34 EW.COM SEPTEMBER 14, 2018NEIL SIMON DEFINED AN ERA OF
American humor. The incomparablysuc-
cessful playwright and screenwriter, who
died Aug. 26 at the age of 91 of complica-
tions from pneumonia in New York, had a
career that spanned more than 50 years,
three Tony Awards, and four Oscar nomi-
nations. He held roles that have since faded
in American pop culture: the blockbuster
playwright, the studio screenwriter, the
slapstick dramatist. His rhythmic, fizzy
style of interpersonal comedy emerged as a
dominant and influential artistic force,
placing him among the 20th century’s most
significant cultural voices.EARLY YEARS
Simon helped build TV’s golden age of
sketch comedy as a writer for the ground-
breaking live seriesCaesar’s HourandYourShow of Shows. These experiences provided
the foundation for Simon’s writing, which
became known for razor-sharp one-liners
and mile-a-minute banter. “[I] learned
more about what I was eventually going to
do than in any other previous experience,”
he once said of working on those shows.
That era also inspired Simon’s 1993 play
Laughter on the23rd Floor,aromanàclef
centered on a Sid Caesar type and his staff.BROADWAY BREAKOUT
Simon made his Broadway debut in 1961
withCome Blow Your Hornand created two
smash hits only a few years later:Barefoot in
the Park, which starred Robert Redford, and
The Odd Couple, starring Walter Matthau.
(Mike Nichols directed both original pro-
ductions, winning a Tony forThe Odd
Couple.) The former was adapted into an1927–2018
Neil Simon outside the newly renamed Neil Simon Theatre in 1983Remembering
NEIL
SIMON
The playwright and screen-
writer had an award-winning
career that covered half a
century. To celebrate an icon,
we look back at his remarkable
run in five key acts.
BY DAVID CANFIELD@DAVIDCANFIELD97SIMON: BETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES;BAREFOOTIN THE PARK,BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIR:EVERETTCOLLECTION (2);ODD COUPLE: ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; LANE: BRUCE GLIKAS/FILMMAGIC