Broadway Playwright Neil Simon Has Passed Away

There has been way too much sad news lately. It’s so depressing.

According to TMZ, Broadway playwright Neil Simon has passed away. He was 91. He was on life support and died of complications related to pneumonia, but he was also battling kidney failure and Alzheimer’s disease.

Simon’s first big hit was “Come Blow Your Horn” in 1961, followed by “Barefoot in the Park” in 1963, which was a seismic hit. He won Tony Awards for “The Odd Couple,” “Biloxi Blues” and “Lost in Yonkers.”

“The Odd Couple” catapulted Simon to national celebrity. He had many other successes, including “Promises, Promises,” and “The Sunshine Boys.”

All in all, Simon wrote more than 30 plays. He snagged 17 Tony noms, and won 3. During one season, Simon had 4 plays running on Broadway simultaneously.

And, Simon won a Pulitzer Prize in 1991 for “Lost in Yonkers.”  He was also a Kennedy Center honoree in 1995 and won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006.

He was the first playwright to have a Broadway theater named after him.

BREAKING: Rep: Neil Simon, the playwright behind comedic hits including "The Odd Couple" and "Plaza Suite," has died at 91.

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 26, 2018

Playwright Neil Simon, a master of comedy whose laugh-filled hits such as "The Odd Couple," "Barefoot in the Park" and his "Brighton Beach" trilogy dominated Broadway for decades, has died. He was 91. https://t.co/aw459Ra5jO pic.twitter.com/VCGVW6ELlP

— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 26, 2018

Neil Simon, the award-winning playwright behind hits like “The Odd Couple” and “Barefoot in the Park,” dies at 91 https://t.co/n751CTVXc2 pic.twitter.com/c3UAxJGLPy

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) August 26, 2018

"A writer without confidence is like a metaphor without something to compare itself to." We'll miss the wit and wisdom of Neil Simon, 1927-2018. pic.twitter.com/9FOT7dXs9t

— Barnes & Noble (@BNBuzz) August 26, 2018

“There’s no more money anyone can pay me that I need. There are no awards they can give me that I haven’t won. I have no reason to write another play except that I am alive and I like to do it”-Neil Simon #RIP GIANT of the American Theatre #ThanksForTheLaughs pic.twitter.com/NZIVGPLdst

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) August 26, 2018

Neil Simon wrote and discovered timeless words that will forever be etched into the hearts of us all. R.I.P. 1927-2018

— David Boreanaz (@David_Boreanaz) August 26, 2018

RIP, Neil Simon.