Diane Sawyer is mourning the passing of her husband, Mike Nichols, who died suddenly on Wednesday night at the age of 83. The two had been married since 1988.
James Goldston, the president of ABC News, announced Nichols’ passing on Thursday morning. He called him a “true visionary.”
Mike Nichols was a prolific director, known for work including The Graduate and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He won more Tony Awards for directing Broadway plays than anyone else–his most recent being Death of a Salesman just two years ago.
He won a Grammy Award for his 1961 comedy album, An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May. He won multiple Emmy Awards for directing TV movies, including Closer in 2004 and Charlie Wilson’s War in 2007.
Breaking: Entertainment icon Mike Nichols has died at age 83 http://t.co/a4wuRzS5L4 pic.twitter.com/PJO44w6cto
— ABC News (@ABC) November 20, 2014
Nichols had recently been working on a new project for HBO to adapt Master Class, Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play about opera legend Maria Callas. This reunited him with actress Meryl Streep, with whom he worked on multiple projects, including the 2004 HBO miniseries Angels in America.
Mike Nichols was born Michael Igor Peschkowsky in 1931 in Berlin. He fled Nazi Germany for the United States when he was just seven years old. He is survived by his wife, Diane Sawyer, his three children from a previous marriage, and four grandchildren.
Condolences are likely going out to Diane Sawyer from people in both the news industry–as well as family and friends–all around the world for the loss of her husband.