Mike Nichols dead, 'The Graduate' director and husband of Diane Sawyer was 83

Mike Nichols, the iconic director whose work shaped some of the great films of the last half century as well as one of TV's crowning achievements -- "Angels in America" -- has died at the age of 83.

ABC announced his death a short while ago; he had been married to Diane Sawyer for 26 years, and together they had formed one of the TV's true “power couples.”

In a statement, ABC News chief, James Goldston said: “In a triumphant career that spanned over six decades, Mike created some of the most iconic works of American film, television and theater — an astonishing canon ranging from The Graduate, Working Girl, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf to Closer, Charlie Wilson’s War, Annie, Spamalot, The Birdcage, and Angels in America. He was a true visionary, winning the highest honors in the arts for his work as a director, writer, producer and comic and was one of a tiny few to win the EGOT — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.”

He added: “No one was more passionate about his craft than Mike. He had recently been immersed in a new project for HBO to adapt “Master Class,” Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play about opera legend Maria Callas. The project reunited him with Meryl Streep, one of his most frequent collaborators. She once said of Mike, “no explanation of our world could be complete and no account or image of it so rich, if we didn't have you,” in hailing him as one of the essential artists of our time.”

 Nichols had been ill for years — a well-known fact in TV circles and widely believed at ABC to be one of the reasons Sawyer had stepped down as anchor of “World News Tonight” (then called “World News”) last August. She wanted — according to friends — to spend more time with him and with her ailing mother, Jean W. Saywer, who died last month at the age of 94.

 Nichols and Sawyer, according to TV insiders, were a genuine collaborative team: He counseled her on work for the network, and Sawyer, doubtless, returned the favor. 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2004, upon receiving the Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, he was asked about the relationship: “We've managed to be together most of the time, which is important when you're both working with the cutest people in the world. We've also battled for equality. If one person becomes more important, you get knocked off kilter, especially if it's not the guy. A network person at an affiliate meeting once asked me what I did and I said, 'I take her phone messages and rinse out her delicate underthings.' If I didn't get called for a job for five or six months, that could cause problems. But I'm happy to be waiting for her. I know who I am.”

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Nichols' direction not only yielded some of the screen's most indelible films, but it came to define in some respects an entire generation: The '60s counterculture, and inchoate beginnings of a war between generations — the never trust anyone over 30 crowd and their “Greatest Generation” parents.

“The Graduate” virtually cleaved the culture and widened the gap between boomers and a prewar generation that had fought in World War II then triumphed at home, only to lose its way during the Vietnam War. “Mad Men,” as an example, could never have existed without “The Graduate” as a forbear.

Nichols' other films were equally explosive, exploring the same themes -- "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” the breathtaking film that launched his career; “Catch-22,” in 1970, which was also to become of the most iconic films of the decade; and of course “Carnal Knowledge,” which not only catapulted Candice Bergen into superstardom, but supercharged so many other careers — including Jack Nicholson's and Ann-Margret's.

Nichols' glorious comedy work with Elaine May of the '50s — expressly designed for the small screen — remains beloved: Comic jewels that have found an entire new generation of fans on YouTube. It was profoundly influential, notably on 'Saturday Night Live” and any other program that attempted sketch comedy in the years that followed.

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  But it was “Angels in America” that would establish Nichols as a directorial TV star. Cary Brokaw's adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tony Kushner play was a challenging project under any circumstances. A hugely expensive miniseries with complicated special effects and one of the most distinguished casts in TV history, lead by Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, this was the director's equivalent of wrestling an elephant (and then pinning it to the mat.)

  Nichols succeeded: “Angels” was nominated for an astounding 21 Emmys in 2004, won half of them, and became — along with “The Wire” and “The Sopranos" -- HBO's signature programs of the entire decade.

  He and Streep were to be reunited, on an HBO production of Terrence McNally's "Master Class," about Maria Callas. 

In the interview with the LA Times' Elaine Dutka, Nichols was asked about whether he thinks about death.

He said this: “A lot. It's part of my nature, and the fact of death makes everything so sweet. It's good to have a time limit, and having kids helps. They are themselves — and me. As a filmmaker, however, I don't know what I'll leave behind. I'm startled by how quickly great directors are so totally gone when they're gone. Jerome Robbins is barely remembered. It doesn't take very long. There's no guarantee that your work endures, and it's a blind alley to think about it. Modigliani was completely unsuccessful in life and a giant after he left, and that didn't do him any good. I'm glad that I connected with people, cheering them up in the dark. But posterity? Memories, reputation don't mean a lot to me. When it's over, it's over.”

Here are more details from ABC News' obit and appreciation, just posted:

“Nichols was born in Germany in 1931, and came to the United States when he was 7 years old, when his family escaped Nazi Germany. He arrived in America speaking little English, but his enthusiasm for his new country never waned. He graduated from the Walden School in New York City, and began pursuing theater while attending the University of Chicago in the early 1950s.

While studying medicine, he found his true calling — comedy. He joined a comedy troupe in Chicago and teamed up with performer Elaine May. The duo gained national popularity together, cementing their partnership as America's innovative comedy duo. But Nichols forged his legacy as a director, helming hits on Broadway and the silver screen — from “Barefoot in the Park” and “The Odd Couple” to “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Graduate."

"He earned the Oscar for best director for “The Graduate.” His unparalleled career, which stretched a half-century, included such successes as “Carnal Knowledge," "Working Girl," "The Birdcage” and “Closer.” He earned his eighth Tony two years ago for his revival of “Death of a Salesman.” He had recently been working on a project for HBO to adapt “Master Class,” Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play about opera legend Maria Callas. The project would have reunited him with frequent collaborator Meryl Streep.

“Nichols is survived by his wife, children Daisy, Max and Jenny, and four grandchildren.”