Born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky in Berlin on November 6, 1931, Mike Nichols became one of the most celebrated and versatile directors in American entertainment history. A rare member of the EGOT club, he won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, a feat achieved by only a handful of artists. His family fled Nazi Germany and emigrated to the United States in 1939, settling in New York City. After losing his hair to a childhood illness, he was frequently bullied, but he found an escape in the world of performance and comedy, which would later define his early career.

Nichols began his professional life in the 1950s as a performer, joining the experimental comedy troupe The Compass Players in Chicago, the precursor to The Second City. It was there he formed a legendary comedic partnership with Elaine May. As the duo Nichols and May, they created a wildly popular and intellectually sharp improvisational act that took Broadway by storm. Their live albums were hugely successful, with their second release, An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May, winning the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 1962. Though the partnership was relatively brief, it established Nichols's reputation for razor-sharp wit and a deep understanding of human behavior.

After the duo disbanded, Nichols pivoted to directing, a field where he would achieve monumental success. His Broadway directorial debut was Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. He quickly became the most sought-after director on the Great White Way, winning consecutive Tony Awards for Best Direction for Luv and The Odd Couple in 1964 and 1965, respectively. He would go on to direct and produce more than 25 Broadway plays over his prolific career, earning his sixth Tony Award for directing the 2012 revival of Death of a Salesman starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, with his final Broadway credit being the 2013 revival of Betrayal.

Warner Bros. invited Nichols to make his feature film directorial debut with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966, a searing adaptation of Edward Albee's play starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. He followed this with the cultural phenomenon The Graduate in 1967, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director and cemented his status as a leading New Hollywood filmmaker. His subsequent filmography was remarkably diverse, encompassing the dark satire Catch-22, the provocative Carnal Knowledge, the political dramas Silkwood and Primary Colors, the comedies Working Girl and The Birdcage, and the sharp-witted Charlie Wilson's War.

Throughout his career, Nichols continued to excel in television as well. He won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for the acclaimed HBO productions Wit and Angels in America. His work earned him numerous other accolades, including three BAFTA Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010. The films he directed received a staggering 42 Academy Award nominations, resulting in seven wins. Mike Nichols passed away on November 19, 2014, leaving behind a legacy as a master director with an unparalleled aptitude for drawing out the best performances from actors of every generation.