Even when the greats get older it never gets easier to lose them. Today we lost one of the absolute best. Mike Nicholas was one of the most prolific entertainers of the last 60 years. He was one of the few EGOT winners. Only 12 people have won competitive awards at each of the four ceremonies. Being a movie and TV blog I’ll focus most on the Emmy and Oscar but his comedy work and his efforts on the stage are amazing if no because they occurred concurrently with his film career. He was simply one of the best directors to ever live. Perhaps no one began their directing career with such a bang as Nichols. The German born director’s (who fled the Nazis at age 7 to the US) first film was Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and it was nominated in every single eligible Oscar category there was. Every single one. 13 nominations and 7 wins. Nichols didn’t win. Such success and coming so close to recognition could be hard to deal with for anyone. Nichols wasn’t just anyone. He followed it up with on of the best films of the 1960s and probably of all time, The Graduate.
It was a career defining performance for a young Dustin Hoffman. The shot above, one of the most recreated and honored and parodied made him an icon. Nichols was a genius for this movie. The film was nominated for seven awards and only won one: Best Director. This was his only Oscar. Not only is this movie a critical darling and a classic now, but adjusted for inflation is the 21st highest grossing movie ever in America. It resonated in 1967 and still resonates today. It is timeless. If he only made these two films he would probably still be a legend, but of course he kept going. He has 22 films he directed. Which might not seem that prolific over a such a long career, but remember he was busy winning awards in other mediums as well. Films of note that I loved were Carnal Knowledge, Working Girl and Regarding Henry in 1991 (this was actually J.J. Abrams second screenplay and look where he is now). Then came one of my personal favorites in 1996 The Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. I recently watched this film on account of William’s untimely death and will probably watch it again now because of Nichols. The comedy here is perfection. Perhaps one of the most overlooked films of the 90’s. Watch it along with The Graduate immediately.
He followed that up by coaxing a terrific performance out of Travolta as Bill Clinton in Primary Colors. He then turned to HBO to direct Angels in America which seemingly began the tradition of great two-night TV movies on the premium channel. This is where he won his final Emmy. Where I was first introduced to him was in 2004 with Closer. Natalie Portman and Clive Owen knock it out of the park here and this is largely due to Nichols just understanding actors and how to get the best out of them. The film is great on its own but after having been exposed to Nichols late in his career made me devour all his previous great films as well. Because of this seeing Closer my freshman year of college at the now demolished University Square theater is one of the best film memories of that year. What would be his final film, Charlie Wilson’s War, came out in 2007. A sharp Aaron Sorkin script coupled with spot on performances by Tom Hanks and previous collaborator Julia Roberts. At the time I don’t know if he knew it would be his final film, but if so, what a way to go out. From 1967 to 2007, greatness for decades and decades. After this he would stage three more Broadway plays.
Nichols will be sorely missed, but we have his films to look back on. He left a large part of himself with us forever. He also left some talented family members, of note are his wife newscaster Diane Swayer and daughter, Rachel Nichols of ESPN and CNN Sports. Watching a movie of his tonight would be a great tribute to him and his family and I encourage everyone to do so. You have lots to choose from. Thanks for all that you did Mr. Nichols!
midwestmovieman 