Synopses & Reviews
Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys -- Neil Simon's plays and movies have kept many millions of people laughing for almost four decades. Today he is recognized not only as the most successful American playwright of all time, but also as one of the greatest.
More than the humor, however, it is the humanity of Neil Simon's vision that has made him America's most beloved playwright and earned him such enduring success. Now, in Rewrites, he has written a funny, deeply touching memoir, filled with details and anecdotes of the writing life and rich with the personal experiences that underlie his work. What the listener of this warm, nostalgic memoir discovers, however, is that the plays, although grounded in Neil Simon's own experience, provide only a glimpse into the mind and soul of this very private man.
Since Come Blow Your Horn first opened on Broadway in 1960, few seasons have passed without the appearance of another of his laughter-filled plays, and indeed on numerous occasions two or more of his works have been running simultaneously. But his success was something Neil Simon never took for granted, nor was the talent to create laughter something that he ever treated carelessly: it took too long for him to achieve the kind of acceptance -- both popular and critical -- that he craved, and the path he followed frequently was pitted with hard decisions.
Some of the supporting players in the memoir include Sid Caesar, Jerry Lewis, Walter Matthau, Robert Redford, Gwen Verdon, Bob Fosse, George C. Scott, and Mike Nichols. But always at center stage is his first love, his wife Joan, whose death in the early seventies devastated him, and whose love and inspiration illuminate this remarkable and revealing self-portrait.
Rewrites is rich in laughter and emotion, and filled with the memories of a sometimes sweet, sometimes bittersweet life.
About the Author
Neil Simon Contemporary American theater's most commercially successful and best-loved playwright, Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in the Bronx, N.Y. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, he managed to find time for writing while serving as a corporal in the United States Air Force, 1945-46. Writing soon became his profession without the formalities of college (except for a few courses at New York University and the University of Denver). His first theater work consisted of writing for camp shows at Tamiment, Pa., in collaboration with his older brother, Danny. It was at Tamiment that Simon met his first wife, Joan.
Simon became a television writer during the medium's initial heyday, supplying material for Sid Caesar (Caesars Hour), Phil Silvers (Sergeant Bilko), and The Garry Moore Show. On Broadway, he contributed sketches to Catch a Star (1955) and New Faces of 1956. His first Broadway play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961).
Simon's many honors and accolades have included Tony Awards every ten years: the 1965 Tony as author of The Odd Couple, a special 1975 Tony for his overall contribution to the theater, and the 1985 best-play Tony for Biloxi Blues. For Lost in Yonkers, he won his third Tony for best play in 1991, the same year he won the Pulitzer Prize for this play. Simon holds an Honorary Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hofstra University and Williams College.
He received the Sam S. Shubert Award in 1968, Writers Guild motion picture awards in 1968, 1970, and 1975, and numerous Tony, Emmy, and Oscar nominations. Two years ago, Broadway's Alvin Theater was renamed Neil Simon in his honor. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Writers Guild of America and divides his time between New York and Los Angeles. Married three times, Simon has two daughters, Ellen and Nancy, by his first wife. He is presently living in Los Angeles with his wife, Diane Lander-Simon, and daughter, Bryn Lander-Simon.
The Works of Neil Simon