Rewrites: A Memoir (Paperback)

by Neil Simon (Author) "IN THE SPRING OF 1957, I was unhappily in California working on a television special..." (more)
Key Phrases: new third act, garble garble, original third act, New York, The Odd Couple, Come Blow Your Horn (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
After serving an apprenticeship under Sid Caesar and Phil Silvers in Los Angeles, Neil Simon returned to New York at age 30 to embark on a career as a playwright. Some 35 years and three dozen plays later, the most successful comedy writer in the history of the American stage is still at it. In Rewrites, Simon reflects on his career, his relationship with his older brother and mentor Danny, and the loss of his wife Joan to cancer. Along the way, he reveals the price he has paid for his achievements: "I felt like I had stopped relating to people as friends, relatives, acquaintances.... Instead they turned into my victims, as I ripped their private souls from their being, feeding my hunger, my insatiable desire to use them in my writings, in my plays, in my thoughts." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Simon has built his playwrighting career by creating funny, indelible characters. Who can forget Oscar Madison and Felix Unger? This illuminating memoir, which takes Simon into the 1970s, reveals his creative influences, as well as his personal triumphs and tragedies. He is brutally honest in describing his bouts with writer's block, and he's not afraid to admit that directors and actors have often helped him complete some of his most endearing plays. He confides, for instance, that the third act of The Odd Couple went through numerous rewrites and was salvaged only after director Mike Nichols suggested Simon not set the act in the middle of a poker game. Simon's forthright account of his work with Bob Fosse on Sweet Charity illustrates how two immensely talented individuals can work through their differences to create a highly successful show. Anecdotes about actors Simon has worked with make for particularly entertaining copy, and his description of George C. Scott's erratic behavior while he starred in The Gingerbread Lady shows how a playwright's success can hinge on the whims of a troubled actor. However, many digressions, though humorous, distract from the story at hand. Simon's account of his family and personal life beyond the theater lacks resonance, particularly when dealing with his experience with psychotherapy?the only section of the book written in the third person. While this memoir won't bring down the house, in general it's a well-told tale by a man whose talent, diligence and luck have made him Broadway's shining son. 100,000 first printing; Reader's Digest Condensed Book; Fireside Book Club main selection; first serial to Reader's Digest; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684835622
• ISBN-13: 978-0684835624
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #753,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #23 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Simon, Neil

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" for playwrights, May 4, 1999

By A Customer

This book is more than the interesting story of the first part of Neil Simon's life. It's also a very practical guide to being a playwright. Simon discusses creating his first success, "Come Blow Your Horn." He had eighteen rewrites before he showed it to anybody but his wife! He also discusses the lucky breaks he got when the play first opened. But the real meat of the book for the working playwright is the play writing tips he sprinkles throughout the book. "If somebody leaves the room, where does he go?" "Character is the foundation of the play." "An audience won't believe what you don't believe." "We need to see a character change, not just know that he's changed." "Adversaries need to be equal." Be alert as you read--Simon usually drops these gems in a discussion of problems he had working on a specific script. Face it, if you pay attention, there's a lot you can learn from the most successful playwright since Shakespeare.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving and highly entertaining ., November 2, 1998

By	Annie Mae Swift "Lola" (Evanston, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rewrites: A Memoir (Hardcover)

At first, I was looking forward to reading about the enduring and fascinating career of Neil Simon by Simon himself. But then some of the reviews I read professed it a dull read. Friends told me not to waste my time. I suppose the moral of that is if you're interested at first, don't let anyone dissuade you from reading a book. For I found this to be a very good read, both moving and highly entertaining. It spoke to me not only as a writer, but as a husband and father as well. The information concerning the torturous development of his early plays was a glimpse into the process and filled with hilarious anecdotes. Though he does tend to put his first wife, Joan, up on a pedestal, frankly his recreation of their courting and marriage makes her place in his memory understandable. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. "Rewrites" is a fine read, worthy of it's author's already indelible reputation. - Ron Fassler

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Honest and funny autobigraphy, November 4, 2002

By	R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I enjoyed reading Neil Simon's account of his early successes as a writer. His story is one of a man who seems to have everything fall into place almost too easily until late in the book when personal tragedy strikes and he writes of his wife's illness and death.
As one would expect from such a prominent figure in the theater his book is filled with entertaining anecdotes regarding various actors and theater people. Simon comes across as a sincere and very regular guy who has the talent to take what he observes in himself and others and transform it into priceless comic material.
This is an enjoyable read for anyone who is even a casual fan of his work.