Mike Nichols Suffers Fatal Cardiac Arrest

Today is a sad day for every film-lover. One of the biggest and most influential people of the modern movie industry, Mike Nichols, passed away on Wednesday after suffering a fatal heart attack at 83.

The writer, producer and director was a longtime husband to ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, and in his lifetime he created movies that brought him an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Tony award. He is one of the very few to ever achieve this, and for that, he deserves our respect.

His career can be an inspiration to anyone. Among his work are many masterpieces, such as his Oscar-winning “The Graduate,” “Working Girl,” the controversial “Silkwood,” and “The Birdcage.”

The movies that came from Nichols’ mind required intelligence to watch, as they would stir up anyone’s interests and opinions. By creating powerful dialogs spoken by great actors, Nichols managed to push his messages through to his audience without ever directly seeking attention.

Only a few stars had the honor of working with such an entertainment titan, like Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

James Goldston, president of ABC News, had to say a few words regarding the death of Mike Nichols: “Meryl Streep once said of Mike, ‘No explanation of our world could be complete and no account or image of it so rich, if we didn’t have you,’ in hailing him as one of the essential artists of our time. To me he is the best of America.”

Nichols is survived by his wife Diane Sawyer, three children, and four grandchildren.