As the most financially successful playwright in history, Bronx-born Neil Simon hardly needs TV and movies to enhance his reputation -- though at least one-third of his output has been geared exclusively to non-theatrical projects. Upon graduating from New York University, Simon began penning comedy material for nightclubs and revues, then signed on as a staff writer for TV comedian Sid Caesar. During his years with Caesar, and his later tenure on Phil Silvers' military sitcom "You'll Never Get Rich" (1955-59), Simon became skilled in the art of allowing jokes to flow naturally from the situation and the characters, rather than merely inserting gags arbitrarily for quick, cheap laughs. After an ignoble Broadway debut as librettist for the shortlived musical The Adventures of Marco Polo (1959), Simon scored a hit with his play Come Blow Your Horn (1961), which later became a successful Frank Sinatra film vehicle. Simon's first script written directly for the screen was After the Fox (1966), an uneven "international" comedy suffering from too many cooks (including star Peter Sellers and director Vittorio de Sica). Simon's next movie original, The Out of Towners (1969), was far more successful both financially and artistically. While his stage plays of the 1970s and 1980s were almost invaribly hits, Simon's film scripts of the same period fluctuated wildly in quality. There are few if any faults in The Heartbreak Kid (1972), The Goodbye Girl (1977), and Seems Like Old Times (1979). Conversely, Simon's movie-genre spoofs Murder by Death (1975) and The Cheap Detective (1978), while frequently uproarious, are little more than elonganted Sid Caesar sketches. And The Slugger's Wife (1983) is not only Simon's weakest screenplay, but also one of the worst big-budget pictures ever made. However, in the final analysis, Simon has hit the mark far more often than not -- in addition to his Pulitzer Prize for the 1991 play Lost in Yonkers, his scripts for The Odd Couple (1968), The Goodbye Girl (1977), and California Suite (1978) have been honored with Academy Awards. As he entered the 1990s, Simon suffered one major cinematic setback with 1991's The Marrying Man, then -- as always -- regained lost ground with still another Broadway smash, 1993's Laughter on the 23rd Floor.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Heartbreak Kid
From Screenplay by |
2007 | |||
|
The Goodbye Girl
Executive Producer, Screenwriter |
2004 | |||
|
Frasier: Frasier's Edge
TV Guest Appearance |
2001 | |||
|
Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Executive Producer, Play Author, Screenwriter |
2001 | |||
| 2000 | ||||
|
The Out-of-Towners
Screenwriter |
1999 | |||
|
The Odd Couple II
Producer, Screenwriter |
1998 | |||
|
Pitch
Participant |
1997 | |||
|
The Sunshine Boys
Screenwriter |
1997 | |||
|
Jake's Women
Play Author, Teleplay By |
1996 | |||
|
London Suite
Play Author, Teleplay By |
1996 | |||
| 1996 | ||||
|
Lost in Yonkers
Screenwriter |
1993 | |||
|
Broadway Bound
Screenwriter |
1992 | |||
|
The Marrying Man
Producer, Screenwriter |
1991 | |||
|
Biloxi Blues
Screenwriter |
1988 | |||
|
The AFI Lifetime Achievement Awards: Jack Lemmon
Participant |
1988 | |||
|
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Screenwriter |
1986 | |||
|
The Slugger's Wife
Screenwriter |
1985 | |||
|
The Lonely Guy
Screenwriter |
1984 | |||
|
Max Dugan Returns
Producer, Screenwriter |
1983 | |||
|
I Ought to Be in Pictures
Play Author, Producer, Screen Story, Screenwriter |
1982 | |||
|
Only When I Laugh
Play Author, Producer, Screenwriter |
1981 | |||
|
Seems Like Old Times
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1980 | |||
|
Chapter Two
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1979 | |||
|
California Suite
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1978 | |||
|
The Cheap Detective
Screenwriter |
1978 | |||
|
The Goodbye Girl
Screenwriter |
1977 | |||
|
Murder by Death
Screenwriter |
1976 | |||
|
The Sunshine Boys
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1975 | |||
|
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1974 | |||
|
Last of the Red Hot Lovers
Screenwriter |
1972 | |||
|
The Heartbreak Kid
Screenwriter |
1972 | |||
|
Plaza Suite
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1971 | |||
|
Star Spangled Girl
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1971 | |||
|
Sweet Charity
Screenwriter |
1969 | |||
|
The Out-of-Towners
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1969 | |||
|
The Odd Couple
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1968 | |||
|
Barefoot in the Park
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1967 | |||
|
After the Fox
Screenwriter |
1966 | |||
|
Come Blow Your Horn
Play Author |
1963 | |||
|
The Adventures of Marco Polo
Teleplay By |
1956 |


