C

Chapter Two

Nederlanders on Neil

On June 29, 1983, the Alvin Theatre was renamed the Neil Simon
Theatre.
"One usually has to die before a theater is named after him,
posthumously," Simon writes in the Introduction of Rewrites: A

Memoir. "I had the good fortune to have the Nederlanders, who
owned it, call it the Neil Simon, prehumously."

"How do you identify a building as a theater?" Joe Nederlander,
theater mogul, asked rhetorically last week. "Name it after a house-
hold legend — the most
dominating playwright in
history. When I now look up
at the marquee and see Neil
Simon's name, it gives me
a nice feeling."
Simon's also put his cre-
ative imprint locally on the
Fisher Theatre, another
Nederlander-operated
venue. Since 1965, 15 of Si-
mon's shows have played to
appreciative Detroit audi-
ences.
When Bob Fosse's and
Simon's Sweet Charity pre-

miered at the Fisher in
1966 to thunderous ap-
plause, Simon jokingly
writes that "it didn't hurt
that the first five rows were completely filled with [Joe's brother]
Jimmy Nederlander's friends, many of whom were investors in the
show."
"There's just nobody grander than Neil Simon," says Joe Ned-
erlander. "He's the kind of fellow who waives his royalties if you're
having a bad week. You can count people like that on one hand.
He's just a credit to our craft, he really is, from a creative stand-
point, both personally and professionally.
`The theater is a mirror that you hold up to people," adds Ned-
erlander, who says he loved reading Rewrites. "You have this win-
dow into feelings and emotions. That's what Neil does probably better
than anyone in the history of theater. I can't think of another play-
wright who even approaches him." ❑

"An Evening with Neil Simon" kicks off the opening of the
Jewish Book Fair at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. The format will
feature an interview with Neil Simon with journalist George
Cantor. The 6:30 p.m. patron event is by invitation only. Maple-
Drake JCC. The Book Fair runs Nov. 9-Nov. 17. (810) 661-7649.

NO VEMBE R

Th

Joan, of course, was a Dodgers fanatic," than if you said you were born six days af-
writes Simon in his book. "We were the ter the World Series usually begins."
Montagues and Capulets of baseball, who
Neil's older brother Danny — "my men-
found true love despite this insurmountable tor, my spokesman, the Kaufman to my
barrier."
Hart" — is immortalized in several of Si-
Their love, like Romeo and Juliet's, came mon's works, including Come Blow Your
to a screeching halt when Joan died in 1973 Horn, The Odd Couple (Felix), the Brighton
at age 40 of breast cancer. Rewrites ends Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway
there.
Bound trilogy; and Lost in Yonkers. When
"Joan was enormously encouraging of my Neil was 15, Danny told Neil that his lit-
writing," Simon fondly re-
tle brother was going to be
members. "In the beginning,
the best comedy writer in
ABOUT
PI–AYWRITTIN'Gr: America. Despite their many
I think she had a fear that it
would pull us apart. But af-
years of sibling rivalry, Dan-
ter the first two or three "I grew up seeing the tor- ny and the then-Doc Simon
plays, that never happened ment of broken families, bro-
made quite a writing team.
ken lives, and broken hearts,
again.
Growing up, the Simon
and although I always found
"She didn't want publici-
Brothers
were part of a few
the absurdity of how we live
ty for herself or our daugh-
neighborhood
gangs, which
our lives, I always looked for
ters [Ellen, now 39; and the pain when I wrote about were more like clubs, Simon
it. Writing about it in a play writes in his book.
Nancy, now 34]. She want-
or on this page doesn't lessen
ed them to have a regular
"The Jews lived two blocks
the pain, but it allows you to
life ... In a sense, this book, look at it from a distance, ob-
away from the Irish, and the
in part, is my way of telling jectively instead of subjec- Irish lived two blocks away
to the rest of the world what tively, and you begin to see a from the Italians. If a Jew
a wonderful person she common truth that connects
lived on the border of the
us all."
was."
Italian neighborhood, some
— From Rewrites
days he was a Jew and the
other days an Italian."
Simon, who says his Jewishness is more
cultural than religious-based, went to an
Born on July 4, 69 years ago, Marvin Neil Orthodox synagogue with his father and
Simon grew up in upper Manhattan, the brother on the holidays. His mother stayed
son of Irving, a piece-goods salesman; and home and prepared the dinner.
"Although I could read Hebrew ... I would
Mamie, the daughter of Russian immi-
say
my prayers in English so that I would
grants.
know
what I was saying," Simon writes in
"My mother was born Mamie Levy in the
his
book.
"My father would look down at me
Harlem section of New York around 1900.
with
annoyance
and say, 'In Hebrew. Read
I have no exact date of her birth because
in
Hebrew.'
I
would
say, 'I don't know what
she herself never knew," Simon writes in
the
Hebrew
means.'
He
answered, `Do what
his book. "She told us she knew she was
I
say.
God
doesn't
understand
English.' Go
born on the second night of Rosh Hashanah
fight
that
one."
... The second night of Rosh Hashanah
would give you no clearer date of your birth SIMON-IZING page 84