Remembering Mike Nichols the Pajiba Way: With Clips and GIFs

As you’ve probably heard by now, we lost one of the greats today. One of the very best, really. Mike Nichols has passed away at the age of 83, after sudden cardiac arrest. Nichols left behind one of the most impressive legacies of any director ever. Did you know Mike Nichols was an EGOT?

He won his first Tony for his Broadway debut with Barefoot in the Park in 1964. From there, he directed not only theatre, and not just film, but he combined his love of both, directing some of the very best film adaptations of plays. His film directorial debut was for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which also got him his first Oscar nomination.

He’s also known for his adaptations of Biloxi Blues

Wit

The incredible Angels in America for HBO

And of course, for those under 30, Closer.

But he didn’t just rework plays. He also adapted the unadaptable Catch-22.

Just look at the man’s range. He could put his mark on anything. From Working Girl,

To Postcards From the Edge,

To The Birdcage

To probably his greatest and most famous work, The Graduate.

And as an added bonus fact, did you know he was married to Diane Sawyer? Because he was married to Diane Sawyer.

For 26 years.

Mike Nichols, thank you for an incomparable half-century of work.