Editing Mike Nichols (section)

===1960–1970: Broadway debut and film breakthrough ===
[[File:Neil Simon - 1974.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Nichols directed several of [[Neil Simon]]'s plays]]
'''Pre-film stage career'''

After the professional split with May, Nichols went to [[Vancouver]], British Columbia, to work in the theater directing a production of [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' and acted in a revival of [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s ''[[Saint Joan (play)|St. Joan]]''.<ref name="autogenerated1988"/> In 1963, Nichols was chosen to direct [[Neil Simon]]'s play ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]''.  He realized at once that he was meant to be a director, saying in a 2003 interview: "On the first day of rehearsal, I thought, 'Well, look at this. Here is what I was meant to do.' I knew instantly that I was home".<ref name="latimes">{{cite news|last1=McLellan|first1=Dennis|title=Mike Nichols, acclaimed director of 'The Graduate,' dies at 83|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-mike-nichols-dies-at-83-20141120-story.html#page=1|access-date=November 20, 2014|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 20, 2014}}</ref> ''Barefoot in the Park'' was a big hit, running for 1,530 performances and earning Nichols a [[18th Tony Awards|Tony Award]] for his direction.<ref name="autogenerated1988"/>

This began a series of highly successful plays on Broadway (often from works by Simon) that would establish his reputation. After directing an off-Broadway production of [[Ann Jellicoe]]'s ''[[The Knack ...and How to Get It|The Knack]]'', Nichols directed [[Murray Schisgal]]'s play ''[[Luv (play)|Luv]]'' in 1964. Again the show was a hit and Nichols won a [[19th Tony Awards|Tony Award]] (shared with ''The Odd Couple''). In 1965 he directed another play by [[Neil Simon]], ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]''. The original production starred [[Art Carney]] as Felix Ungar and [[Walter Matthau]] as Oscar Madison. The play ran for 966 performances and won [[19th Tony Awards|Tony Awards]] for Nichols, Simon and Matthau.<ref name="autogenerated1988"/> Overall, Nichols won nine [[Tony Award]]s:<ref name="suntimes">{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Mike|title=The best of Mike Nichols|url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/31194296-418/the-best-of-mike-nichols.html#.VG91T4vF98E|access-date=November 21, 2014|newspaper=Chicago Sun Times|date=November 21, 2014}}</ref><ref name="telegraph">{{cite news|title=Mike Nichols – obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11243432/Mike-Nichols-obituary.html|access-date=November 21, 2014|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=November 20, 2014}}</ref> including six for Best Director of either a play or a musical, one for Best Play, and one for Best Musical.

'''''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'''''

In 1966, Nichols was a star stage director and ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine called him "the most in-demand director in the American theatre."<ref name="autogenerated1988"/> Although he had no experience in filmmaking, after befriending<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/09/remembering-director-mike-nichols|title=Mike Nichols's Life and Career: The Definitive Oral History|first=Sam|last=Kashner|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=September 11, 2015|issue=October|access-date=29 July 2018}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Richard Burton]], [[Warner Bros.]] invited Nichols to direct a screen adaptation of [[Edward Albee]]'s ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]'' starring [[Elizabeth Taylor]], [[Richard Burton]], [[George Segal]], and [[Sandy Dennis]] for which he received a fee of $400,000.<ref name=fee/> The film was critically acclaimed, with critics calling Nichols "the new Orson Welles",<ref name="autogenerated1988"/> and a financial success,<ref>"Big Rental Pictures of 1966", ''Variety'', January 4, 1967 p 8</ref><ref name="Clooney71">{{cite book |last1=Clooney |first1=Nick |author-link1=Nick Clooney |title=The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen |date=November 2002 |publisher=Atria Books, a trademark of Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7434-1043-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/moviesthatchange00cloo/page/71 71] |quote=Nichols's golden touch was intact. He pulled it off. Virginia Woolf was a critical success and, more important to the studio, a financial success. |url=https://archive.org/details/moviesthatchange00cloo/page/71 }}</ref> the number 1 film of 1966.<ref>Clooney, p. 90</ref>

The film was considered groundbreaking for having a level of profanity and sexual innuendo unheard of at that time.<ref>{{cite web | author=Jack Valenti| title=How It All Began | url=http://www.mpaa.org/Ratings_HowItAllBegan.asp | publisher=Motion Picture Association of America | access-date=June 17, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080521023225/http://www.mpaa.org/Ratings_HowItAllBegan.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = May 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Virginia Woolf' Not For Kids|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4PhRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6178,4267811&dq=who%27s+afraid+of+virginia+woolf&hl=en|access-date=February 20, 2013|newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|date=May 27, 1966}}</ref><ref>Clooney, p. 82–84, 90</ref> It won five [[39th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]] and garnered thirteen nominations (including Nichols's first nomination for Best Director), earning the distinctions of being one of only two films nominated in every eligible category at the Oscars (the other being ''[[Cimarron (1931 film)|Cimarron]]''), and the first film to have its entire credited cast nominated for acting Oscars. It also won three [[20th British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Awards]] and was later ranked No. 67 in ''[[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]]''.

'''''The Graduate'''''
[[File:Dustin Hoffman - 1968.jpg|thumb|left|160px|[[Dustin Hoffman]] (1968) appeared in the Nichols-directed film ''[[The Graduate]]'']]
His next film was ''[[The Graduate]]'' (1967), starring [[Dustin Hoffman]], [[Anne Bancroft]] and [[Katharine Ross]] for which he was paid $150,000, a deal he had made four years earlier with producer [[Joseph E. Levine]].<ref name=fee>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=April 17, 1968|page=1|title=Nichols' $1-Mil. To Direct His Next}}</ref> It became the [[1967 in film#Highest-grossing films|highest-grossing film of 1967]] and one of the [[List of highest-grossing films|highest-grossing films in history]] up to that date,<ref>[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=graduate.htm ''The Graduate''], Box Office Mojo</ref> with Nichols receiving {{frac|16|2|3}}% of the profits, making him a millionaire.<ref name=fee/> It was nominated for seven [[40th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]], including Best Picture, with Nichols winning as [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]. In 2007, it was ranked #17 in ''[[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]]''.

However, getting the film made was difficult for Nichols, who, while noted for being a successful Broadway director, was still an unknown in Hollywood. Producer [[Lawrence Turman]], who wanted only Nichols to direct it, was continually turned down for financing. He then contacted Levine, who said he would finance the film because he had associated with Nichols on ''The Knack'',<ref name=fee/> and because he heard that Elizabeth Taylor specifically wanted Nichols to direct her and Richard Burton in ''Virginia Woolf''.<ref name="Kashner" /> With financing assured, Nichols suggested [[Buck Henry]] for screenwriter, although Henry's experience had also been mostly in improvised comedy, and had no writing background. Nichols said to Henry, "I think you could do it; I think you ''should'' do it."<ref name="Kashner" />

Nichols also took a chance on using [[Dustin Hoffman]], who had no film experience, for the lead, when others had suggested using known star [[Robert Redford]]. Hoffman credits Nichols for having taken a great risk in giving him, a relative unknown, the starring role: "I don't know of another instance of a director at the height of his powers who would take a chance and cast someone like me in that part. It took tremendous courage."<ref name="Kashner">{{cite magazine|last1=Kashner|first1=Sam|title=Here's to You, Mr. Nichols: The Making of The Graduate|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/03/graduate200803|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=November 21, 2014|date=March 2008}}</ref> The quality of the [[cinematography]] was also influenced by Nichols, who chose Oscar winner [[Robert Surtees (cinematographer)|Robert Surtees]] to do the photography. Surtees, who had photographed major films since the 1920s, including ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'', said later, "It took everything I had learned over 30 years to be able to do the job. I knew that Mike Nichols was a young director who went in for a lot of camera. We did more things in this picture than I ever did in one film."<ref name="Kashner" />

[[File:Simon & Garfunkel 919-3036.jpg|thumb|right|Nichols chose [[Simon & Garfunkel]] to write the music for ''The Graduate'']]
Nichols also chose the music by [[Simon and Garfunkel]]. When Paul Simon was taking too long to write new songs for the film, he used existing songs, originally planning to replace them with newly written ones. In the end only one new song was available, and Nichols used the existing previously released songs. At one point, when Nichols heard [[Paul Simon]]'s song, "Mrs. Roosevelt", he suggested to Simon that he change it to "[[Mrs. Robinson]]". The song won a Grammy after the film was released and became America's number 1 pop song. Nichols selected all the numerous songs for the film and chose which scenes they would be used in. The placement and selection of songs would affect the way audiences understood the film. Even actor [[William Daniels]], who played Hoffman's father, remembers that after first hearing the songs, especially "[[The Sound of Silence]]", he thought, "Oh, wait a minute. That changed the whole idea of the picture for me," suddenly realizing the film would not be a typical comedy.<ref name="Kashner" />

Nichols had previously returned to Broadway to direct ''[[The Apple Tree]]'', starring [[the Second City|Second City]] alumna, [[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]]. After doing ''The Graduate'', he again returned to the Broadway stage with a revival of [[Lillian Hellman]]'s ''[[The Little Foxes]]'' in 1967, which ran for 100 performances.<ref name="vault2">{{cite web| title=The Little Foxes| url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/4355/The-Little-Foxes| publisher=Playbill Vault| access-date=April 24, 2014}}</ref> He then directed Neil Simon's ''[[Plaza Suite]]'' in 1968, earning him another [[22nd Tony Awards|Tony Award]] for Best Director. He also directed the short film ''[[Teach Me!]]'' (1968), which starred actress [[Sandy Dennis]]. In 1969 his film production company, Friwaftt, was acquired by [[Avco Embassy]], the distributor of ''The Graduate'', who also appointed him to the board of directors.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 19, 1969|page=1|title=Mike Nichols On Avco Embassy Board; Joe Levine's Peace With Ponti-Loren|first=Abel|last=Green|author-link=Abel Green}}</ref> Friwaftt stood for "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 19, 1969|page=28|title=What's Friwaftt}}</ref>

Nichols's next film was a big-budget adaptation of [[Joseph Heller]]'s novel ''[[Catch-22 (film)|Catch-22]]'' (1970), followed by ''[[Carnal Knowledge (film)|Carnal Knowledge]]'' (1971) starring [[Jack Nicholson]], [[Ann-Margret]], [[Art Garfunkel]] and [[Candice Bergen]]. ''Carnal Knowledge'' was highly controversial upon release because of the casual and blunt depiction of sexual intercourse.<ref name="library">{{cite web|title=Censored Films and Television II|url=http://explore.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/show/censored/walkthrough/film2|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=November 27, 2014}}</ref> In Georgia, a theatre manager was convicted in 1972 of violating the state's obscenity statutes by showing the film, a conviction later overturned by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[Jenkins v. Georgia]]''.<ref name="justia">{{cite web|title=Jenkins v. Georgia 418 U.S. 153 (1974)|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/418/153/case.html|publisher=JUSTIA US Supreme Court|access-date=November 27, 2014}}</ref>