Some More Nichols & May
This is a treat. Mike Nichols and Elaine May were a wildly popular comedy team in the late-1950s, and early 1960s. They eventually went their separate ways and ended up with equally successful careers, though always stayed in touch, even joining forces later in their careers when she wrote several films that he directed. In the interim, though, there would be several very special occasions when they would reteam to perform their comedy act. (The first was in 1972 as a "Coming Together" Fundraising at Madison Square Garden for George McGovern -- when Simon & Garfunkel reunited; Peter, Paul & Mary reunited...and Nichols & May did, as well. That was sure quite a concert!) This is the second of their reunions.
It comes in 1977, when they performed together at the Inauguration Gala for President Jimmy Carter. By this time, Nichols had directed such films as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge and Catch-22. And Elaine May had written and directed A New Leaf and Mikey and Nicky, and directed The Heartbreak Kid. The sketch they perform here was one of their classics, which I posted a bit back, a phone call between a rocket scientist and his mother. However, they changed some things in it for this occasion. Here’s what the did for the gala –
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