Neil Simon: As the Playwright & Screenwriter Turns 80, a Look Back at his Career

Neil Simon - On why he prefers New York over Los Angeles.

"With a play, I have only two people to please - myself and the director. With this movie it was a room filled with stuffy executives in suits with ties so tight they cut off circulation to their brains, a first-time director intimidated by his actors, and two movie stars who kept telling me which lines they would and wouldn't say."

Neil Simon - Regarding the tumultuous shooting of 1991's The Marrying Man.

This past July 4^th marked the 80^th birthday of one of our most renowned playwrights and screenwriters, Neil Simon. "Doc," as he is known to his friends and co-workers, has amassed an impressive resume of television, stage and film credits spanning 50 years. He is a Pulitzer Prize winner, two-time Tony Award winner (not counting 15 additional nominations) and a multiple Emmy and Academy Award nominee.

Simon began his career in the 1950's in television working on such shows as Cavalcade of Stars, The Garry Moore Show and, most notably, Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in which Simon wrote with fellow writing luminaries Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen and Larry Gelbart.

Simon's comedies have originated on Broadway and been revived in different incarnations more times then a theatergoer can count thanks to his humorous set-ups and witty dialogue that stand the test of time. The Odd Couple, for instance, has played many times on Broadway not only in its original form but with women in the leads and with African-Americans in the leads as well. Simon's work transcends sex and race.

One of his greatest honors came in 1983 when a theater on Broadway changed its name to the Neil Simon Theater.

Here is a year by year look at this marvelous talent and all the joy that he has heaped upon us through the years through the different mediums making us laugh and cry but always feeling good. First I will cover his plays and then I will cover his films.

Simon's first taste of Broadway came in 1955 with Catch A Star, a musical revue that Simon contributed sketches for. The play was a failure running just over two weeks. It would be almost 6 years, in 1961, before Simon would strike gold with his next play, Come Blow Your Horn, which would run for over 20 months. A film version was made in 1963 but Simon did not yet have the clout to adapt it to the screen himself. Simon's next play, Little Me, was less successful but earned him his first Tony Award nomination. Simon's next play was his most successful. Barefoot in the Park, the story of a newlywed couple in New York, was a smash success and ran on Broadway for an astounding four years and would garner him his second Tony nomination.

While Barefoot was breaking house records Simon got caught up in his first bout of serious writer's block in 1964. One day he was talking with his older brother Danny, also a writer, when Danny told him of a play he was trying to write about his personal experience of living as a hopeless neat freak who got a slob for a roommate, but had gotten stuck after one act. Hearing the idea set off a light bulb in Neil's head and he offered to take the story over for him and, in return, Neil would give his brother 10% of any and all earnings the play might make. That very night The Odd Couple was born and would reach Broadway several months later, in 1965, with Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison and Art Carney as Felix Unger. The play would run for 28 months and, needless to say, Danny Simon was set for life thanks to his baby brother. Simon received two more Tony nominations while Matthau would win for Best Actor in a Play.

In 1966 Simon had two plays hit Broadway. The first was Sweet Charity, a successful musical directed by the great Bob Fosse. The play would run 17 months. Later that year came Star Spangled Girl, which ran eight months, a success for most but a slight disappointment considering Simon's track record.

In quick succession Simon created three more smash hits in two years. First up was Plaza Suite, the story of three couples all staying in the same hotel suite in New York. The play ran for 32 months. Next was Promises, Promises, a musical adaptation of Billy Wilder's great film The Apartment. It would run 38 months. Last was The Last of the Red Hot Lovers about a restaurateur who decides to sow some wild oats by seducing women at his mother's apartment that is empty one day a week and soon finds it is tougher then he thought. It would run 21 months on Broadway. Simon would earn Tony nominations five, six and seven but still did not win the prize.

1970 found Simon writing a serious comedy about relationships called The Gingerbread Lady that would run 6 months. Next up was another triumph, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, about a married couple coping with the troubles of living in a Manhattan high rise, job loss, home burglary, nosy neighbors and nervous breakdowns. The play ran 23 months and earned Simon Tony nomination number eight. In 1972 Simon got his ninth Tony nomination for The Sunshine Boys, about a famous vaudeville team reuniting for a television special despite hating one another. The play ran 17 months.

Simon got his tenth nomination in 1973 for contributing songs to a musical called The Good Doctor, which ran barely six months. His mini-slump continued in 1974 with God's Favorite, a play that ran barely three months.

Simon bounced back two years later with California Suite, the story of three couples staying at the same hotel on the same day. It was his first true hot in four years having run 17 months. The next year Simon dug deep into his personal life to create Chapter Two about a playwright coping with the death of his young wife to cancer while resisting the urge to fall in love with an actress (Marsha Mason in real life). The play ran over two years and Simon won his eleventh Tony nomination. Simon's twelfth nomination (and last for 6 years) came for 1979's They're Playing Our Song, a smash hit musical romance that played for 31 months.

The 1980's started out as a rough decade for Simon. For the first time he had a string of flops and poorly received plays that had critics and audiences wondering if he had lost his touch. Then he would rebound later in the decade with a run that rivaled his best years in the 60's and 70's.

First up was 1980's I Ought To Be In Pictures about a young woman who travels to Hollywood to find her estranged father, a successful film director. The play received lukewarm reviews but did manage a ten month run. Next up in 1981was Fools, Simon's worst reviewed play to date which barely ran one month. In 1982 came Little Me which got even worse reviews and didn't even last one month.

Simon then took a break and hit upon the idea of making a trilogy of stories based on his life experiences. First up was 1983's Brighton Beach Memoirs which chronicled Simon's teenage years. The play was his biggest hit since Barefoot in the Park and ran 38 months. In 1985 came Biloxi Blues which chronicled his life in the Army. The play was far less successful then its predecessor but still ran 15 months and earned him his thirteenth Tony nomination. This time thirteen was a lucky number as Simon finally won the award. In 1986 came the last chapter in the trilogy, Broadway Bound, about his time as a young struggling playwright. The play ran 22 months and earned Simon his fourteenth Tony nomination. Simon's last play of the decade was the farce Rumors which ran 15 months.

Simon started the 90's the way he finished the 80's - with another big hit. Lost In Yonkers, another semi-autobiographical story of two boys forced to spend the summer with their stern grandmother and ditzy aunt, garnered Simon's best reviews while running just short of two years on Broadway. Simon earned his fifteenth (and last - to date) Tony nomination and second win. He also won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. This was Simon's last smash hit to date.

In 1992 Simon wrote Jake's Women about a man haunted by visions of all the women that ever played a role in his life. It received mixed reviews and ran for seven months. The next year Simon tried something he had never tried before by adapting one of his original movies into a play. The result was a musical version of The Goodbye Girl and, despite major hype, the show was not well received and ran for five months. Recounting his days writing for Sid Caesar, Simon next wrote Laughter on the 23^rd Floor which was a critical hit but ran for only nine months. For the first time it was suggested that perhaps today's audience was not in tune with Simon. After a four year break Simon returned with Proposals and found himself with another flop. It ran just under three months.

Now in his early 70's it was evident that Simon was slowing down. It was three years before Simon returned in 2000 with The Dinner Party starring Henry Winkler and John Ritter. The time off seemed to replenish Simon as the show was well received and would run nearly a year but time was apparently catching up as Simon has penned only one play since, 45 Seconds From Broadway, which received scathing reviews and played just over two months.

Now here is a look at Simon's screenwriting career which proved most successful as well.

In 1966 Simon's first taste of the big screen came with an adaptation of a play (not his) called After The Fox starring Peter Sellers. The next year he adapted his smash hit play Barefoot in the Park a smash hit movie starring then relative unknowns Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Simon's script would be nominated by the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) for Best Screenplay. In 1968 Simon adapted The Odd Couple for the big screen with Walter Matthau reprising his role as Oscar and Jack Lemmon stepping into the role of Felix. The film proved to be as funny as the play and Simon had another hit at the box office. Simon would win the WGA award and received his first Academy Award nomination.

In 1970 came The Out-Of-Towners, Simon's first original screenplay, starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis as an Ohio couple encountering trouble at every turn as they try flying to New York for his important job interview. With this film Simon had another hit and won his second WGA award. In 1971 Simon adapted Plaza Suite with Walter Matthau playing the lead in each of the three stories with three different leading ladies (Lee Grant, Barbara Harris, Maureen Stapleton). Despite strong reviews the film was a box office disappointment. In 1972 Simon had two movies hit the big screen. The first was Last Of The Red Hot Lovers, based on his play with Alan Arkin starring. The film was a critical and box office failure. Later that year came another original screenplay, The Heartbreak Kid. The film, directed by Elaine May, starred Charles Grodin as a man who marries a hopelessly klutzy and plain looking woman (Jeanne Berlin, May's daughter and Best Supporting Actress nominee) who then spots the beautiful Cybil Sheppard while honeymooning and falls hopelessly in love with her. The film was a critical hit but box office disappointment. Simon's script was nominated by the WGA and the Golden Globes.

It would be three years before Simon made it back to the big screen and when he did he adapted two of his biggest hits on stage. First up was The Prisoner of 2^nd Avenue starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft. The film received mixed reviews but was a solid hit and scored Simon another WGA nomination. Christmas of 1975 brought The Sunshine Boys to the big screen with Walter Matthau (Best Actor nominee) and George Burns in his first film role in 36 years. Burns stepped into the role after the originally cast Jack Benny would fall ill and die of cancer. Burns would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and his career was reborn. The film was a critical and box office hit, winning Simon another WGA award and receiving Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

In 1976 Simon scored another hit with his original screenplay Murder By Death, about a group of world famous detectives who converge on a millionaire's house for the chance to solve a murder mystery and win $1 million. The film featured a terrific ensemble cast including Peter Sellers, Peter Falk, David Niven, Maggie Smith, James Coco and Truman Capote. 1977 brought Simon his greatest critical and financial film hit with the original romantic comedy, The Goodbye Girl. Richard Dreyfuss (in his Academy Award winning role) stars as a struggling actor who sublets an apartment from a friend unaware that the friend has abandoned his girlfriend and precocious daughter (Academy Award nominees Marsha Mason and Quinn Cummings). The film was a sensation during the Christmas season and would be nominated for Best Picture (losing to Annie Hall). Simon would win the Golden Globe and receive his third Academy Award nomination and a nomination from the WGA.

Simon's hit streak at the box office continued in 1978 with two more successes. First up was another original script, The Cheap Detective, an homage to 1940's mystery films. Peter Falk plays the title character (the title derives from him refusing to tip - especially cab drivers), obviously inspired by Humphrey Bogart (and a role he played similarly in Murder By Death). He is ably aided by a strong supporting cast including Stockard Channing, Louise Fletcher, James Coco, John Houseman, Marsha Mason, Sid Caesar, Ann-Margret and Madeline Kahn. Next up was the Christmas release of California Suite, featuring another terrific ensemble cast including Alan Alda, Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith (Best Supporting Actress winner), Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor. Simon's last film of the decade, Chapter Two, was another box office hit.

Simon started the 1980's off on film much like he did on stage, disappointing reviews and lower then expected box office returns. First up was an original screenplay called Seems Like Old Times which re-teamed Goldie Hawn with Chevy Chase in a comedy that more resembled television sitcom level then a major motion picture, possibly in part due to director Jay Sandrich bringing years of television sitcom experience with him. The film was a Christmas disappointment. In 1981 came Only When I Laugh, the only adaptation of a Simon play (The Gingerbread Lady) whose original title was changed. The film was a serio-comic look at relationships, alcoholism and homosexuality and the mix didn't mesh with Simon's witticisms. Despite Oscar nominations for three of its actors (Marsha Mason, Joan Hackett, James Coco), the film was reviled by critics and the box office results were mild.

Simon's big screen slump continued in 1982 with his big screen version of I Ought To Be In Pictures starring Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret. Once again critics ripped the film apart and this time audiences stayed away as well. Simon's next film was another original, Max Dugan Returns, starring Matthew Broderick, Marsha Mason, Donald Sutherland and Jason Robards. This film was the best reviewed of the early 80's group but audiences avoided it and at this point industry rumors began swirling as to whether Simon was no longer bankable or if it was a simple case of too many films too close together - all of them similar in style and themes?

Simon's next two films didn't help and, for the first time, his work was being tampered with. 1984's The Lonely Guy is based on Simon's original script but it appears much of it was replaced when Steve Martin stepped into the title role and it was re-written to fit his comedic persona. 1985's The Slugger's Wife was a romantic comedy set in the world of Major League Baseball that was taken away from director Hal Ashby once principal photography was completed and edited by others against the wishes of Ashby and Simon. Both films were critical and financial failures.

In 1986 Simon decided to try and break his slump the same way he did a few years earlier with his stage work. He went back to his life trilogy and began to adapt them for the big screen. First up was 1986's Brighton Beach Memoirs which flopped at the box office despite some good critical notice. The major problem was that the original star of the play, Matthew Broderick - now a movie star in his own right, was unavailable and was replaced by the undistinguished Jonathan Silverman. Simon wisely waited two years to get Biloxi Blues off the ground until Broderick was available. He was also able to score top director Mike Nichols to helm the film. Despite it being one of Simon's best films in over a decade it was met with surprisingly mixed reviews and disappointing box office returns. So disappointing was the box office that the final part of the trilogy, Broadway Bound, never made it to the big screen and would end up on television in 1992.

1991 brought Simon's first work in three years with The Marrying Man, an original screenplay starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. The temperament of the two stars plus their constant demand for re-writes led Simon to flee the set of the film after just a few weeks never to return. Bad publicity for the film while it was still shooting no doubt hurt its chances at the box office and its failure came as no surprise. What did come as a surprise was that the film is mildly entertaining in spite of everything including a slew of critical notices saying otherwise.

Simon's last two features have also proved to be disappointments. 1993's Lost In Yonkers was adapted bringing the same leads from the play (Irene Worth; Mercedes Rhuel) to the movie but the film failed to find an audience while critics were divided, perhaps suggesting that some of Simon's material is best suited for the stage. 1998's The Odd Couple II was an unfortunate and desperate in appearance sequel to the classic movie which re-teamed Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. The novelty of seeing the two aging stars together had begun to wear off for most fans as this was their 4^th film (also Grumpy Old Men; Grumpier Old Men; Out To Sea) in 5 years and this was the lowest grossing film of the group.

Now that Neil Simon is 80 years old it is likely he has hung up his pen. It has been 9 years since the last movie with his name on it (though there is a remake of The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller and directed by The Farrelly Brothers coming out later this year) and 4 years since his last play. If that is the case it is our loss but we do have a lot to be thankful for over the course of 40+ years. Let's hope that he stays healthy, gets restless and takes one more stab at it.

The world can always use a good laugh.