Even though Simon's plays are known for their wit and comic one-liners, in recent years they have grown more serious, confronting issues of importance, the humor developing naturally from the characters and their interactions. With these plays, Simon has gained a new respect for his work. "Simon's mature theatre work," Robert K. Johnson writes in Neil Simon, "combines comedy with moments of poignance and insight." Speaking of the Tony Award-winning Biloxi Blues, Frank Rich of the New York Times argues that Simon "at last begins to examine himself honestly, without compromises, and the result is his most persuasively serious effort to date." In his review of the same play, Clive Barnes of the New York Post calls it "a realistic comedy of the heart" and allows that it "is funny, often heartrendingly funny, but nowadays Simon will not compromise character for a laugh."
Simon began his career as a radio writer in the 1940s.
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