Neil Simon passes away at 91! (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

May he R.I.P. A great playwright with some of his best work adapted for screen.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/26/entertainment/neil-simon-playwright-dies/index.html

 

[Rodney]

Truly a man that has made this world a better place with his presence in it.

 

[Tony Bensley]

This is sad news!

 

[Tino]

RIP funnyman.

 

[Nick*Z]

Absolutely heartbreaking. Legendary talent with so many hit-makers to his credit. He wrote from the heart and gave it soul. If he had only written Barefoot in the Park, or The Goodbye Girl, or The Sunshine Boys, or The Odd Couple he would already be a legend. To have penned them all, not to mention countless others, as well as adaptations like Sweet Charity and Promises Promises, makes him uncannily unique, legendary and irreplaceable. We will not see his like again. The lights on Broadway ought to be dimmed tonight.

 

[Bernard McNair]

Very sad news; Mr. Simon was a giant of both the cinema and theatre.
Thank you Mr. Simon for making our lives funnier and for giving us insights into ourselves.
RIP.

 

[Matt Hough]

The sad passing of a very great talent.

A decade or two ago, I was on the play reading committee for our local community theater planning out the upcoming season, and I suggested the two musical/ three play season consist entirely of Neil Simon works: Sweet Charity and They're Playing Our Song for the musicals, and Barefoot in the Park, Plaza Suite, and The Gingerbread Lady for the plays. Why would I do such a thing? in typical community theaters, put Neil Simon's name on the poster, and it's money in the bank, or it was when I was serving on that committee. His name sold any show to the public.

 

[John Dirk]

Just watched "Seems Like Old Times" a few days ago. We're losing all of the greats in music and film at an alarming rate. It's sort of scary since the new talent just isn't up to the task in most cases. I guess you know you're old when you start feeling this way. RIP - Neil Simon.

 

[Nick*Z]

Just watched "Seems Like Old Times" a few days ago. We're losing all of the greats in music and film at an alarming rate. It's sort of scary since the new talent just isn't up to the task in most cases. I guess you know you're old when you start feeling this way. RIP - Neil Simon.

Actually, John - you just realize taste in pop culture is a thing of the past. Yesterdays legends are being traded for today's flash in the pan celebrities. They cannot hold the proverbial candle. Most of them don't even dare try. I find more viable talent being weeded out of auditions on The X Factor and Britain/America's Got Talent than I do pulling their weight on the pop charts these days.

Bottom line: mediocrity in the arts rules. We've bred the message that it's okay not to strive for perfection. Average is just fine. Think about it. In school, you cannot criticize a child for lack of spelling, vocabulary, etc. - all the criteria that used to go into making an empty skull over into a proper free-thinking individual who may or may not contribute extraordinary things to the culture at large.

Instead, today, we hide behind 'feelings'. Don't upset the young. Give them safe spaces instead of guidance and constructive criticism. There's no room to blossom - merely, to exist at whatever level one is currently settled in at. Promote average, or even 'less than', depending on where the medium average falls and then tell the public at large - this is what is desirable today.

You don't need to be the best at something. You can just give it the ole Joe College try and hope for the best. That'll do. Personally, those I respect the most are the ones who open our eyes to better ourselves.

Neil Simon showed us ourselves in an extraordinarily frank light, and with oodles of humor, wit and an inimitable charm that celebrated being average in the most exalted way. I will sincerely miss his gifts as an author, raconteur and all around mesmerizing talented man. In the past we didn't get his kind every day. Today, we don't even know where to look for such a fellow. Perhaps, he doesn't exist anymore.

 

[Vic Pardo]

50 years ago, I saw THE ODD COUPLE in 9th Grade at Radio City Music Hall on a class trip, my first Neil Simon movie. I re-watched it on TCM earlier this month and was amazed at how well it held up. In fact, I related to it a lot more since I'm now on that side of the fence age-wise and divorce-wise. I was struck by its honest, unflinching depiction of male pain in middle age. I can relate. And neither guy was presented as blameless. Quite the opposite.

Still, if I had to pick a favorite Neil Simon movie, for sheer laughs, it would have to be THE CHEAP DETECTIVE (1978). Peter Falk at his best, and surrounded by some of the best comic actresses working at the time. And one of the best Hollywood parodies of classic movies ever made.

 

[bujaki]

I saw several of Simon's plays in their original Broadway runs. I was surprised at how funny and how touching they were; one of them, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, bordering on real pathos. He was a true master of his craft, unfortunately unappreciated by today's audiences as proven by the lack of interest in the latest Broadway revivals of his plays. A pity and a real loss for them. My memories and gratitude remain. RIP.

 

[holtge]

Sad to hear this. He was an amazing man. Rest in peace, Mr. Simon.