- Born: November 6, 1931 in Berlin, Germany
- Real name: Michael Igor Peschkowsky
- Third cousin, twice removed, to: Albert Einstein
- Oscar nominations for directorial debut: 13 for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Was once called: “The new Orson Welles.”
- Met his wife, Elaine May, at: Chicago’s Compass Players (forerunner to Second City)
- His first choices to play Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate: Doris Day and Jeanne Moreau
- Grammy Award co-winner: Best Comedy Album (with Elaine May), 1962
- Fun fact: Skipped classes at University of Chicago to attend theatrical activities
- Lifelong pursuit: Raising Arabian horses
Elaine May spoke in 2003 at the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Awards tribute to Mike Nichols:
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