Time Essay: Neil Simon: The Unshine Boy

ONLY two playwrights have more than one hit currently running on Broadway: William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing and Two Gentlemen of Verona) and Neil Simon (The Prisoner of Second Avenue and one of TIME'S top ten of 1972, The Sunshine Boys). When Mr. Shakespeare's representative announced that he was unavailable, Associate Editor Stefan Kanfer settled for an interview with Neil Simon. At 45, Simon retains the astonished demeanor of a man who has just heard a loud noise. It is probably the sound of a cosmic cash register. In nine years Simon has become a theatrical legend. His second play,...

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