R.I.P. Neil Simon ~ Master of Comedy, Screenwriter, Author and Pulitzer Winning Playwright ~ 1927-2018

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R.I.P. Neil Simon

Neil Simon, the prolific comedy writer who created such Broadway hits such as: Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Plaza Suite, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and The Sunshine Boys, has passed away from pneumonia. Between 1965 and 1980, his plays and musicals had more than 9,000 performances. Just in 1966 alone he had four Broadway plays running simultaneously. He also wrote the screenplays for over twenty films. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize he also received: the Mark Twain Prize; a Tony Award for Best Playwright for The Odd Couple; another Tony and the aforementioned Pulitzer in 1991 for Lost in Yonkers; a special Tony for his overall contribution to American theater; 16 Tony nominations and four Oscar nominations, among many more. In 2010, The New Yorker’s John Lahr wrote: “For almost half a century, his comedies have offered light at the end of whatever dark tunnel America has found itself.”

If you can go through life without experiencing pain, you probably haven’t been born yet.

~ Neil Simon ~

 

Women’s Equality Day 2018

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Audre Lorde, Inspirational quotes, Women’s Equality Day

On this day in 1920, women obtained the right to vote with the passing of the 19th Amendment (although in some Southern states there was widespread voter suppression against Black women, men, and even poor whites until the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964). While we have come far it’s obvious from recent events that true equality is still not quite within reach for many women. That’s why it’s important to acknowledge this day, for more work needs to be done.

I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.

~ Audre Lorde, American writer, feminist, librarian, and civil rights activist  ~