Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated for seven Tony Awards, winning three for his direction of I Love My Wife, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. He made his film acting debut in A Thousand Clowns (1965), with Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, and Barry Gordon. He made his directorial debut on Barefoot in the Park (1967), with Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Charles Boyer, Mildred Natwick, Herb Edelman, and Mabel Albertson.
Other directorial efforts include The Odd Couple (1968), with Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Edelman, and John Fiedler; Cactus Flower (1969), with Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, Goldie Hawn, Jack Weston, Rick Lenz, Vito Scotti, and Irene Harvey; Jack Weston, Rick Lenz, Vito Scotti, and Irene Harvey (1972), with Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss, and Renée Taylor; Mame (1974), with Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur (his wife from 1950 to 1978), Bruce Davison, Robert Preston, and Jane Connell; Brighton Beach Memories (1986), with Jonathan Silverman, Blythe Danner, Bob Dishy, and Judith Ivey; A Fine Romance (1991), with Julie Andrews and Marcello Mastroianni; and the TV movie Bye Bye Birdie (1995), with Jason Alexander, Vanessa Williams, Chynna Phillips, Tyne Daly, Marc Kudisch, George Wendt, and Sally Mayes.
Other acting credits include Melvin Frank’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), with Lemmon, Anne Bancroft, Elizabeth Wilson, Florence Stanley, Maxine Stuart, F. Murray Abraham, and Sylvester Stallone; Carl Reiner’s The One and Only (1978), with Henry Winkler, Kim Darby, William Daniels, Polly Holliday, Hervé Villechaize, Ed Begley Jr., and Harold Gould; Marshall Brickman’s Lovesick (1983), with Dudley Moore, Elizabeth McGovern, John Huston, Alan King, Wallace Shawn, Ron Silver, Alec Guinness, Anne De Salvo, Selma Diamond, David Strathairn, Christine Baranski, and Fred Melamed; Herb Gardner’s The Goodbye People (1984), with Judd Hirsch, Martin Balsam, Pamela Reed, Vincent Gugleotti, and Silver; Robert Benton’s Nobody’s Fool (1994), with Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Jessica Tandy, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Josef Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Bosco; Fred Schepisi’s I.Q. (1994), with Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Matthau, Lou Jacobi, Joseph Maher, Stephen Fry, Daniel von Bargen, Tony Shalloub, Frank Whaley, and Charles Durning; and Deconstructing Harry (1997), with Caroline Aaron, Woody Allen (who also directed), Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Hazelle Goodman, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Julie Kavner, Eric Lloyd, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Elisabeth Shue, Stanley Tucci, and Robin Williams.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- A Thousand Clowns (1965) – directed by Fred Coe – actor
- Barefoot in the Park (1967) – director
- The Odd Couple (1968) – director
- Cactus Flower (1969) – director
- Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) – director
- Mame (1974) – director
- The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) – directed by Melvin Frank – actor
- The One and Only (1978) – directed by Carl Reiner – actor
- Lovesick (1983) – directed by Marshall Brickman – actor
- The Goodbye People (1984) – directed by Herb Gardner – actor
- Brighton Beach Memories (1986) – director
- A Fine Romance (1991) – director
- The Good Policeman (1993) – directed by Peter Werner – actor – TV movie
- Nobody’s Fool (1994) – directed by Robert Benton – actor
- I.Q. (1994) – directed by Fred Schepisi – actor
- Bye Bye Birdie (1995) – director – TV movie
- On Seventh Avenue (1996) – directed by Jeff Bleckner – actor – TV movie
- Deconstructing Harry (1997) – directed by Woody Allen – actor
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