May, Elaine (1932-…), is an American entertainer who has succeeded as an actress, playwright, comedian, and motion-picture director and screenwriter. During the mid-1950’s, she appeared in an improvisational theater company in Chicago that eventually became known as the Compass Players. There she met actor Mike Nichols. In 1957, they formed a comedy team that became nationally famous for its satire. Their 1960 Broadway revue An Evening with Nichols and May was an enormous hit. The team split up in 1961, and May launched herself on multiple solo careers on the stage and in movies.
Elaine Berlin was born in Philadelphia. She married Martin May as a teenager, but the marriage ended in divorce after a short time. May attended the University of Chicago, where she met Mike Nichols. May made her debut as a film actress in 1967 in two movies, Luv and Enter Laughing. She wrote and directed the hit movie comedy A New Leaf (1971) and also directed The Heartbreak Kid (1972). May co-wrote the screenplay for Heaven Can Wait (1978). She also wrote the screenplay for The Birdcage (1996), directed by Nichols.
On the stage, May wrote the one-act play Adaptation (1969). It had a long run off Broadway, playing with Terrence McNally’s short play Next. May directed both plays. She also directed and helped write a group of short plays called Power Plays (1998). May acted in the television miniseries “Crisis in Six Scenes” (2016). Jeannie Berlin, May’s daughter, is a motion-picture actress and screenwriter.
