Simon, << SY muhn, >> Neil (1927-2018), was an American playwright. His almost unbroken succession of hit comedies and musicals made him the most commercially successful playwright in American theater history. Simon won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for drama for his comedy-drama Lost in Yonkers (1990).
Marvin Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in New York City. His first plays were light, joke-filled comedies, beginning with Come Blow Your Horn (1961). He based Barefoot in the Park (1963) on his experiences as a newlywed in a Manhattan walk-up apartment. In The Odd Couple (1965), Simon explored more serious themes about personal relationships. This play concerns two men separated from their wives. The men set up housekeeping together but repeat the mistakes that wrecked their marriages.
Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) tells the adventures of a middle-aged husband who thinks society is experiencing a sexual revolution that has passed him by. The Gingerbread Lady (1970) describes the personal problems of an aging, alcoholic ex-singer. In The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971), a married couple tries to cope with the problems of living in a large U.S. city. Plaza Suite (1968), California Suite (1976), and London Suite (1995) are collections of comic one-act plays. Rumors (1988) and The Dinner Party (2000) are farces that examine marital relationships.
Chapter Two (1977) is a partly autobiographical comedy-drama about a writer who remarries after the death of his first wife. Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985), and Broadway Bound (1986) form a loose trilogy. All three are autobiographical dramas about the playwright’s experiences as an adolescent and a young man. Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993), another autobiographical work, tells the story of a group of writers working on a popular television show. Jake’s Women (1992) explores relationships between a writer and various women. 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) celebrates the famous Edison Cafe in the Broadway theater district of New York City.
Simon wrote the books (scripts) for four musical comedies—Little Me (1962), Sweet Charity (1966), Promises, Promises (1968), and They’re Playing Our Song (1979). He adapted several of his plays for motion pictures. In addition, he wrote original scripts for such films as The Out-of-Towners (1970), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Murder by Death (1976), and The Goodbye Girl (1977). Simon also wrote two volumes of autobiography—Rewrites (1996) and The Play Goes On (1999). Simon died on Aug. 26, 2018.
