Join or Sign In

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Mike Nichols Biography

Birth Name:Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky

Birth Place:Berlin, Germany

Profession Director, Producer, Actor, Writer, Soundtrack

Fast Facts

Recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 2010
Completed 'EGOT' status, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, in 2001 after receiving his first award 40 years prior
Married Diane Sawyer, who is 14 years his junior, in 1988
After studying at The Actors Studio in New York City, he accepted a job with the Compass Players in Chicago, a predecessor to Second City, in 1955
Worried about Nazi persecution due to their Jewish heritage, his mother sent him to the United States with his little brother in 1938 at the age of 7 to meet up with his father who had fled months before
First met Elaine May, his stage partner in the 1960s and later friend, at a performance of the first play he directed, Yeats's "Purgatory," in 1953, and both later recalled that they hated each other at first sight
Quote: "A movie is like a person․ Either you trust it or you don't․"
Quote: "I've always been impressed by the fact that upon entering a room full of people, you find them saying one thing, doing another, and wishing they were doing a third․ The words are secondary and the secrets are primary․ That's what interests me most․"
Following his split with Elaine May in 1961, he began pursuing various directing efforts, starting with stage productions in Canada before landing his first film, 1966's award-winning "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Best known as the director of "The Graduate" and "The Birdcage," and was one of the few directors to achieve popular and artistic success in both film and theater

Awards

1967Oscar-Best Director: nominated
1967BAFTA Film Award-Best Film from any Source: winner
1967DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
1967Golden Globe-Best Director: nominated
1967NYFCC Award-Best Director: winner
1968Oscar-Best Director: winner
1968DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: winner
1968Golden Globe-Best Director: winner
1969BAFTA Film Award-Best Film: winner
1969BAFTA Film Award-Best Direction: winner
1969Kinema Junpo Award-Best Foreign Language Film: nominated
1972Golden Spike-Best Film: nominated
1977Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Drama Series: nominated
1984Oscar-Best Director: nominated
1984Golden Globe-Best Director - Motion Picture: nominated
1986Golden Spike-Best Film: nominated
1989Oscar-Best Director: nominated
1989DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
1989Golden Globe-Best Director - Motion Picture: nominated
1994Oscar-Best Picture: nominated
1994BAFTA Film Award-Best Film: nominated
1994PGA Award-Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: nominated
1996Honorable Mentions (The Next Ten Best Picture Contenders)-Honorable Mentions: nominated
1997OFTA Film Award-Best Comedy/Musical Picture: nominated
1999OFTA Film Award-Best Comedy/Musical Picture: nominated
2001Golden Berlin Bear-: nominated
2001Special Prize of the Ecumenical Jury-Competition: winner
2001Humanitas Prize-90 Minute or Longer Cable Category: winner
2001OFTA Television Award-Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries: nominated
2001Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Movie: nominated
2001Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special: winner
2001Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Made for Television Movie: winner
2001Golden Spike-Best Film: nominated
2002Christopher Award-Television & Cable: winner
2003OFTA Television Award-Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries: winner
2004DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television: winner
2004Visionary Award-: winner
2004Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Miniseries: winner
2004Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: winner
2005Movies for Grownups Award-Best Director: winner
2005Gold Derby Film Award-Motion Picture: nominated
2005Gold Derby Film Award-Director: nominated
2005Golden Globe-Best Director - Motion Picture: nominated
2005OFTA Film Award-Best Casting: nominated
2005PGA Award-Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television: winner
2007SLFCA Award-Best Director: nominated
2008Movies for Grownups Award-Best Director: nominated
2008Cinema for Peace Award-Cinema for Peace Award for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: nominated