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79-484: Plaza Suite is a comedy play by Neil Simon . The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City 's Plaza Hotel . The first act, Visitor From Mamaroneck , introduces the audience to not-so-blissfully wedded couple Sam and Karen Nash, who are revisiting their honeymoon suite in an attempt by Karen to bring the love back into their marriage. Her plan backfires and
158-512: A television movie in which she portrayed all three female roles. Starring opposite her were Hal Holbrook as Sam Nash, Dabney Coleman as Jesse Kiplinger, and Richard Crenna as Roy Hubley. Burnett was also the executive producer with direction by Roger Beatty and Kenny Solms. Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly
237-454: A "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves." Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly
316-589: A Play but lost to Zoe Caldwell in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie . A West Coast production, with engagements in San Francisco and Los Angeles , opened on September 16, 1968. It starred Dan Dailey and Lee Grant . The production closed March 1, 1969. The play's first national tour, starring Forrest Tucker and Betty Garrett and Dana Ivey in the supporting female roles, opened on October 7, 1968. Replacement actors included Howard Keel and Larry Parks . Among
395-846: A Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers . McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon." When Lost in Yonkers was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright." McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson , Molière , and George Bernard Shaw , pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing
474-477: A blend of "humor and pathos". Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist." Clive Barnes , theater critic for The New York Times , wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward , Simon
553-777: A co-production with Republic. Back in the United States, he returned to Republic: San Antone (1953) with Rod Cameron ; Flight Nurse (1953) and Jubilee Trail (1954) with Joan Leslie . He returned to England to make another with Lockwood, Trouble in the Glen (1954), and stayed on to make Break in the Circle (1955) for Hammer Films . Tucker made some films for Allied Artists, Paris Follies of 1956 (1955) and Finger Man (1955) in support of Frank Lovejoy , and then supported Randolph Scott once more in Rage at Dawn (1956). Tucker had
632-463: A comedic and stage musical actor. In the television series F Troop , he became identified with the character of Cavalry Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke (a manipulative character quite similar to Phil Silvers' role as MSgt. Ernie Bilko ). Tucker struggled with a drinking problem that began to affect his performances in the later years of his career. Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana , on February 12, 1919,
711-490: A comedy writer is the blocking out of some of the really ugly, painful things in my childhood and covering it up with a humorous attitude ... do something to laugh until I was able to forget what was hurting. He was able to do that at the movies, in the work of stars like Charlie Chaplin , Buster Keaton , and Laurel and Hardy . "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud." Simon acknowledged these childhood films as his inspiration: "I wanted to make
790-451: A contract with Columbia Pictures . At Columbia Tucker had a support role in one of their Lone Wolf pictures, Counter-Espionage (1942), followed by a Boston Blackie entry, Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood (1942). He was borrowed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for Keeper of the Flame with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn . Like many other movie actors at the time, Tucker enlisted in
869-452: A good idea having different plays all played in a hotel suite! I wonder where Neil Simon got it from?" Mike Nichols won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play . Neil Simon was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play but lost to Tom Stoppard for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead . Maureen Stapleton was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in
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#1733093130645948-580: A low-budget imitation of The Groove Tube . Tucker married four times: Tucker was a Republican . Tucker, who had battled lung cancer for more than a year, as well as having a series of minor illnesses, collapsed and was hospitalized, for the second time in a week, on his way to the ceremony for his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 21, 1986. He died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital on October 25, 1986,
1027-681: A mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin . After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve , he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar 's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner , Mel Brooks , Woody Allen , Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond ), and The Phil Silvers Show , which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play
1106-510: A musical version of Billy Wilder 's film, The Apartment . By the time of Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1969, Simon was reputedly earning $ 45,000 a week from his shows (excluding sale of rights), making him the most financially successful Broadway writer ever. Simon also served as an uncredited "script doctor", helping to hone the books of Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development, as he did for A Chorus Line (1975). During
1185-622: A playwright and his interest in breaking new ground." Simon's characters are typically "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy back to that of Menander , a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, and also blended humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite . Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that
1264-759: A pre-Broadway run at the Colonial Theatre in Boston in February 2020. However, due to the closure of Broadway houses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic , the Broadway run was postponed. In June 2021, it was reported that the production would begin preview performances on February 25, 2022, and officially open on March 28. The production starred Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker and is directed by John Benjamin Hickey . In April 2022,
1343-407: A resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict, infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy. Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then
1422-793: A score to settle with John Wayne 's Sergeant Stryker. He went back to Columbia to support Scott again in The Nevadan (1950). Tucker was promoted to star roles with California Passage (1950). He followed this with Rock Island Trail (1950). Tucker was back to supporting actor for Hoodlum Empire (1952) then over at Paramount he co-starred with Sterling Hayden in Flaming Feather (1952) and supported Charlton Heston in Pony Express (1953). Tucker went to England in support of British film star Margaret Lockwood in Laughing Anne (1953),
1501-540: A screen test because of Tucker's photogenic good looks, thick wavy hair and height of six feet, five inches. Tucker was a sight reader who needed only one take and his film career started well despite a perception in most Hollywood studios that blond men were not photogenic. He enlisted in the Army during World War II . After twenty years spent mainly in Westerns and action roles, he returned to his roots, showing versatility as
1580-580: A slow start with the first, warms up with the second and ends with an all-stops-out, grandstand finish with the third." Later in the run, they were replaced by Dan Dailey , E. G. Marshall , Don Porter , Nicol Williamson , Barbara Baxley , and Peggy Cass . The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway . Noël Coward , who three years earlier had written Suite in Three Keys , later said of Plaza Suite , "Such
1659-407: A smooth-talking ladies' man—has come for nothing more than a chat between old friends, promising herself she will not stay too long. Jesse, however, has other plans in mind and repeatedly attempts to seduce her. The third act, Visitor from Forest Hills , revolves around married couple Roy and Norma Hubley on their daughter Mimsey's wedding day. In a rush of nervousness, Mimsey has locked herself in
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#17330931306451738-569: A sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon , under the tutelage of radio humorist Goodman Ace , who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS . Their work for
1817-884: A two-year stint on television playing the well-received role of a charter-boat captain in Bermuda in the series Crunch and Des from 1955 to 1956 with Sandy Kenyon . He was top billed in Fox's The Quiet Gun (1957) and supported Charlton Heston in Three Violent People (1957). Hammer Films in Britain asked him back to play the lead in The Abominable Snowman (1957). He stayed on in England for The Strange World of Planet X (1957) and The Trollenberg Terror (1958). The year 1958 brought another turning point in his career, when he won
1896-452: A week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain , Robert Benchley , George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman . Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University . He attained the rank of corporal and was eventually sent to Colorado . During those years in the Reserve, Simon wrote professionally, starting as
1975-488: A whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out." He made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor." He began writing for pay while still in high school: At the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days
2054-454: A wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America". Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved. Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family. McGovern states that this thread of
2133-514: A writer when I'm writing a play, because of the tradition of the theater ... there is no tradition of the screenwriter, unless he is also the director, which makes him an auteur . So I really feel that I'm writing for posterity with plays, which have been around since the Greek times. Many of his earlier adaptations of his own work were very similar to the original plays. Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then. I
2212-492: Is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging". According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon
2291-548: Is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor , he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov ; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem . Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as
2370-503: Is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view", explaining, "I see humor in even
2449-481: Is a sad situation and how can I tell it humorously?" His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships. Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon
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2528-503: Is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh. McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings", an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..." Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City , with
2607-517: Is never a victory." Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park , for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as "farce", and portions of California Suite are "high comedy". Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady , he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988)
2686-509: Is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." Drama critic Richard Eder noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling. Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict
2765-485: The Brooks Atkinson Theatre . Simon took three years to create that first play, partly because he was also working on television scripts. He rewrote it at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself", he recalled. "I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college." Besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, that play
2844-459: The Savoy Theatre in previews from January 17, 2024, with an official opening night on January 28. Announced as a strictly-limited run of ten weeks, playing until March 30, due to demand the production extended its run by two weeks, and it played until April 13. Simon adapted his play for a 1971 film starring Walter Matthau , Stapleton, Barbara Harris , and Lee Grant , but he was unhappy with
2923-737: The Shubert Theatre in New Haven and the Colonial Theatre in Boston . Plaza Suite opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on February 14, 1968, and closed on October 3, 1970, after 1,097 performances and two previews. Directed by Mike Nichols , the cast featured George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton who appeared in each of the three acts with Bob Balaban in two acts. Clive Barnes in his review for The New York Times wrote that "after
3002-606: The United States Army during World War II ; he earned a commission as a second lieutenant . He served in the Signal Corps and was discharged in 1945. Tucker resumed his acting career at war's end. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed him for the classic film The Yearling (1946). Warners borrowed him to play Errol Flynn 's love rival with Eleanor Parker in Never Say Goodbye the same year. Back at Columbia Pictures, he
3081-469: The "most successful playwright in history." He states: Forrest Tucker Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided funds and contacts for a trip to California, where party hostess Cobina Wright persuaded guest Wesley Ruggles to give Tucker
3160-663: The 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays; sometimes more than one was playing at the same time, to standing room only audiences. Although he was, by then, recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing: Did I relax and watch my boyhood ambitions being fulfilled before my eyes? Not if you were born in the Bronx, in the Depression and Jewish, you don't. Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories. His settings are typically working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to
3239-459: The 23rd Floor , among others. His work ranged from romantic comedies to serious drama. Overall, he received seventeen Tony nominations and won three awards. Simon also adapted material originated by others, such as the musical Little Me (1962), based on the novel by Patrick Dennis ; Sweet Charity (1966) from the screenplay for the film Nights of Cabiria ( 1957), written by Federico Fellini and others; and Promises, Promises (1968)
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3318-535: The Old Gaiety Burlesque Theater, by winning its Saturday night amateur contest on consecutive weeks. After his second win, Tucker was hired there at full time as Master of Ceremonies , but left when it was soon discovered that he was underage. Tucker graduated from Washington-Lee High School , Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., in 1938, and, after joining the United States Cavalry ,
3397-469: The Park . These earned him royalties of $ 1 million a year. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys and continued with The Good Doctor , God's Favorite , Chapter Two , They're Playing Our Song , I Ought to Be in Pictures , Brighton Beach Memoirs , Biloxi Blues , Broadway Bound , Jake's Women , The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on
3476-748: The audience with sparkling "zingers", made believable by Simon's skillful writing of dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing their noses at society." Theater critic John Lahr believes that Simon's primary theme
3555-418: The comedy will come." "When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people." Simon explained how he managed this combination: My view is, "how sad and funny life is." I can't think of a humorous situation that does not involve some pain. I used to ask, "What is a funny situation?" Now I ask, "What
3634-532: The comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue." McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics: Above all, his plays which may appear simple to those who never look beyond the fact that they are amusing are, in fact, frequently more perceptive and revealing of the human condition than many plays labeled complex dramas. Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us
3713-459: The conversion of his works. Simon wrote screenplays for more than twenty films and received four Academy Award nominations—for The Odd Couple (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and California Suite (1978). Other movies include The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Murder by Death (1976). Although most of his films were successful, movies were always of secondary importance to his plays: I always feel more like
3792-456: The grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it." This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force." During most of his career, Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it
3871-544: The importance of these two writing jobs to his career: "Between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience." "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows , that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together." Simon described a typical writing session: There were about seven writers, plus Sid, Carl Reiner , and Howie Morris ... Mel Brooks and maybe Woody Allen would write one of
3950-689: The lead in The Wild McCullochs (1975) and was a supporting actor in the television movie A Real American Hero (1978). On television, Tucker was a frequent guest star, including a total of six appearances on Gunsmoke and the recurring role of Jarvis Castleberry, Flo's estranged father on the 1976–1985 TV series, Alice and its spinoff, Flo . Tucker was a regular on three series after F Troop : Dusty's Trail (1973) with Bob Denver; The Ghost Busters (1975) which reunited him with F Troop co-star Larry Storch ; guest star on The Bionic Woman as J.T. Conners and Filthy Rich playing
4029-468: The monogamous family runs through most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society. Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs". And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes," adds Johnson, "divorce
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#17330931306454108-581: The national touring production of The Music Man in 1958 and played the role 2,008 times over the next five years, including a 56-week run at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago . Following his Music Man run, Tucker starred in the Broadway production of Fair Game for Lovers (1964). Tucker turned to television for his most famous role, starring as frontier entrepreneur Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke in F Troop (1965–1967). Though F Troop lasted only two seasons on ABC,
4187-592: The ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), which would be followed by Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). He received his greatest critical acclaim for this trilogy. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), which starred Mercedes Ruehl and was a success on Broadway. Following Lost in Yonkers , Simon's next several plays did not meet with commercial success. The Dinner Party (2000), which starred Henry Winkler and John Ritter,
4266-562: The other sketches ... everyone would pitch in and rewrite, so we all had a part of it ... It was probably the most enjoyable time I ever had in writing with other people. Simon incorporated some of these experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. His first Broadway experience was on Catch a Star! (1955); he collaborated on sketches with his brother, Danny. In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn , ran for 678 performances at
4345-437: The outcome. He felt the conceit of one actor playing the lead role in all three acts worked on stage but not on screen, especially if the actor was Matthau, who he felt was the right choice only for the beleaguered father-of-the-bride, Roy Hubley. On December 31, 1982, HBO broadcast a production (shot in front of a live audience) starring Lee Grant and Jerry Orbach playing all three roles. In 1987, Carol Burnett starred in
4424-538: The play Star Spangled Girl , which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights", stated biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse
4503-446: The plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." In Lost in Yonkers , Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost". According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage
4582-498: The production temporarily paused performances after both Broderick and Parker tested positive for COVID-19 . The revival was initially set to close on June 28, 2022, but its run was later extended to July 10 of that year to compensate for cancelled performances. In June 2023 it was announced that the Broadway production of Plaza Suite would transfer to London's West End , with Broderick and Parker reprising their respective roles, and Hickey returning to direct. The production opened at
4661-438: The radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for the writing team of his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows . The program received Emmy Award nominations for Best Variety Show in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954, and won in 1952 and 1953. Simon later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show , for episodes broadcast during 1958 and 1959. Simon later recalled
4740-510: The reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him." Simon has said that one of the reasons he became a writer was to fulfill a need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person. I think part of what made me
4819-587: The role of Beauregard Burnside, Mame's first husband in Auntie Mame , the highest grossing U.S. film of the year. Tucker showed a flair for light comedy under the direction of Morton DaCosta that had largely been unexplored in his roles in Westerns and science fiction films. He supported Joel McCrea in Fort Massacre (1958) and had the lead in Counterplot (1959). Tucker was cast as Professor Harold Hill in
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#17330931306454898-727: The same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three Tony Awards and a Golden Globe Award , as well as nominations for four Academy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards . He was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1975, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression . His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him
4977-456: The second Big Guy Beck . (1982–83). He continued to be active on stage as well, starring in the national productions of Plaza Suite , Show Boat and That Championship Season . Tucker returned to the big screen, after an absence of several years, in the Cannon Films action film Thunder Run (1986), playing the hero, trucker Charlie Morrison. His final film appearance was Outtakes ,
5056-538: The series has been in constant syndication since, reaching three generations of viewers. (Two of his Gunsmoke episodes feature Tucker in his cavalry uniform again, as the unconventional Sergeant Holly (1970), who in one scene "marries" and spends a hectic night with Miss Kitty.) After the run of F Troop ended, Tucker returned to films in character roles like The Night They Raided Minsky's (1969), Barquero (1970), Chisum (1970), Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972), and Cancel My Reservation (1972). He had
5135-405: The son of Forrest A. Tucker and his wife, Doris Heringlake. His mother has been described as an alcoholic. A self-avowed "farm boy", Tucker began his performing career at age 14 at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair , pushing the big wicker tourist chairs by day and singing "Throw Money" at night. After his family moved to Washington, D.C. , Tucker attracted the attention of Jimmy Lake, the owner of
5214-589: The stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time and, in 1983, he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre , named in his honor. Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx , New York City, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon,
5293-460: The suite's bathroom and refuses to leave. Her parents make frantic attempts to cajole her into attending her wedding while the gathered guests await the trio's arrival downstairs. It appears that the marriage will go ahead, as the act ends. The play originally had four acts, one of which was cut during pre-production. Simon later expanded it for the 1970 feature film The Out-of-Towners . Before its Broadway run, Plaza Suite premiered in 1968 at
5372-518: The tour's stops was Chicago for a nearly eight-month engagement. It concluded on February 14, 1970, in Philadelphia . Garrett and Parks, married in real life, starred in a bus and truck tour that lasted from October 16, 1970, through April 25, 1971. A Broadway revival was initially set to play at the Hudson Theatre , beginning with previews on March 13, 2020, and officially on April 13, following
5451-452: The two become embroiled in a heated argument about whether or not Sam is having an affair with his secretary. The act ends with Sam leaving (allegedly to attend to urgent business) and Karen sadly reflecting on how much things have changed since they were young. The second act, Visitor from Hollywood , involves a meeting between movie producer Jesse Kiplinger and his old flame, suburban housewife Muriel Tate. Muriel—aware of his reputation as
5530-449: Was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway . It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s, he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for
5609-433: Was "a modest hit". Simon's final play, Rose's Dilemma , premiered in 2003 and received poor reviews. Simon is credited as playwright and contributing writer to at least 49 Broadway plays. Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the picture, and thereafter tried to control
5688-489: Was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular". Simon towers like a Colossus over the American Theater. When Neil Simon's time comes to be judged among successful playwrights of the twentieth century, he will definitely be first among equals. No other playwright in history has had the run he has: fifteen "Best Plays" of their season. This attitude changed after 1991, when he won
5767-460: Was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker. Neil had one brother, eight years his senior, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon . He grew up in Washington Heights , Manhattan, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen. He was nicknamed 'Doc', and the school yearbook described him as extremely shy. Simon's childhood
5846-511: Was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other." Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award , brought him national celebrity, and he was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", according to Susan Koprince. Those successes were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing simultaneously at Broadway theatres: Sweet Charity , The Star-Spangled Girl , The Odd Couple and Barefoot in
5925-508: Was in Coroner Creek (1948) with Randolph Scott . In 1948, Tucker left Columbia and signed with Republic Pictures . His first films for them were Hellfire (1949) and The Last Bandit (1949) with Wild Bill Elliott . He made Montana Belle for Republic with Jane Russell ; it was sold to RKO. Tucker had a role in Republic's Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), as PFC Thomas, a Marine with
6004-766: Was in the mold of large "ugly guys" such as Wallace Beery , Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen , rather than a matinee idol. His debut was as a powerfully built farmer who clashes with the hero in The Westerner (1940), which starred Gary Cooper . Tucker stood out in a fight scene with Cooper. Tucker had a support role in The Great Awakening (1941) for United Artists . Overcoming a feeling in Hollywood that fair hair did not photograph well, he quickly attained leading man status, starring in PRC 's Emergency Landing (1941). He signed
6083-492: Was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic". The Odd Couple (1968), was one highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, with more scenic variety. The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping". He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, in
6162-541: Was marked by his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and the financial hardship caused by the Depression. Sometimes at night he blocked out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears. His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional suffering. As a result, the family took in boarders, and Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives. During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel , Simon said: "To this day I never really knew what
6241-540: Was stationed at Fort Myer in Arlington County, Virginia . However, once again, he was discharged for being underage. He returned to work at the Old Gaiety after his 18th birthday. When Lake's theater closed for the summer in 1939, a wealthy mentor helped Tucker travel to California and try to break into film acting. He made a successful screen test, and began auditioning for movie roles. In his own estimation, Tucker
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