Mike Nichols

Directing

Mike Nichols

Born — Died

1931-11-06 — 2014-11-19

Place of birth

Berlin, Germany

Known for

Directing

Credits

65 titles

Mike Nichols (born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was a German-born American film and theatre director, producer, actor and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of their acting experience. Nichols began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe, The Compass Players, predecessor of The Second City, in Chicago. He then teamed up with his improv partner, Elaine May, to form the comedy duo Nichols and May. Their live improv acts were a hit on Broadway resulting in three albums, with their debut album winning a Grammy Award. After Nichols and May…

Known for

What's My Line? poster
7.0

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

What's My Line?

1950

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Tonight Starring Jack Paar poster
7.5

Tonight Starring Jack Paar is an American talk show hosted by Jack Paar under The Tonight Show franchise from 1957 to 1962. It originally aired during late-night. During most of its run it was broadcast from Studio 6B inside the RCA Building. The same studio would also host early episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Its theme song was an instrumental version of "Everything's Coming Up Roses", and the closing theme was "So Until I See You" by Al Lerner.

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

1957

American Masters poster
7.0

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

American Masters

1986

The Oscars poster
7.1

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.

The Oscars

1953

The Steve Allen Show poster
6.2

No synopsis available yet.

The Steve Allen Show

1956

Film credits

2010s · 5 titles

Mike Nichols: An American Master poster
6.3

With charm and wit, Nichols discusses his life and 50-year career as a performer and director.

Mike Nichols: An American Master

2016

Everything Is Copy poster
7.4

A candid portrait of writer/director Nora Ephron, directed by her son, journalist Jacob Bernstein.

Everything Is Copy

2015

Inventing David Geffen poster
7.6

Notoriously press and camera-shy, David Geffen reveals himself for the first time in this unflinching portrait of a complex and compelling man. His far-reaching influence - as an agent and manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and billionaire philanthropist - has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. This documentary offers a rare insight into the world of the man responsible for launching the early successes of Joni Mitchell, Tom Cruise, and Guns N’ Roses; co-founded DreamWorks; produced Cats and Dreamgirls; and is one of the largest contributors to the fight against AIDS. (SBS AU) Geffen narrates his unorthodox rise from working class Brooklyn boy to billionaire entertainment power broker in extensive interviews. American Masters explores the highs and the lows in Geffen’s professional and personal life through more than 50 new interviews with his friends, colleagues and clients, as well as other media luminaries. (PBS)

Inventing David Geffen

2012

Arthur Miller: Writer poster
7.1

One of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century, Arthur Miller created such celebrated works as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, which continue to move audiences around the world today. He also made headlines for being targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee at the height of the McCarthy Era and entering into a tumultuous marriage with Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. Told from the unique perspective of his daughter, filmmaker Rebecca Miller, Arthur Miller: Writer is an illuminating portrait that combines interviews spanning decades and a wealth of personal archival material, and provides new insights into Miller’s life as an artist and exploring his character in all its complexity.

Arthur Miller: Writer

2017

Becoming Mike Nichols poster
6.9

This intimate portrait of director, producer, and improvisational comedy icon Mike Nichols shows his final and historic interviews filmed just months before his death. Director Douglas McGrath documents Nichols’s early life, as he opens up to his friend, director Jack O’Brien, about the storied beginnings of his career.

Becoming Mike Nichols

2016

2000s · 4 titles

1970s · 2 titles

1960s · 2 titles

Series credits

What's My Line? poster
7.0

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

What's My Line?

1950

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Tonight Starring Jack Paar poster
7.5

Tonight Starring Jack Paar is an American talk show hosted by Jack Paar under The Tonight Show franchise from 1957 to 1962. It originally aired during late-night. During most of its run it was broadcast from Studio 6B inside the RCA Building. The same studio would also host early episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Its theme song was an instrumental version of "Everything's Coming Up Roses", and the closing theme was "So Until I See You" by Al Lerner.

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

1957

American Masters poster
7.0

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

American Masters

1986

The Oscars poster
7.1

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.

The Oscars

1953

The Steve Allen Show poster
6.2

No synopsis available yet.

The Steve Allen Show

1956

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show poster
6.4

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

1956

Omnibus poster
7.0

Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.

Omnibus

1952

The Kennedy Center Honors poster
7.4

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.

The Kennedy Center Honors

1978

DuPont Show of the Month poster
7.4

DuPont Show of the Month is an acclaimed 90-minute television anthology series that aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour anthology drama series hosted by June Allyson, The DuPont Show with June Allyson. During the Golden Age of Television, DuPont Show of the Month was one of numerous anthology series telecast between 1949 and 1962. Superficially, it resembled Playhouse 90 and other anthologies, but DuPont Show of the Month focused less on contemporary dramas and more on adaptations of literary classics, including Oliver Twist, The Prince and the Pauper, Billy Budd, The Prisoner of Zenda, A Tale of Two Cities and The Count of Monte Cristo.

DuPont Show of the Month

1957

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Big Party

1959

Inside the Actors Studio poster
NR

James Lipton sits down with some of the world's most accomplished actors and directors for penetrating, fascinating interviews.

Inside the Actors Studio

1994

Behind the camera

The Graduate poster
7.6

A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.

The Graduate

1967

Regarding Henry poster
6.5

After being shot, a lawyer loses his memory and must relearn speech and mobility, but he has a loving family to support him.

Regarding Henry

1991

Regarding Henry poster
6.5

After being shot, a lawyer loses his memory and must relearn speech and mobility, but he has a loving family to support him.

Regarding Henry

1991

Closer poster
6.8

The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.

Closer

2004

Closer poster
6.8

The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.

Closer

2004

Working Girl poster
6.6

When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she takes a risky chance to reclaim it by impersonating him and running the project from his position.

Working Girl

1988

The Birdcage poster
7.0

A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's conservative parents.

The Birdcage

1996

The Birdcage poster
7.0

A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's conservative parents.

The Birdcage

1996

Heartburn poster
6.0

She's a magazine writer who gives up her career for love and family. He's a playboy newspaper columnist who can't quite give up his old tricks. And if that combination doesn't give a relationship heartburn, nothing will.

Heartburn

1986

Heartburn poster
6.0

She's a magazine writer who gives up her career for love and family. He's a playboy newspaper columnist who can't quite give up his old tricks. And if that combination doesn't give a relationship heartburn, nothing will.

Heartburn

1986

Charlie Wilson's War poster
6.5

A Texas congressman sets a series of events in motion when he conspires with a CIA operative to aid Afghan mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviets.

Charlie Wilson's War

2007

Catch-22 poster
6.7

A WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.

Catch-22

1970

Postcards from the Edge poster
6.6

A substance-addicted actress tries to look on the bright side even as she's forced to move back in with her mother to avoid unemployment.

Postcards from the Edge

1990

Postcards from the Edge poster
6.6

A substance-addicted actress tries to look on the bright side even as she's forced to move back in with her mother to avoid unemployment.

Postcards from the Edge

1990

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? poster
7.7

A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1966

The Remains of the Day poster
7.4

In interwar Britain, a rule-bound head butler's world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of a new housekeeper. The possibility of romance and his master's cultivation of ties with the Nazi cause challenge his carefully maintained veneer of servitude.

The Remains of the Day

1993

Wolf poster
6.1

An aging publisher becomes a demon wolf and, with this newfound youthful vigor, fights to keep his job.

Wolf

1994

Primary Colors poster
6.2

In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.

Primary Colors

1998

Primary Colors poster
6.2

In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.

Primary Colors

1998

Biloxi Blues poster
6.3

A Jewish teenager sets three goals: lose his virginity, become a writer, and survive World War II.

Biloxi Blues

1988

Carnal Knowledge poster
6.6

Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.

Carnal Knowledge

1971

Carnal Knowledge poster
6.6

Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.

Carnal Knowledge

1971

What Planet Are You From? poster
5.4

A human-looking alien from a highly advanced but emotionless all-male society is sent to Earth to impregnate a woman and bring the child back to their planet. The alien ends up falling in love while a suspicious FAA agent tails him.

What Planet Are You From?

2000

What Planet Are You From? poster
5.4

A human-looking alien from a highly advanced but emotionless all-male society is sent to Earth to impregnate a woman and bring the child back to their planet. The alien ends up falling in love while a suspicious FAA agent tails him.

What Planet Are You From?

2000

Silkwood poster
6.9

Like most of the people in her town, Karen Silkwood works at the local nuclear plant producing highly radioactive plutonium. Exposed one day to a lethal dose of radiation, Karen faces the blank walls of corporate indifference and denial. As her illness increases, her protest grows louder and she becomes an obvious danger to the powers that be.

Silkwood

1983

Silkwood poster
6.9

Like most of the people in her town, Karen Silkwood works at the local nuclear plant producing highly radioactive plutonium. Exposed one day to a lethal dose of radiation, Karen faces the blank walls of corporate indifference and denial. As her illness increases, her protest grows louder and she becomes an obvious danger to the powers that be.

Silkwood

1983

Wit poster
7.3

A renowned professor is forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.

Wit

2001

Wit poster
7.3

A renowned professor is forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.

Wit

2001

The Day of the Dolphin poster
5.8

A marine biologist teaches his dolphins to communicate in English but shady characters plan to kidnap the trained mammals for a more sinister purpose.

The Day of the Dolphin

1973

The Fortune poster
5.4

A couple of bumbling 1920s hustlers attempt to obtain the fortune of an heiress. Nothing will stop them, not even murder.

The Fortune

1975

The Fortune poster
5.4

A couple of bumbling 1920s hustlers attempt to obtain the fortune of an heiress. Nothing will stop them, not even murder.

The Fortune

1975

Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall poster
8.0

Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall is an American musical comedy television showcase starring Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett, broadcast on CBS on June 11, 1962. The special was produced by Bob Banner and directed by Joe Hamilton. Banner came up with the idea in the Fall of 1961. Burnett was then a regular on The Garry Moore Show and Andrews had appeared as a guest twice, performing the song "Big D" from the musical The Most Happy Fella in the first appearance; and in the show's 1961 Christmas special, she did a number with Burnett and fellow guest Gwen Verdon plus an early performance of "My Favorite Things" (three years before she performed it as Maria while filming The Sound of Music). Mike Nichols wrote the script and co-wrote the song "You're So London" with Ken Welch. Writing began in February 1962 and the stars rehearsed for two weeks before the March 5 taping

Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall

1962

The Designated Mourner poster
5.6

Jack and Judy are husband and wife, and Howard is Judy's father. They live in some fictional undemocratic and repressive country, and tell us a story about their lives, mostly from Jack's point of view.

The Designated Mourner

1997

Gilda Live poster
6.1

Gilda Radner is recorded during a live comedy concert. Radner's classic characters are seen in sketches that are sometimes more risque than when they appeared on television. During her breaks, the character Father Guido Sarducci takes the stage.

Gilda Live

1980

Bach to Bach poster
10.0

A Bach recording plays in a New York apartment, while off-screen a man and a woman in bed together for the first time engage in pseudo-intellectual conversation. Based on the Nichols and May sketch.

Bach to Bach

1967