Neil Simon, Broadway’s master of comedy, dies at 91
In the second half of the 20th century, Simon was the American theatre’s most successful and prolific playwrights, often chronicling middle class issues and fears
Neil Simon, the prolific and Pulitzer Prize-winning US playwright celebrated as the king of comedy who won more Oscar and Tony nominations combined than any other showbiz writer, died on Sunday. He was 91.
The brains behind more than 30 plays, 20 screenplays and five musicals, Time magazine dubbed him the “patron saint of laughter”.
Many of his works are classics of 20th century American theatre and Simon has been credited with playing a seminal role – along with film director Woody Allen – in re-crafting US humour in the 1960s and 1970s.
His influence has been felt through the generations, The New York Times drawing a line between Simon’s early comedies and the character-based comedy in the 1990s hit sitcom Seinfeld.
Long-time friend Bill Evans announced his death early Sunday in a New York hospital of complications from pneumonia.