Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated for seven

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

s, winning three for his direction of '' I Love My Wife'', ''

Brighton Beach Memoirs ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes ''Biloxi Blues'' and ''Broadway Bound''. Productions ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' had a pre-Broadway e ...

'' and ''

Biloxi Blues ''Biloxi Blues'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. It portrays the conflict of Sergeant Merwin J. Toomey and Arnold Epstein, one of many privates enlisted in the military stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, seen through the eyes of E ...

''. He also directed a number of films during his career. He was married to Bea Arthur from 1950 until 1978, and subsequently to Keren Saks from 1980 to his death in 2015.

Early life

Saks was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Beatrix (née Lewkowitz) and Morris J. Saks. Saks first became involved in theater as a student at

Hackensack High School Hackensack High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Hackensack Public Schools. Hackensack High School serves students from the Bergen County, New Je ...

. He studied at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

. Upon graduation, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, taking part in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

.Gene Saks, Tony-Winning Director of Neil Simon Hits, Dies at 93.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved February 23, 2020. He also trained for acting at the Dramatic Workshop of

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

in New York with the German director

Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content o ...

and helped start a theater cooperative at the Cherry Lane Theater and appeared in a number of productions as Off Broadway blossomed.

Career

Saks made his acting debut on Broadway in ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'' in 1949. On stage he also appeared in e. e. cummings's '' Him'', '' A Shot in the Dark'', '' The Tenth Man'' and ''

A Thousand Clowns ''A Thousand Clowns'' is a 1965 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe and starring Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, and Barry Gordon. An adaptation of a 1962 play by Herb Gardner, it tells the story of an eccentric come ...

'', in the role of Leo "Chuckles The Chipmunk" Herman, which he reprised in the film version. He portrayed

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadi ...

's brother in the screen adaptation of Simon's '' The Prisoner of Second Avenue'', and also appeared in '' Nobody's Fool'' starring

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

. Saks shared a long-term professional association with

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

writer

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

, directing Simon's plays ''

'', ''

Jake's Women ''Jake's Women'' is a 1992 play by Neil Simon. The play centers on Jake, a writer suffering from psychosis. Jake talks to many of the women he knows, both in real life and in his imagination, as he works to save his marriage. In 1996, the play was ...

'', '' Rumors'', '' Lost in Yonkers'', ''

Broadway Bound ''Broadway Bound'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. It is the last chapter in his Eugene trilogy, following ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' and ''Biloxi Blues''. Plot overview The play is about Eugene and his older brother, Stanley, dea ...

'', '' The Odd Couple'' (1985 revival with female cast) and '' California Suite''. His additional Broadway credits included ''

Enter Laughing ''Enter Laughing'' is a 1963 play by Joseph Stein. A farce in two acts, it is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Carl Reiner. The action centers on the journey of young aspiring actor David Kolowitz as he tries to extricate himself fr ...

''; '' Half a Sixpence''; ''

Nobody Loves an Albatross ''Nobody Loves an Albatross'' is a 1963 comedy play written by Ronald Alexander, which was performed at the Lyceum Theatre of Broadway, New York between 19 December 1963 and June 20, 1964. It was produced by Elliot Martin and Philip Rose, di ...

''; ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...

''; '' I Love My Wife''; '' Same Time, Next Year'' and '' Rags''. Among Saks's film directing credits were '' Barefoot in the Park'', '' The Odd Couple'', '' Cactus Flower'' (which won Goldie Hawn the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Supporting Actress), ''

Last of the Red Hot Lovers ''Last of the Red Hot Lovers'' is a comedy by Neil Simon. It premiered on Broadway in 1969. Production The play opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 28, 1969, and closed on September 4, 1971, after 706 performances and si ...

'', ''

'', '' A Fine Romance'', and the 1995 television production of '' Bye Bye Birdie''.

Personal life

Saks was married to fellow

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

member actress Bea Arthur from 1950 until 1978. The couple had two sons by adoption: Matthew (born in 1961), an actor, and Daniel (born in 1964), a set designer. He also had a daughter by his second wife Keren Saks. Saks died of pneumonia at his East Hampton residence on March 28, 2015, aged 93.

Filmography

Film

Director Actor

Television

Theatre

As an Actor As a Director

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards Drama Desk Awards * 1969 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Movie – ''The Odd Couple'' - Nom * 1991 Outer Critics Circle for Outstanding Direction of a Play - ''Lost in Yonkers - Won Honours * Inducted into the

in 1991.

References

External links

* *
Gene Saks
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

'
Actors Studio audio collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saks, Gene 1921 births 2015 deaths Male actors from New York City American male film actors American male stage actors American theatre directors Broadway theatre directors Comedy film directors Cornell University alumni Hackensack High School alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Film directors from New York City Jewish American male actors The New School alumni Tony Award winners United States Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from New York City 21st-century American Jews