Mike Nichols is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-born American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television, stage and film director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May

Nichols and May

Nichols and May is a Grammy Award-winning American improvisational comedy duo act developed by Mike Nichols and Elaine May. Their three comedy albums reached the Billboard Top 40 between 1959 and 1962.-Development and collaboration:...

, along with Elaine May

Elaine May

Elaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...

. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate

The Graduate

The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...

. His other noteworthy films include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is an adaptation of the play of the same title by Edward Albee...

, Carnal Knowledge

Carnal knowledge

Carnal knowledge is an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse. The term derives from the Biblical usage of the verb know/knew, as in the King James and other versions, a euphemism for sexual conduct...

, Working Girl

Working Girl

Working Girl is a 1988 romantic comedy film written by Kevin Wade and directed by Mike Nichols. It tells the inspiring story of a Staten Island-raised secretary, Tess McGill , working in the mergers and acquisitions department of a Wall Street investment bank...

, Closer

Closer (film)

Closer is a 2004 romantic drama film written by Patrick Marber, based on his award-winning 1997 play of the same name. It was produced and directed by Mike Nichols and stars Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Clive Owen...

 and the TV mini-series Angels in America. He also staged the original theatrical productions of Barefoot in the Park

Barefoot in the Park

This article is about the Broadway production. For the film adaptation see Barefoot in the Park .Barefoot in the Park is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The original Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, opened October 23, 1963, with the four lead roles taken by actors Elizabeth Ashley ,...

, Luv

Luv (play)

Luv is a play by Murray Schisgal.A mix of absurdist humor and traditional Broadway comedy more in the Neil Simon vein, Luv concerns two college friends - misfit Harry and materialistic Milt - who are reunited when the latter stops the former from jumping off a bridge, the play's setting. Each...

, The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...

 and Spamalot

Spamalot

Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...

.

Nichols is one of a small group of people who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.