Mike Nichols projects almost always had a high-profile glow, mainly because stars flocked to work with him. He directed Julie Christie, Lillian Gish, George C. Scott, Richard Dreyfuss and Morgan Freeman on Broadway. Off Broadway he directed Steve Martin and Robin Williams as Vladimir and Estragon in “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett. Outdoors in the Delacorte Theater in Central Park he directed Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Christopher Walken, John Goodman and Kevin Kline in Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” Mr. Nicholson, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Ron Silver, Anne Bancroft, Candice Bergen and Gene Hackman all worked with Mr. Nichols more than once. When he directed Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley as appealingly bickering newlyweds in “Barefoot in the Park,” they were largely unknown. When he directed Burton and Taylor in “Virginia Woolf” they were the biggest stars in the world. In 1999, Mr. Nichols was honored at Lincoln Center in New York for a lifetime of achievement, and Ms. May, his onetime foil and, after a hiatus, his longtime friend, addressed the crowd and offered an encomium with just enough bite to make it ring true. “So he’s witty, he’s brilliant, he’s articulate, he’s on time, he’s prepared and he writes,” she said. “But is he perfect? He knows you can’t really be liked or loved if you’re perfect. You have to have just enough flaws. And he does. Just the right, perfect flaws to be absolutely endearing.” RIP Mr. Nichols. You brought us new perspectives and vision in a world sadly lacking them.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 16:45:43 +0000
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