"King of Broadway": US dramatist Neil Simon is dead

Neil Simon, the "King of Broadway," is dead. He died in a hospital in New York on Sunday at the age of 91, the New York Times reported, citing his spokesman. The newspaper praised Simon as a "theater writer whose name was synonymous with Broadway comedy and success" and who helped "redefine American humor."

Among others, Simon has written pieces such as "A Strange Couple" and "Lost in Yonkers" and has won numerous awards for his work: He has been awarded Golden Globes, Emmys, Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize. In 1983, a whole Broadway theater was named after him.

Breaking News: The Playwright Neil Simon died at 91. He was a Broadway comedy star with "The Odd Couple" and "Barefoot in the Park." https://t.co/CAbDuz1ZVK

The breakthrough Simon succeeded in the sixties: 1966 four pieces of him ran simultaneously on Broadway. In his comedies, Simon, born in New York's Bronx in 1927, showed real life: human weaknesses, faults and fears, packed in jokes and plays. The mixture of rapid wit and profoundness made the man with the big glasses probably the most popular dramatist of the USA and brought him a loyal audience.

Critics, however, often ridiculed his comedies as too easy and trivial. That only spurred Simon on to deal with his own story. "You can not forget the past, you have to deal with it," he once said. As a child of the Great Depression, the playwright had been born the son of a failed businessman. The moody atmosphere of his childhood he later drew in stage plays such as "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1983), "Biloxi Blues" (1985) or "Broadway Bound" (1986).

Thank you Neil Simon for the laughter of my childhood. Your plays and movies were my go to smart character comedy. Bravo. Bravo. pic.twitter.com/s3NDPr38oe

His older brother Danny had discovered him early as an author. Together, the two wrote sketches for radio and television. Danny went to Hollywood, Neil became famous only in the theater and then in the film. "If my bedroom could talk" (1961) was filmed with Frank Sinatra. After a long run on Broadway, "Barefoot in the Park" was a hit with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in the movies.

In Germany, too, Simon's works are a popular repertoire. For example, in 2001 the cabaret artists Werner Schneyder and Dieter Hildebrandt provided the television comedy "Sonny Boys" with a new production of the story, first performed in 1972, with two retired cabaret stars. In 2004, German director Doris Dörrie ("Men") again staged the classic "A Strange Couple" with Uwe Ochsenknecht and Heiner Lauterbach.

Simon was married several times and leaves three children.