Mike Nichols, crafter of films, plays, dies at 83

Mike Nichols, the director of matchless versatility who brought fierce wit, caustic social commentary and wicked absurdity to such films, TV and stage hits as "The Graduate," ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," ''Angels in America" and "Monty Python's Spamalot," has died.
He was 83.
The death was confirmed by ABC News President James Goldston today. Nichols died last evening.
The family will hold a private service this week; a memorial will be held at a later date, Goldston said.
During a career spanning more than 50 years, Nichols, who was married to ABC's Diane Sawyer, managed to be both an insider and outsider, an occasional White House guest and friend to countless celebrities who was as likely to satirize the elite as he was to mingle with them.

A former stand-up performer who began his career in a groundbreaking comedy duo with Elaine May and whose work brought him an Academy Award, a Grammy and multiple Tony and Emmy honors, Nichols had a remarkable gift for mixing edgy humor and dusky drama.

"No one was more passionate than Mike," Goldston wrote in an email announcing Nichols' death.
Meryl Streep, whose films for Nichols included "Silkwood" and "Heartburn," said he was "an inspiration and joy to know, a director who cried when he laughed ... An indelible, irreplaceable man."
Director Steven Spielberg called Nichols "a friend, a muse, a mentor, one of America's all-time greatest film and stage directors."

And Tom Hanks, who starred in Nichols' "Charlie Wilson's War," quoted him as saying, "Forward! We must always move forward. Otherwise, what will become of us?"
His 1966 film directing debut "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" unforgettably captured the vicious yet sparkling and sly dialogue of Edward Albee's play, as a couple (Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor) torment each other over deep-seated guilt and resentment.