The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright passed away on Saturday, August 25 of complications from pneumonia.
- Aug 27, 2018
AceShowbiz - Prolific playwright Neil Simon has died at the age of 91.
"The Odd Couple" writer passed away on Saturday, August 25 of complications from pneumonia.
"Neil Simon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright, died last night at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City," a statement from his representative reads. "The cause was complications from pneumonia. His wife, Elaine Joyce Simon, was at his bedside along with Mr. Simon's daughters, Ellen Simon and Nancy Simon."
Simon began writing plays in the 1960s after working in radio and TV on shows including "Your Show of Shows", which earned him two Emmy Awards nominations. His first Broadway production was 1961's "Come Blow Your Horn".
The playwright went on to write "Barefoot in the Park", "The Odd Couple", "Sweet Charity", "The Star-Spangled Girl", and dozens more and at one time had four stage shows running simultaneously on Broadway. He also took his talents to the big screen to pen scripts for over 20 films including "The Out-of-Towners", "Murder by Death", "The Goodbye Girl", and "The Odd Couple".
He has racked up 17 Tony Awards nominations, winning three, and four Academy Awards nods. He has also been feted with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Lost in Yonkers" in 1991, the Mark Twain Prize for "American Humor" in 2006, and was a Kennedy Center honouree in 1995.
Simon married Joyce in 1999. A memorial service is reportedly planned for Thursday, August 30 in New York City.
