Neil Simon, Broadway’s master of comedy, dies at 91
NEW YORK: 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.
Simon died on Sunday of complications from pneumonia while surrounded by family at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, said Bill Evans, his longtime friend.
In the second half of the 20th century, Simon was the American theatre’s most suc- cessful and prolific playwright, often chronicling middle class issues and fears. Starting with Come Blow Your Horn in 1961 and continuing into the next century, he rarely stopped working on a new play or musical. His list of credits is staggering.
Simon was the recipient of four Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, the Kennedy Center honours (1995), four Writers Guild of America Awards and an American Comedy Awards Lifetime Achievement honour. In 1983, he had a Broadway theatre named after him when the Alvin was rechristened the Neil Simon Theatre.
In 2006, he won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour.
In a 1997 interview with The Washington Post, Simon reflected on his success: “I know that I have reached the pinnacle of rewards. There’s no more money anyone can pay me that I need. There are no awards they can give me that I haven’t won. I have no reason to write another play except that I am alive and I like to do it.”