)
* Michael Caine (2004)
* Dustin Hoffman (2005)
* Jessica Lange (2006)
* Diane Keaton (2007)
* Meryl Streep (2008)
* Tom Hanks (2009)
* Michael Douglas (2010)
* Sidney Poitier (2011)
* Catherine Deneuve (2012)
* Barbra Streisand (2013)
* Rob Reiner (2014)
* Robert Redford (2015)
* Morgan Freeman (2016)
* Robert De Niro (2017)
* Helen Mirren (2018)
* Spike Lee (2020)
* Cate Blanchett (2022)
* Viola Davis (2023)
* Jeff Bridges (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Golden Globe Award for Best Director

1943–1975|

* Henry King (1943)
* Leo McCarey (1944)
* Billy Wilder (1945)
* Frank Capra (1946)
* Elia Kazan (1947)
* John Huston (1948)
* Robert Rossen (1949)
* Billy Wilder (1950)
* László Benedek (1951)
* Cecil B. DeMille (1952)
* Fred Zinnemann (1953)
* Elia Kazan (1954)
* Joshua Logan (1955)
* Elia Kazan (1956)
* David Lean (1957)
* Vincente Minnelli (1958)
* William Wyler (1959)
* Jack Cardiff (1960)
* Stanley Kramer (1961)
* David Lean (1962)
* Elia Kazan (1963)
* George Cukor (1964)
* David Lean (1965)
* Fred Zinnemann (1966)
* Mike Nichols (1967)
* Paul Newman (1968)
* Charles Jarrott (1969)
* Arthur Hiller (1970)
* William Friedkin (1971)
* Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
* William Friedkin (1973)
* Roman Polanski (1974)
* Miloš Forman (1975)

1976–2000|

* Sidney Lumet (1976)
* Herbert Ross (1977)
* Michael Cimino (1978)
* Francis Ford Coppola (1979)
* Robert Redford (1980)
* Warren Beatty (1981)
* Richard Attenborough (1982)
* Barbra Streisand (1983)
* Miloš Forman (1984)
* John Huston (1985)
* Oliver Stone (1986)
* Bernardo Bertolucci (1987)
* Clint Eastwood (1988)
* Oliver Stone (1989)
* Kevin Costner (1990)
* Oliver Stone (1991)
* Clint Eastwood (1992)
* Steven Spielberg (1993)
* Robert Zemeckis (1994)
* Mel Gibson (1995)
* Miloš Forman (1996)
* James Cameron (1997)
* Steven Spielberg (1998)
* Sam Mendes (1999)
* Ang Lee (2000)

2001–present|

* Robert Altman (2001)
* Martin Scorsese (2002)
* Peter Jackson (2003)
* Clint Eastwood (2004)
* Ang Lee (2005)
* Martin Scorsese (2006)
* Julian Schnabel (2007)
* Danny Boyle (2008)
* James Cameron (2009)
* David Fincher (2010)
* Martin Scorsese (2011)
* Ben Affleck (2012)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2013)
* Richard Linklater (2014)
* Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2015)
* Damien Chazelle (2016)
* Guillermo del Toro (2017)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
* Sam Mendes (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* Steven Spielberg (2022)
* Christopher Nolan (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album

1950s|

* "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" – Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (1958)
* The Battle of Kookamonga – Homer and Jethro / Inside Shelley Berman – Shelley Berman (1959)

1960s|

* Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris – Jo Stafford & Paul Weston / The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! – Bob Newhart (1960)
* An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May – Elaine May & Mike Nichols (1961)
* The First Family – Vaughn Meader (1962)
* "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" – Allan Sherman (1963)
* I Started Out as a Child – Bill Cosby (1964)
* Why Is There Air? – Bill Cosby (1965)
* Wonderfulness – Bill Cosby (1966)
* Revenge – Bill Cosby (1967)
* To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With – Bill Cosby (1968)
* Sports – Bill Cosby (1969)

1970s|

* The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress – Flip Wilson (1970)
* This Is A Recording – Lily Tomlin (1971)
* FM & AM – George Carlin (1972)
* Los Cochinos – Cheech & Chong (1973)
* That Nigger's Crazy – Richard Pryor (1974)
* ...Is It Something I Said? – Richard Pryor (1975)
* Bicentennial Nigger – Richard Pryor (1976)
* Let's Get Small – Steve Martin (1977)
* A Wild and Crazy Guy – Steve Martin (1978)
* Reality...What a Concept – Robin Williams (1979)

1980s|

* No Respect – Rodney Dangerfield (1980)
* Rev. Du Rite – Richard Pryor (1981)
* Live on the Sunset Strip – Richard Pryor (1982)
* Eddie Murphy: Comedian – Eddie Murphy (1983)
* "Eat It" – "Weird Al" Yankovic (1984)
* Whoopi Goldberg (Original Broadway Show Recording) – Whoopi Goldberg (1985)
* Those of You with or Without Children, You'll Understand – Bill Cosby (1986)
* A Night at the Met – Robin Williams (1987)
* Good Morning, Vietnam – Robin Williams (1988)
* P.D.Q. Bach: 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults – Peter Schickele (1989)

1990s|

* P.D.Q. Bach: Oedipus Tex and Other Choral Calamities – Peter Schickele (1990)
* P.D.Q. Bach: WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio – Peter Schickele (1991)
* P.D.Q. Bach: Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion – Peter Schickele (1992)
* Jammin' in New York – George Carlin (1993)
* Live from Hell – Sam Kinison (1994)
* Crank(y) Calls – Jonathan Winters (1995)
* Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations – Al Franken (1996)
* Roll with the New – Chris Rock (1997)
* The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 – Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner (1998)
* Bigger & Blacker – Chris Rock (1999)

2000s|

* Brain Droppings – George Carlin (2000)
* Napalm & Silly Putty – George Carlin (2001)
* Robin Williams: Live on Broadway – Robin Williams (2002)
* Poodle Hat – "Weird Al" Yankovic (2003)
* The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents ... America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction – Jon Stewart and the cast of The Daily Show (2004)
* Never Scared – Chris Rock (2005)
* The Carnegie Hall Performance – Lewis Black (2006)
* The Distant Future – Flight of the Conchords (2007)
* It's Bad for Ya – George Carlin (2008)
* A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! – Stephen Colbert (2009)

2010s|

* Stark Raving Black – Lewis Black (2010)
* Hilarious – Louis C.K. (2011)
* Blow Your Pants Off – Jimmy Fallon (2012)
* Calm Down Gurrl – Kathy Griffin (2013)
* Mandatory Fun – "Weird Al" Yankovic (2014)
* Live at Madison Square Garden – Louis C.K. (2015)
* Talking for Clapping – Patton Oswalt (2016)
* The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas – Dave Chappelle (2017)
* Equanimity & The Bird Revelation – Dave Chappelle (2018)
* Sticks and Stones – Dave Chappelle (2019)

2020s|

* Black Mitzvah – Tiffany Haddish (2020)
* Sincerely Louis CK – Louis C.K. (2021)
* The Closer – Dave Chappelle (2022)
* What's In a Name? – Dave Chappelle (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Kennedy Center Honorees (2000s)

2000|

* Mikhail Baryshnikov
* Chuck Berry
* Plácido Domingo
* Clint Eastwood
* Angela Lansbury

2001|

* Julie Andrews
* Van Cliburn
* Quincy Jones
* Jack Nicholson
* Luciano Pavarotti

2002|

* James Earl Jones
* James Levine
* Chita Rivera
* Paul Simon
* Elizabeth Taylor

2003|

* James Brown
* Carol Burnett
* Loretta Lynn
* Mike Nichols
* Itzhak Perlman

2004|

* Warren Beatty
* Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee
* Elton John
* Joan Sutherland
* John Williams

2005|

* Tony Bennett
* Suzanne Farrell
* Julie Harris
* Robert Redford
* Tina Turner

2006|

* Zubin Mehta
* Dolly Parton
* Smokey Robinson
* Steven Spielberg
* Andrew Lloyd Webber

2007|

* Leon Fleisher
* Steve Martin
* Diana Ross
* Martin Scorsese
* Brian Wilson

2008|

* Morgan Freeman
* George Jones
* Barbra Streisand
* Twyla Tharp
* Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey

2009|

* Mel Brooks
* Dave Brubeck
* Grace Bumbry
* Robert De Niro
* Bruce Springsteen

* Complete list
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

* v
* t
* e

National Medal of Arts recipients (2000s)

2000|

* Maya Angelou
* Eddy Arnold
* Mikhail Baryshnikov
* Benny Carter
* Chuck Close
* Horton Foote
* Lewis Manilow
* National Public Radio, cultural programming division
* Claes Oldenburg
* Itzhak Perlman
* Harold Prince
* Barbra Streisand

2001|

* Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation
* Rudolfo Anaya
* Johnny Cash
* Kirk Douglas
* Helen Frankenthaler
* Judith Jamison
* Yo-Yo Ma
* Mike Nichols

2002|

* Florence Knoll Bassett
* Trisha Brown
* Philippe de Montebello
* Uta Hagen
* Lawrence Halprin
* Al Hirschfeld
* George Jones
* Ming Cho Lee
* William "Smokey" Robinson

2003|

* Austin City Limits
* Beverly Cleary
* Rafe Esquith
* Suzanne Farrell
* Buddy Guy
* Ron Howard
* Tabernacle Choir
* Leonard Slatkin
* George Strait
* Tommy Tune

2004|

* Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
* Ray Bradbury
* Carlisle Floyd
* Frederick Hart
* Anthony Hecht
* John Ruthven
* Vincent Scully
* Twyla Tharp

2005|

* Louis Auchincloss
* James DePreist
* Paquito D'Rivera
* Robert Duvall
* Leonard Garment
* Ollie Johnston
* Wynton Marsalis
* Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
* Tina Ramirez
* Dolly Parton

2006|

* William Bolcom
* Cyd Charisse
* Roy DeCarava
* Wilhelmina Holladay
* Interlochen Center for the Arts
* Erich Kunzel
* Preservation Hall Jazz Band
* Gregory Rabassa
* Viktor Schreckengost
* Ralph Stanley

2007|

* Morten Lauridsen
* N. Scott Momaday
* Craig Noel
* Roy Neuberger
* Les Paul
* Henry Z. Steinway
* George Tooker
* Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (University of Idaho)
* Andrew Wyeth

2008|

* Stan Lee
* Richard M. Sherman
* Robert B. Sherman
* Olivia de Havilland
* Hank Jones
* Jesús Moroles
* Ford's Theatre Society
* Fisk Jubilee Singers, (Fisk University)
* José Limón Dance Foundation
* The Presser Foundation

2009|

* Bob Dylan
* Clint Eastwood
* Milton Glaser
* Maya Lin
* Rita Moreno
* Jessye Norman
* Joseph P. Riley Jr.
* Frank Stella
* Michael Tilson Thomas
* John Williams
* Oberlin Conservatory of Music
* School of American Ballet

* Complete list
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s

* v
* t
* e

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director

1935–1950|

* John Ford (1935)
* Rouben Mamoulian (1936)
* Gregory La Cava (1937)
* Alfred Hitchcock (1938)
* John Ford (1939)
* John Ford (1940)
* John Ford (1941)
* John Farrow (1942)
* George Stevens (1943)
* Leo McCarey (1944)
* Billy Wilder (1945)
* William Wyler (1946)
* Elia Kazan (1947)
* John Huston (1948)
* Carol Reed (1949)
* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950)

1951–1975|

* Elia Kazan (1951)
* Fred Zinnemann (1952)
* Fred Zinnemann (1953)
* Elia Kazan (1954)
* David Lean (1955)
* John Huston (1956)
* David Lean (1957)
* Stanley Kramer (1958)
* Fred Zinnemann (1959)
* Jack Cardiff / Billy Wilder (1960)
* Robert Rossen (1961)
* No Award (1962)
* Tony Richardson (1963)
* Stanley Kubrick (1964)
* John Schlesinger (1965)
* Fred Zinnemann (1966)
* Mike Nichols (1967)
* Paul Newman (1968)
* Costa-Gavras (1969)
* Bob Rafelson (1970)
* Stanley Kubrick (1971)
* Ingmar Bergman (1972)
* François Truffaut (1973)
* Federico Fellini (1974)
* Robert Altman (1975)

1976–2000|

* Alan J. Pakula (1976)
* Woody Allen (1977)
* Terrence Malick (1978)
* Woody Allen (1979)
* Jonathan Demme (1980)
* Sidney Lumet (1981)
* Sydney Pollack (1982)
* Ingmar Bergman (1983)
* David Lean (1984)
* John Huston (1985)
* Woody Allen (1986)
* James L. Brooks (1987)
* Chris Menges (1988)
* Paul Mazursky (1989)
* Martin Scorsese (1990)
* Jonathan Demme (1991)
* Robert Altman (1992)
* Jane Campion (1993)
* Quentin Tarantino (1994)
* Ang Lee (1995)
* Lars von Trier (1996)
* Curtis Hanson (1997)
* Terrence Malick (1998)
* Mike Leigh (1999)
* Steven Soderbergh (2000)

2001–present|

* Robert Altman (2001)
* Todd Haynes (2002)
* Sofia Coppola (2003)
* Clint Eastwood (2004)
* Ang Lee (2005)
* Martin Scorsese (2006)
* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2007)
* Mike Leigh (2008)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2009)
* David Fincher (2010)
* Michel Hazanavicius (2011)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2012)
* Steve McQueen (2013)
* Richard Linklater (2014)
* Todd Haynes (2015)
* Barry Jenkins (2016)
* Sean Baker (2017)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
* Joshua Safdie and Benjamin Safdie (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* S. S. Rajamouli (2022)
* Christopher Nolan (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical

1960–1975|

* George Abbott (1960)
* Gower Champion (1961)
* Abe Burrows (1962)
* George Abbott (1963)
* Gower Champion (1964)
* Jerome Robbins (1965)
* Albert Marre (1966)
* Harold Prince (1967)
* Gower Champion (1968)
* Peter H. Hunt (1969)
* Ron Field (1970)
* Harold Prince (1971)
* Harold Prince and Michael Bennett (1972)
* Bob Fosse (1973)
* Harold Prince (1974)
* Geoffrey Holder (1975)

1976–2000|

* Michael Bennett (1976)
* Gene Saks (1977)
* Richard Maltby Jr. (1978)
* Harold Prince (1979)
* Harold Prince (1980)
* Wilford Leach (1981)
* Tommy Tune (1982)
* Trevor Nunn (1983)
* Arthur Laurents (1984)
* Des McAnuff (1985)
* Wilford Leach (1986)
* Trevor Nunn and John Caird (1987)
* Harold Prince (1988)
* Jerome Robbins (1989)
* Tommy Tune (1990)
* Tommy Tune (1991)
* Jerry Zaks (1992)
* Des McAnuff (1993)
* Nicholas Hytner (1994)
* Harold Prince (1995)
* George C. Wolfe (1996)
* Walter Bobbie (1997)
* Julie Taymor (1998)
* Matthew Bourne (1999)
* Michael Blakemore (2000)

2001–present|

* Susan Stroman (2001)
* John Rando (2002)
* Jack O'Brien (2003)
* Joe Mantello (2004)
* Mike Nichols (2005)
* John Doyle (2006)
* Michael Mayer (2007)
* Bartlett Sher (2008)
* Stephen Daldry (2009)
* Terry Johnson (2010)
* Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker (2011)
* John Tiffany (2012)
* Diane Paulus (2013)
* Darko Tresnjak (2014)
* Sam Gold (2015)
* Thomas Kail (2016)
* Christopher Ashley (2017)
* David Cromer (2018)
* Rachel Chavkin (2019)
* Alex Timbers (2020/21)
* Marianne Elliott (2022)
* Michael Arden (2023)
* Danya Taymor (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play

1960–1975|

* Arthur Penn (1960)
* John Gielgud (1961)
* Noel Willman (1962)
* Alan Schneider (1963)
* Mike Nichols (1964)
* Mike Nichols (1965)
* Peter Brook (1966)
* Peter Hall (1967)
* Mike Nichols (1968)
* Peter Dews (1969)
* Joseph Hardy (1970)
* Peter Brook (1971)
* Mike Nichols (1972)
* A. J. Antoon (1973)
* José Quintero (1974)
* John Dexter (1975)

1976–2000|

* Ellis Rabb (1976)
* Gordon Davidson (1977)
* Melvin Bernhardt (1978)
* Jack Hofsiss (1979)
* Vivian Matalon (1980)
* Peter Hall (1981)
* Trevor Nunn and John Caird (1982)
* Gene Saks (1983)
* Mike Nichols (1984)
* Gene Saks (1985)
* Jerry Zaks (1986)
* Lloyd Richards (1987)
* John Dexter (1988)
* Jerry Zaks (1989)
* Frank Galati (1990)
* Jerry Zaks (1991)
* Patrick Mason (1992)
* George C. Wolfe (1993)
* Stephen Daldry (1994)
* Gerald Gutierrez (1995)
* Gerald Gutierrez (1996)
* Anthony Page (1997)
* Garry Hynes (1998)
* Robert Falls (1999)
* Michael Blakemore (2000)

2001–present|

* Daniel J. Sullivan (2001)
* Mary Zimmerman (2002)
* Joe Mantello (2003)
* Jack O'Brien (2004)
* Doug Hughes (2005)
* Nicholas Hytner (2006)
* Jack O'Brien (2007)
* Anna D. Shapiro (2008)
* Matthew Warchus (2009)
* Michael Grandage (2010)
* Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris (2011)
* Mike Nichols (2012)
* Pam MacKinnon (2013)
* Kenny Leon (2014)
* Marianne Elliott (2015)
* Ivo van Hove (2016)
* Rebecca Taichman (2017)
* John Tiffany (2018)
* Sam Mendes (2019)
* Stephen Daldry (2020/21)
* Sam Mendes (2022)
* Patrick Marber (2023)
* Daniel Aukin (2024)

* v
* t
* e

People who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards

listed by duration and year of completion

Competitive EGOTs|

* Richard Rodgers (1946–1962)
* Helen Hayes (1932–1977)
* Rita Moreno (1962–1977)
* John Gielgud (1948–1991)
* Audrey Hepburn (1954–1994)
* Marvin Hamlisch (1974–1995)
* Jonathan Tunick (1978–1997)
* Mel Brooks (1967–2001)
* Mike Nichols (1961–2001)
* Whoopi Goldberg (1985–2002)
* Scott Rudin (1984–2012)
* Robert Lopez (2004–2014)
* John Legend (2006–2018)
* Andrew Lloyd Webber (1980–2018)
* Tim Rice (1980–2018)
* Alan Menken (1990–2020)
* Jennifer Hudson (2007–2022)
* Viola Davis (2001–2023)
* Elton John (1987–2024)

Honorary recipients|

* Barbra Streisand (1964–1970)
* Liza Minnelli (1965–1990)
* James Earl Jones (1969–2011)
* Harry Belafonte (1954–2014)
* Quincy Jones (1964–2016)
* Frank Marshall (2019–2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Norway
* Spain
* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Israel
* 2
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Australia
* Korea
* Netherlands
* Poland

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* Grammy Awards
* MusicBrainz
* Museum of Modern Art
* ULAN

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* Trove

Other|

* SNAC
* IdRef

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced
*[c.]: circa
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