The Tony Award-winning director who brought to life many of Neil Simon's works onstage and on screen has died. Gene Saks' son, Daniel Saks, says his father died from pneumonia Saturday at his East Hampton home in New York. He was 93. A former actor who turned to directing with 'Enter Laughing' on Broadway in 1963, Saks won Tonys for the Cy Coleman-Michael Stewart musical 'I Love My Wife' and Simon's 'Biloxi Blues.' Tony Award-winning director Gene Sak died Saturday at his home in East Hampton, New York from pneumonia. Pictured above in April 1977 . He directed the film versions of Simon adaptations 'The Odd Couple,' 'Barefoot in the Park,' 'Last of the Red Hot Lovers' and 'Brighton Beach Memoirs.' He also directed the stage and film version of 'Mame,' which starred his then-wife Bea Arthur. Saks directed Goldie Hawn to an Oscar for supporting actress in 'Cactus Flower.' 'He could direct actors to be funny, but he wasn’t funny himself,' Emanuel Azenberg, who produced nine Broadway shows directed by Saks, told the New York Times. 'He would say, "This is funny," in a very serious way. And you’d laugh, because that was funny. 'All of those fundamentals - pacing, timing, line readings - that had to do with: If you said it this way it would be funny, but if you said it another way it wouldn’t be funny. That’s what he was good at,' Azenberg added. Saks is survived by his wife Keren, their daughter, and his two adopted sons from his first marriage to Golden Girls star Bea Arthur. Saks and Arthur. Saks and Arthur were married for thirty years before divorcing in 1980. She passed away in 2009.
The Tony Award-winning director passed away from pneumonia Saturday at his home in East Hampton, New York . In addition to directing The Odd Couple, Saks was an actor and also directed several Neil Simon plays such as Biloxi Blues . Saks is survived by wife Keren, with whom he had one daughter . Saks was also married to former Golden Girls star Bea Arthur (who died in 2009) for thirty years, and they shared two adopted sons .