Mike Nichols -- RIP

Mike Nichols
(Image: deadline.com)

How many people have their deaths announced by the president of a major American television network's news division? Well, that was the case yesterday, as ABC News prez James Goldston informed the world that Mike Nichols had passed away at age 83. Not even US commanders-in-chief get the Goldston treatment. However, Nichols was married to ABC News star Diane Sawyer, whose position in the network's firmament apparently demanded her spouse receive presidential attention.

Nichols won praise for his work in show business. However, in an era of auteurist movie directors, Nichols never achieved a memorable, defined style. While some of his films were very good, Nichols' work did not achieve the stature of contemporaries such as Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, or William Friedkin, just to name four A-list directors. In some ways, he seemed more a creature of the theatre, where Nichols' wit and finesse with actors delivered splendid results.

My wife reminded me that we saw Nichols on our first date. He was ducking into a New York movie theatre where we happened to be on line (no, not to watch a Nichols feature). He seemed comfortable in the public without working hard to get noticed. We also saw Nichols in a Ridgefield Park, New Jersey movieplex. One of his films (I don't remember the picture) was being previewed. Nichols and his entourage slipped into the back of the house just as the film began. They slipped out before the end credits were shown and the opinion cards were filled out and returned to the studio's staff.

For the record, my favorite Nichols film was Working Girl. The movie remains a curious choice for the husband of Diane Sawyer to make.