Nationality 1: American

Birthdate: 1927

Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in the Bronx, New York, to Irving, a garment salesman, and Mamie Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, during the Great Depression. After he graduated from high school, Simon joined the army and wrote for military publications while he took classes at New York University and the University of Denver.

After his discharge in 1946, “Doc” Simon, a nickname he earned as a child from impersonating the family doctor, began a career as a comedy writer for several television shows, including The Phil Silvers Show and Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows. In 1961, when his first play, Come Blow Your Horn, appeared on Broadway, Simon turned his talents to playwriting.

Several of Simon's plays have autobiographical elements taken from his childhood as well as his relationships with his four wives, including dancer Joan Baim, who died...