July 4, 1927
Playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon born in the
Bronx section of New York City.
In one of his earliest jobs, in the 1950s,
Simon wrote for Sid Caesar’s live comedy television program Your Show of
Shows, alongside other future greats such as Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. As Simon went on to write for the stage and big
screen, humor would continue to play a major role in his work. Simon’s first
Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, opened in 1961. He went on to write
over 30 plays, including Barefoot in the Park (1963), The Odd Couple
(1965), The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969), The Sunshine Boys
(1972), Chapter Two (1977), the autobiographical trilogy of Brighton
Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound
(1986), Lost in Yonkers (1991) and The Goodbye Girl (1993).Simon wrote the screenplay for many of his stage productions that were
adapted for the big screen. In 1967, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda starred in a
cinematic version of Barefoot in the Park, about a young newlywed couple
in Manhattan. Redford had also appeared in the original Broadway cast. In 1968,
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau starred in a film version of The Odd Couple,
about the mismatched roommates Felix Ungar, a neurotic neat freak, and Oscar
Madison, a slob. Matthau also played Oscar Madison in the original Broadway
production. The Odd Couple later became a popular TV sitcom that aired
from 1970 to 1975 and starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. In 1998, Lemmon
and Matthau reunited for The Odd Couple II. (The pair appeared in a
number of comedic films together, starting with 1966’s The Fortune Cookie
and including 1993’s Grumpy Old Men and its 1995 sequel.)
Simon has received four Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay: for The
Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys (1975), which starred Matthau and George
Burns, The Goodbye Girl (1977), which starred Richard Dreyfuss and
Marsha Mason (whom Simon was married to from 1973 to 1981) and California
Suite (1978), which featured Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Michael Caine and
Richard Pryor.
July 4, 1927
Playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon born in the Bronx section of New York City.
In one of his earliest jobs, in the 1950s,
Simon wrote for Sid Caesar’s live comedy television program Your Show of
Shows, alongside other future greats such as Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. As Simon went on to write for the stage and big
screen, humor would continue to play a major role in his work. Simon’s first
Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, opened in 1961. He went on to write
over 30 plays, including Barefoot in the Park (1963), The Odd Couple
(1965), The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969), The Sunshine Boys
(1972), Chapter Two (1977), the autobiographical trilogy of Brighton
Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound
(1986), Lost in Yonkers (1991) and The Goodbye Girl (1993).Simon wrote the screenplay for many of his stage productions that were
adapted for the big screen. In 1967, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda starred in a
cinematic version of Barefoot in the Park, about a young newlywed couple
in Manhattan. Redford had also appeared in the original Broadway cast. In 1968,
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau starred in a film version of The Odd Couple,
about the mismatched roommates Felix Ungar, a neurotic neat freak, and Oscar
Madison, a slob. Matthau also played Oscar Madison in the original Broadway
production. The Odd Couple later became a popular TV sitcom that aired
from 1970 to 1975 and starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. In 1998, Lemmon
and Matthau reunited for The Odd Couple II. (The pair appeared in a
number of comedic films together, starting with 1966’s The Fortune Cookie
and including 1993’s Grumpy Old Men and its 1995 sequel.)
Simon has received four Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay: for The
Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys (1975), which starred Matthau and George
Burns, The Goodbye Girl (1977), which starred Richard Dreyfuss and
Marsha Mason (whom Simon was married to from 1973 to 1981) and California
Suite (1978), which featured Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Michael Caine and
Richard Pryor.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
No comments:
Post a Comment