Playwright Neil Simon, a master of comedy whose laugh-filled hits such as "The Odd Couple," ''Barefoot in the Park" and his "Brighton Beach" trilogy dominated Broadway for decades, has died.
He was 91.
Simon died early today of complications from pneumonia surrounded by family at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, said Bill Evans, his longtime friend and the Shubert Organization director of media relations.
In the second half of the 20th century, Simon was the American theatre's most successful and prolific playwrights, often chronicling middle class issues and fears.
Starting with "Come Blow Your Horn" in 1961 and continuing into the next century, he rarely stopped working on a new play or musical. His list of credits is staggering.
Simon's stage successes included "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," ''Last of the Red Hot Lovers," ''The Sunshine Boys," ''Plaza Suite," ''Chapter Two," ''Sweet Charity" and "Promises, Promises," but there were other plays and musicals, too, more than 30 in all.
Many of his plays were adapted into movies and one, "The Odd Couple," even became a popular television series.
For seven months in 1967, he had four productions running at the same time on Broadway: "Barefoot in the Park"; "The Odd Couple"; "Sweet Charity"; and "The Star-Spangled Girl."
Simon received his first Tony Award in 1965 as best author a category now discontinued for "The Odd Couple," although the comedy lost the best-play prize to Frank D Gilroy's "The Subject Was Roses."
Simon attended New York University and the University of Colorado. After serving in the military in 1945-46, he began writing with his brother for radio in 1948 and then, for television, a period in their lives chronicled in Simon's 1993 play, "Laughter on the 23rd Floor."