One of the handful of people to win an Emmy, Tony, Oscar and Grammy, Mike Nichols directed just 18 theatrical features over 41 years while devoting significant parts of his career to Broadway and television.
But Nichols, who died Wednesday, left us with one era-defining classic and films that showcase many great actors at the top of their game. Here are seven of them:
‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ (1966)
Elizabeth Taylor — shedding her glamour for an image-busting role as a frowsy drunk — won one of this film’s five Oscars, as Nichols was nominated for his Hollywood debut. And the film’s sexually frank language was the coup de grâce for Hollywood’s strict censorship rules, which were replaced by the current film-ratings system.
‘The Graduate’ (1967)
Plastics! Nothing nails 1960s social turmoil like this timeless classic, which won Nichols his only Oscar and was the top-grossing film of the year. Dustin Hoffman became an instant star, and it revived Anne Bancroft’s movie career (after Burt Ward of the “Batman’’ TV series and Doris Day turned down those respective parts).
‘Carnal Knowledge’ (1971)
After his brave attempt to film “Catch-22’’ with an all-star cast flopped, Nichols’ film work became more sporadic. This one was a financial disappointment, but it contains one of Jack Nicholson’s essential performances as a frustrated lothario in a devastating critique of male ego.
‘Silkwood’ (1983)
Nichols’ first of several collaborations with Meryl Streep was an unlikely teaming with Cher — then best known as Sonny Bono’s ex — in an exposé of real-life corporate chicanery. Both walked away with Oscar nods, and Nichols was nominated again.
‘Working Girl’ (1988)
Another time capsule of its era, a hugely popular comedy with Melanie Griffith copping a Best Actress nod as a Staten Island secretary trying to break the glass ceiling. Nichols received his fourth and final Oscar nod for directing.
‘The Birdcage’ (1996)
Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay couple did arguably their best screen work in this hilarious hit farce, with Nichols’ sure-handed direction outdoing both the original French version of “La Cage aux Folles’’ and its incarnation as a glitzy Broadway musical.
‘Primary Colors’ (1998)
Audiences were much less interested in this comic film-à-clef about a philandering Southern governor running for president — though John Travolta had his finest two hours as a thinly veiled Bill Clinton.