The Odd Couple Creator Neil Simon Dies at Age 91
It is with great sadness that ComingSoon.net (via The New York Times) can report that the prolific, award-winning playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon has passed away at age 91 from complications with pneumonia. Simon was also suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
He and his brother Danny Simon began writing for radio and television in the early 1950’s, eventually finding a home among the comedy vanguard of the time at Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, which also served as a launchpad for Carl Reiner (The Jerk), Mel Brooks (Young Frankenstein), Mel Tolkin (All in the Family), Imogene Coca (National Lampoon’s Vacation) and, in later years, Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H) and Woody Allen (Annie Hall). The famed writer’s room later inspired the hit 1982 movie My Favorite Year, produced by Brooks, as well as Simon’s own 1993 play Laughter on the 23rd Floor, adapted for TV in 2001.
Simon’s first play, the swinging bachelor comedy Come Blow Your Horn, debuted on Broadway in 1961 after three years in development, and was later turned into a 1963 film starring Frank Sinatra. This began a trend of Simon’s plays debuting to huge success on Broadway and subsequently being adapted into films, often with Simon himself serving as screenwriter. He also penned several original screenplays. Major Simon films (often produced by Ray Stark) include After the Fox (1966) starring Peter Sellers, Barefoot in the Park (1967) starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, Sweet Charity (1969) starring Shirley MacLaine, The Out of Towners (1970) starring Jack Lemmon (remade in 1999 with Steve Martin), Plaza Suite (1971) starring Walter Matthau, The Heartbreak Kid (1972) starring Charles Grodin (remade in 2007 with Ben Stiller), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) starring Jack Lemmon, The Sunshine Boys (1975) starring George Burns, Murder by Death (1976) starring Peter Falk, The Goodbye Girl (1977) featuring an Oscar-winning turn from Richard Dreyfuss, California Suite (1978) starring Jane Fonda, Seems Like Old Times (1980) starring Chevy Chase, Max Dugan Returns (1983) starring Jason Robards, The Lonely Guy (1984) starring Steve Martin, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) starring Jonathan Silverman, Biloxi Blues (1988) starring Matthew Broderick, and Lost in Yonkers (1993) starring Richard Dreyfuss and Mercedes Ruehl.
Without a doubt, Simon’s biggest and most enduring success came in 1965 with the broadway debut of his play The Odd Couple, directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate) and starring Walter Matthau and Art Carney as the slovenly Oscar Madison and fastidious Felix Ungar, respectively. The show, about two divorced friends with polar opposite lifestyles who move in with each other, was a smash hit that garnered Simon a Tony Award. Gene Saks directed the film version, which featured Matthau reprising his Broadway role of Oscar while Jack Lemmon took over the role of Felix. The film became the fourth highest grossing film of 1968, cemented the onscreen partnership of Lemmon and Matthau, and eventually spawned a popular TV sitcom starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman (who had replaced Matthau in the role on Broadway), which ran from 1970 to 1975, as well as a 1993 reunion special The Odd Couple: Together Again. There was also an African American version of the TV show called The New Odd Couple starring Ron Glass and Demond Wilson, as well as a more recent redo starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon titled The Odd Couple, which aired on CBS from 2015-2017. Simon himself penned a sex-reversal version of the play in 1985 titled The Female Odd Couple, which starred Sally Struthers as Florence (Felix) and Rita Moreno as Olive (Oscar), and ran for 295 performances. Simon’s last feature screenplay was a sequel titled The Odd Couple II, which reunited Lemmon and Matthau but failed to recapture the same magic, proving a critical and box office disappointment.
Simon’s final play, Rose’s Dilemma, ran in Los Angeles and off-Broadway in 2003. He is survived by his wife, actress Elaine Joyce, his children Nancy and Ellen and his adopted daughter Bryn.
Here are some Hollywood reactions to Simon’s death…
Thank you Neil Simon.
— Thomas Lennon (@thomaslennon) August 26, 2018
To say that #NeilSimon was one of the primary influences on my life and career would be an understatement. His work, as both a participant and audience, has defined and shaped me on my own journies and carr@eer trajectory. RIP to another lost legend.
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) August 26, 2018
Thank you Neil Simon for the laughter of my childhood. Your plays and movies were my go to for smart character comedy. Bravo. Bravo. pic.twitter.com/s3NDPr38oe
— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) August 26, 2018
Oh beloved Neil Simon. RIP great one.
— Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth) August 26, 2018
Neil Simon – gone! A loss 4 the entire entertainment industry.
He could write a joke that would make you laugh, define the character, the situation, and even the world’s problems. First time I met him he looked at me and said, “Where the hell did they find you?” What a gent.— Harvey Fierstein (@HarveyFierstein) August 26, 2018
The most famous playwright in American history has died. From humble beginnings in the Bronx, Neil Simon defined a generation of comedy and reflection on what it means to be human. He was an extraordinary writer and force in the world of theater. Thank you, Neil. pic.twitter.com/GNlpqlbRac
— Mayim Bialik (@missmayim) August 26, 2018
I was in college when I got my first Broadway show-Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite.” There couldn’t have been a better way to begin a career. Doc Simon was the Albert Einstein of funny.
— Bob Balaban (@BobBalaban) August 27, 2018
Got my Actors Equity card as an understudy on the National tour of ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ –
Thank you, Neil Simon.#RIPNeilSimon— Nancy Travis (@NancyATravis) August 27, 2018
In 1967, #NeilSimon’s BAREFOOT IN THE PARK played at my dads theater in SLC, Utah#RobertRedford came for opening night. The world was in love w both him & @Janefonda
But Simon provided the vehicle. It all begins with the word. His were amazing, poignant, hysterical. RIP
— Matthew Modine (@MatthewModine) August 26, 2018
My favorite Neil Simon screenplay – “The Heartbreak Kid” https://t.co/sUfJ1GAJnc
— Larry Karaszewski (@Karaszewski) August 27, 2018
“There’s no more money anyone can pay me that I need. There are no awards they can give me that I haven’t won. I have no reason to write another play except that I am alive and I like to do it”-Neil Simon #RIP GIANT of the American Theatre #ThanksForTheLaughs pic.twitter.com/NZIVGPLdst
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) August 26, 2018
After war and famine, the unfunniest thing these days is a hit Broadway comedy. Theater hasn’t been funny since Neil Simon stopped writing. He was a genius and an absolute hero of mine. Thanks for all the laughs.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReissWriter) August 26, 2018
The world is permanently less funny now. RIP Neil Simon https://t.co/RqDfIxnIav
— Larry Wilmore (@larrywilmore) August 26, 2018
I had the pleasure of being in Neil Simon’s #laughteronthe23rdfloor and being directed by #richardbenjamin for @Showtime Lucky Me. Thank you for for the many, many laughs. pic.twitter.com/pEsvDw0oD1
— Peri Gilpin (@GilpinPeri) August 26, 2018
If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor.—-Neil Simon. July 4, 1927–August 26, 2018
— John B. Larroquette (@johnlarroquette) August 26, 2018
Thank you, Neil Simon. For the laughs, for the inspiration and for the example you set for this comedy writer. The times we were together are among my most memorable. May you rest in peace.
— Alan Zweibel (@AlanZweibel) August 27, 2018
#conniestevens in #starspangledgirl R.I.P. Neil…my mother performed in this play til she was 8 mos preg w/me…my Broadway debut! Would I resemble #eddiefisher or #NeilSimon pic.twitter.com/HBIAHZhfhZ
— Joely Fisher (@MsJoelyFisher) August 27, 2018
I think Neil Simon is the Norman Rockwell of comedy. His artistry will only gain ground as the years pass. RIP
— Treat Williams (@Rtreatwilliams) August 27, 2018
#NeilSimon was a comedy legend! So much of my comedic timing & instincts have been inspired by his plays.
In high school, I even played the #WalterMatthau role in #PlazaSuites. Definitely a stretch for an 18-yr old. #OddCouple & #Rumors were two of my favorites. https://t.co/ZThO6Tu5hS— Brandon Routh (@BrandonJRouth) August 26, 2018
We lost a giant .. one of the most prolific playwright s in history . THANK YOU Neil for a life changing experience.
REST IN PEACE in your brilliance #neilsimon— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) August 26, 2018
“just … bring it down a little.”#NeilSimon #thankyouforthelaughs pic.twitter.com/h7v5DhJKYy
— Judge Reinhold (@JudgeReinhold) August 27, 2018
Neil Simon scenes in acting class were always my favorite. #RIP https://t.co/wXerRbvvi5
— Felicia Day (@feliciaday) August 26, 2018
#RIP #NeilSimon one of the great comedy playwrights of our time. Odd Couple, Sunshine Boys, Goodbye Girl, Biloxi Blues etc
“ Never have so many given so much for so long for so little for so few for so seldom.”— Sanjeev Bhaskar (@TVSanjeev) August 27, 2018
In 1986, Neil Simon cast me as Eugene in his Tony-Award winning play, Biloxi Blues, replacing Matthew Broderick.
For 3 amazing months, I did 8 shows a week at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway.
Here are the cast photos below.
It was an honor and a privilege.
Thanks, Doc. pic.twitter.com/JEXmh5luV9
— Zach Galligan (@zwgman) August 26, 2018
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
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