Mike Nichols, the former Chicago actor and WFMT-FM announcer who went on to become one of the nation’s most accomplished directors, will be the subject of a PBS documentary directed by his Hyde Park pal and longtime comedy partner Elaine May.
The program will air Jan. 29 as part of the acclaimed “American Masters” series, producers announced Monday.
Nichols first found fame as half of a comedy team with May, a wry wit he met in Chicago. He made the transition to directing in the 1960s, first on stage with “Barefoot in the Park” and “The Odd Couple,” and then on film with “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Graduate.”
His later big-screen credits included “Catch-22,” “Silkwood” and “The Birdcage.”
The documentary includes an extensive interview with Nichols conducted by producer Julian Schlossberg, a longtime collaborator with May who joked that working with her “was a nightmare.”
Added May in the press announcement, “Julian Schlossberg was very nice and he really seemed to like me.”
Also commenting on Nichols in the film are Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Paul Simon, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane,
Nichols died in November 2014. “American Masters” also is readying 2016 documentaries on Carole King, Janis Joplin, Loretta Lynn and the country supergroup the Highwaymen.
