Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols dies aged 83: US media

LOS ANGELES - Agence France-Presse

Journalist Diane Sawyer and director Mike Nichols arrive at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Awards honoring Mike Nichols, at Sony Pictures Studios in this June 10, 2010 file photo taken in Culver City, Calif. AP Photo

Mike Nichols, the legendary film and theater director who won an Oscar for the classic American movie "The Graduate," has died aged 83, US media reported on Nov. 20.
      
ABC television reported that Nichols died of cardiac arrest late Wednesday.
      
Nichols is one of the rare figures in American entertainment to have earned an "EGOT" -- having been awarded at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
      
The director was part of American entertainment royalty, being married for many years to celebrated ABC television news director Diane Sawyer.
      
Sawyer's employer confirmed Nichols' death in a statement Thursday that eulogized him as a directing genius with a "sparkling wit and a brilliant mind."       

"In a triumphant career that spanned over six decades, Mike created some of the most iconic works of American film, television and theater -- an astonishing canon ranging from 'The Graduate,' 'Working Girl,' and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'," among many other works.
      
"He was a true visionary, winning the highest honors in the arts for his work as a director, writer, producer and comic," said James Goldston, president of ABC News, in his statement.