Mike Nichols - Career As A Director - 1980s

1980s

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 then returned to the Broadway stage with two unsuccessful shows. Billy Bishop Goes to War opened in 1980 and closed after only twelve performances. In 1981 Nichols directed Neil Simon's Fools, which closed after forty performances.

Nichols career seemed to rebound in 1983 with the film Silkwood, based on the life of whistleblower Karen Silkwood. The film was a financial and critical success, earning $35 million at the box office. Film critic Vincent Canby called it "the most serious work Mike Nichols has yet done." The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Nichols.

Later that year Nichols and Peter Stone helped to fix up and rewrite the musical My One and Only just days before its Boston premiere. 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." The play was nominated for seven Tony Awards and won five, including a Best Director Tony for Nichols.

Nichols quickly followed this success with the Broadway premiere of David Rabe's Hurlyburly, also in 1984. It was performed just two block away from the theater showing The Real Thing. It was nominated for three Tony Awards and won Best Actress for Judith Ivey.

In 1983 Nichols had seen comedian Whoopi Goldberg's one woman show The Spook Show and decided to help Goldberg expand it. Goldberg's self-titled Broadway show opened in October 1984 and ran for 156 performances. It also led to Goldberg's film career.

In 1986 Nichols directed the Broadway premiere of Andrew Bergman's Social Security. The show ran for 188 performances. That same year Nichols made the film Heartburn. The film earned $25 million at the box office and got mixed reviews.

In 1988 Nichols completed two feature films. The first was an adaptation of Neil Simon's autobiographical stage play Biloxi Blues. The film received mixed critical reviews, but earned over $51 million worldwide.

Later in 1988 Nichols directed one of his most successful films, Working Girl. Working Girl was a huge hit upon its release, earning $103 million worldwide. It also received mostly positive reviews from critics with an 84% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a 73 metascore at Metacritic. 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".

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