---
title: "Mike Nichols: Comedian, Special & TV Roles | D.O.C."
description: "Mike Nichols: the special An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May, 3 albums and 3 screen credits. An American comedian and comedy-record act, born in…"
url: https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-mike-nichols.html
updated: 2026-11-11
---

Stand-up comedian · 1931–2014

# Mike Nichols

## Who Mike Nichols is

Mike Nichols was an American comedian and comedy-record act, born in Berlin, who came to the United States in 1939 and made his name in the comedy team Nichols and May. He joined the Compass Players, a team of six comic actors in Chicago, in 1955, and in 1957 formed a comedy partnership with Elaine May that played first at the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village and then at the Blue Angel in midtown.

The pair made their first national television appearance on NBC's Omnibus in 1958, released Improvisations to Music on Mercury in 1959, and in October 1960 opened An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May on Broadway, whose album won Best Comedy Performance at the 4th Annual Grammy Awards. Their last album, Nichols and May Examine Doctors, came in 1963, and soon after they ended their performing partnership; his first Broadway show as a director, Barefoot in the Park, opened that fall, and his second film, The Graduate, in December 1967.

## Vote in My D.O.C. Legends

Put them in My D.O.C. Legends: your twelve for their era, counted with every reader’s on [the Legends page](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/greatest-comedians.html).

## At a glance

**Born**

1931

**Died**

2014

**From**

Berlin

**Stand-up specials**

An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May

**Albums**

Improvisations to Music, An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May and Nichols and May Examine Doctors

**On screen**

Omnibus, Barefoot in the Park and The Graduate

## Specials, shows and podcasts

### Stand-up specials

- **An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May** Broadway revue, with Elaine May, directed by Arthur Penn, 1960

### Albums

- **Improvisations to Music** album, with Elaine May, Mercury, 1959
- **An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May** album, with Elaine May, 1961
- **Nichols and May Examine Doctors** album, with Elaine May, 1963

### On screen

- **Omnibus** with Elaine May, NBC, 1958
- **Barefoot in the Park** Broadway, director, 1963
- **The Graduate** film, director, 1967

## Career timeline

1. **1931** Born
2. **1958** Omnibus (with Elaine May, NBC, 1958) On screen
3. **1959** Improvisations to Music (album, with Elaine May, Mercury, 1959) Album
4. **1960** An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May (Broadway revue, with Elaine May, directed by Arthur Penn, 1960) Special
5. **1961** An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May (album, with Elaine May, 1961) Album
6. **1963** Barefoot in the Park (Broadway, director, 1963) On screen
7. **1963** Nichols and May Examine Doctors (album, with Elaine May, 1963) Album
8. **1967** The Graduate (film, director, 1967) On screen
9. **2014** Died

## Questions and answers

### What stand-up specials has Mike Nichols released?

An Evening With Mike Nichols and Elaine May.

### What TV shows and films are they in?

Omnibus (with Elaine May, NBC, 1958), Barefoot in the Park (Broadway, director, 1963) and The Graduate (film, director, 1967).

### Where are they from?

Born in Berlin.

### How old were they?

They were born in 1931 and died in 2014.

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## The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to vote them into My D.O.C. Legends.

[Their SUCDb record →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-mike-nichols.html)

### Sources

- [PBS American Masters — Mike Nichols biography and career timeline ↗](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/mike-nichols-mike-nichols-biography-and-career-timeline/6155/) Born in Berlin on 6 November 1931; sent to the United States in 1939; Compass Players in Chicago (1955); partnership with Elaine May at the Village Vanguard…
- [Recording Academy — GRAMMY artist page for Mike Nichols ↗](https://www.grammy.com/artists/mike-nichols/5283) Winner, Best Comedy Performance, 4th Annual Grammy Awards (1962), for An Evening With Mike Nichols And Elaine May; nominee for Improvisations To Music (1959)…
- [Wikipedia ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nichols) died 19 November 2014

Updated 11 November 2026 · the record checked 10 November 2026