Mike Nichols, the award-winning director-producer and husband of ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, has died suddenly, ABC News announced this morning. He was 83 years old.
"He was a true visionary, winning the highest honors in the arts for his work as a director, writer, producer, and comic, and was one of a tiny few to win the EGOT—an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony in his lifetime," ABC News president James Goldston said in a statement. "No one was more passionate about his craft than Mike."
Nichols began his more than five-decade career on Broadway in the 1960s, directing Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple. Since then, he's worked on shows including Annie, Spamalot, and the recent revival of Death of a Salesman, which earned him his eighth Tony award in 2012. His film career includes Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate (which earned him a Best Director Oscar), The Birdcage, and Charlie Wilson's War.
Nichols is survived by Sawyer, his wife of 26 years, and his three children and four grandchildren.
Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends.
