Elaine May
With charm and wit, Nichols discusses his life and 50-year career as a performer and director.
A comedy that takes place in the 1960s during turbulent times in the United States when a middle class suburban family is visited by a guest who turns their household completely upside down.
A loser of a crook and his wife strike it rich when a botched bank job's cover business becomes a spectacular success.
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.
A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancé's conservative moralistic parents.
A documentary made for the PBS program American Masters about the comedy team Nichols and May.
A woman moves back to New York and hires a ditzy New Age woman to redecorate her apartment in this Odd Couple styled comedy. The movie takes a turn as the two escape to a New Age retreat in upstate New York to get away from a murderer who is pursuing them.
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.
In Philadelphia, a small-time bookie who stole mob money is in hiding and he begs a childhood friend to help him evade the hit-man who's on his trail.
Three days into his Miami honeymoon, Lenny meets tall, blonde Kelly. This confirms him in his opinion that he has made a serious mistake and he decides he wants Kelly instead.
Henry Graham lives the life of a playboy. When his lawyer tells him one day that his lifestyle has consumed all his funds, he needs an idea to avoid climbing down the social ladder.
Julie Messinger is an intense woman who hides her wild emotions and desires under her conventional facade. Her husband Richard checks into the hospital for a simple mole removal that goes seriously wrong.
A 1970 American documentary film biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., presented in the form of newsreel footage and segments of recordings by Dr. King, framed by celebrity narrators, including Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ruby Dee, James Earl Jones, Clarence Williams III, Burt Lancaster, Ben Gazzara, Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, The movie was produced by Richard Kaplan and Ely Landau.
A Bach recording plays in a New York apartment, while off-screen a man and a woman in bed together for the first time engage in pseudo-intellectual conversation. Based on the Nichols and May sketch.
David Kolowitz, a nice young man living with his parents in New York City in 1938, works at a machine repair shop. His parents want David to study to become a pharmacist. But what he really wants is to be an actor like his idol, Ronald Colman. One day, at his friend Marvin's suggestion, David tries out for a part in a play, and gets it, despite his obvious lack of acting experience (not to mention ability). True, it's a rather small part in a low-rent production. Leading the troupe is a washed-up, alcoholic actor who hires David at the urging of his actress-daughter, who finds David "cute." To play his part, David must come up with his own costume - a tuxedo - and pay the house five dollars a week, ostensibly for tuition. But it is David's first acting job, one which calls for him to "enter laughing." And if it doesn't work out - well, there's always pharmacy school.
Harry is a barely functional human. He meets an old friend who is having marital problems as Harry is about to leap off of a bridge. His friend decides that Harry is the man to take his wife away from him so that Milt can be with his girlfriend. Ellen and Harry have an instant attraction and in a short while Harry is wearing Milt's suits and Milt is free. But, Ellen soon discovers that Harry is the world's worst roommate.
Benjamin, a recent college graduate very worried about his future, finds himself in a love triangle with an older woman and her daughter.
The Fabulous Fifties, CBS, combines style, humor, and imagination. It was rich in touches of quality showmanship and equally rich in the memories of a decade which it revived. In recognition, the Peabody Television Award for entertainment is presented to The Fabulous Fifties, with a special word of praise for producer Leland Hayward and the top talent which appeared in this memorable entertainment special*. *The two-hour special featured comic takes and commentary about the previous decade by, among others, Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Dick Van Dyke, Shelley Berman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Jackie Gleason, Eric Severeid and Henry Fonda.
