Neil Simon Has Died
Playwright Neil Simon, a master of comedy whose laugh-filled hits such as "The Odd Couple," ''Barefoot in the Park" and his "Brighton Beach" trilogy dominated Broadway for decades, has died. He was 91.
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A legend. And Jewish too, so geeljire will be along in a minute to smear him. Anything to deflect from his rape and murder cult invented by an illiterate 7th century child rapist and terrorist.
ReplyDeleteI loved Biloxi Blues.
ReplyDeleteOne day John McCain (btw happy tumor day to CDAN, didn't get the chance yesterday) the next this dude, whoever he is. I'm not a fag so have never been to a play, but I'm sure he was very talented.
ReplyDeleteEvery day that China keeps a million muslim terrorists locked up in counter extremism camps is a good day.
DeleteRIP. 💛
ReplyDeleteOK, here's a comment actually about Neil Simon, whom I was actually just looking up the other day. (I was watching "The Goodbye Girl" on Netflix.)
ReplyDeleteFrom 1960-1990 or so, his work made a lot of people happy and a lot of people laugh.
But it hasn't aged well, with the possible exception of "The Odd Couple."
Stuff that was considered a hoot back in the day, from "Barefoot in the Park" to "Sweet Charity" to, uh, "The Goodbye Girl", has aged about as well as a 1976 leisure suit.
Makes you wonder what type of art that's popular now - superhero movies? Beyoncé? - will be considered totally passé by the humans of 2048.
A legend passes. I'm not sure anything from the 60s and 70s has aged well into this century. Except maybe classic rock, very little tv and movies.
ReplyDeleteI loved his work
ReplyDelete(On a funny note, I thought for a moment the headline read "Neil Diamond" and all his secrets would spill.)
Me too... so many of my early scene study classes were his works. Forever awed by him.
DeleteGotta disagree with you, Sandybrook.
ReplyDeleteLots of classic movies from the 60s and the 70s, from the frivolous ("Pillow Talk") to the serious ("Chinatown") to the musical ("Sound of Music")
Some great TV, too, from "The Brady Bunch" to "The Bob Newhart Show."
Interestingly, neither of those was much regarded back in the day, while the much more admired "All in the Family" and "Mary Tyler Moore Show" are much less referenced.
I loved him... some of my favorite films are adaptations of his works (Chapter Two) and the theatre well where to begin. He defined Broadway in many ways... So many memories of his shows that I saw and worked at growing up(watching rehearsals of and matinees of Lost in Yonkers -with a then brilliant unknown named Kevin spacey), Sweet Charity ... Pmaza suite. His works are responsible for employing many of my family because he kept theatre /Beau thriving and prolific.
ReplyDeleteHe was also a class act, dignified and humble through and through.
Safe Passage funny,clever ,kind soul
*Plaza
DeleteThink I'll go watch Odd Couple again later today.
ReplyDeleteI didn't actually think "The Odd Couple" movie was all that funny, though the show was. I was surprised at how serious some of it was. "The Goodbye Girl", though the *look* is dated, is still very funny and a decent watch. And Biloxi Blues is hilarious, and since it's a period piece, doesn't really get dated.
ReplyDeleteYeah musicals move on well. I did like Chinatown.
ReplyDeleteAlways enjoyed his movies. Nice commentary @nuttyflavor!
ReplyDeleteI loved The Bob Newhart Show! Also loved playing Hi Bob in college
ReplyDelete@Tricia13 I'm happy you mentioned Chapter Two. Whenever I hear that, I think of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry's artist girlfriend writes him the note quoting the movie.
ReplyDeleteOh my @Akward Turtle💕That made me smile ... it literally made such an impression on me (and I was young (very), but was so moved by its simplicity in exploring the very complicated ,intimate nature of a human relationships(love ,loss etc). It was one of his only dramatic works.. but man did it have some memorable lines:)
Deletei started to type out all of simon's work that i adore, but the list was getting too long and all of you before me have already mentioned most of them. his body of work brought so much joy to all of us.
ReplyDeleteneil simon was a gift to us all.
rest in peace, storyteller. you will not soon be forgotten...
The odd couple invented an entire genre still going strong today.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen Biloxi Blues, I high recommend it. Funny, sweet, sad and a totally deranged Christopher Walken.
ReplyDeleteBIG fan of Neil Simon. His plays were fantastic, and the movie adaptations just as good - the autobiographical ones stand out - Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and my favorite, Lost In Yonkers. The Out Of Towners with Jack Lemmon still holds up (even with the horrific remake out there), The Odd Couple, Max Dugan Returns, The Sunshine Boys, so many good movies.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is Laughter On The 23rd Floor, which has virtually disapeared.
Hell of a career. One of the true greats. I'm sure Enty will dig up some dirt on him, later.
walter matthau worked with polanski
ReplyDeleteNeil Simon might be the pre-eminent English language comic playwright of the 20th Century. Who, if not him?
ReplyDeleteThe "Eugene" trilogy is his masterpiece, the best encapsulation of the Jewish and American experience, growing up and being a writer, all so well told. I saw the second two of them on Broadway, back in the day, and they were superb. Matthew Broderick at his finest (Jonathan Silverman in "Broadway Bound.")
I don't remember which one it is, but one of the skits from one of his hotel "suite" plays is tears-to-the-eyes funny.
❤️agree
DeleteSo refreshing to hear such loving, positive comments about a very talented man who died. I sincerely hope that someday, we can get back to this—where a talented person is praised after his death, and there are no questions regarding cause of death, no rumors regarding the person's sexuality and no stories about sexual assault and rape.
ReplyDeleteI realize that I’m probably living in a fantasy world, but I hope and pray every day, that we can heal this world.
Same Time Next Year. Played brilliantly by Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn in the movie. Never saw the play.
ReplyDeleteNutty_Flavor "The Goodbye Girl" is a permanent American treasure.
ReplyDeleteDoes the warm fuzziness offend you or something?