Biography
Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American comedian, film director, screenwriter, playwright, and actress. She has received numerous awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. She made her initial impact in the 1950s with her improvisational comedy routines with Mike Nichols, performing as Nichols and May. Description above from the Wikipedia article Elaine May, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wik...
Known For
Complete Filmography
The Same Storm
2022
as Ruth Lipsman Berg
Snapshots of the tumults of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mike Nichols: An American Master
2016
Director
With charm and wit, Nichols discusses his life and 50-year career as a performer and director.
Down to Earth
2001
Original Film Writer
Struggling comic Lance Barton knows what it's like to die on stage. But when his life takes an unexpected turn - straight to heaven - Lance is sure th...
Small Time Crooks
2000
as May
A loser of a crook and his wife strike it rich when a botched bank job's cover business becomes a spectacular success.
Primary Colors
1998
Screenplay
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to ...
Nichols and May: Take Two
1996
as Self (archive footage)
A documentary made for the PBS program American Masters about the comedy team Nichols and May.
The Birdcage
1996
Screenplay
Middle-aged gay life partners, Armand Goldman, a Jewish drag club owner, and Albert, the club's flamboyant star attraction, live in the eclectic commu...
Wolf
1994
as Operator (voice) (uncredited)
Aging publisher Will Randall is at the end of his rope when a younger co-worker snatches his job out from under his nose. But after being bitten by a ...
Wolf
1994
Additional Writing
Aging publisher Will Randall is at the end of his rope when a younger co-worker snatches his job out from under his nose. But after being bitten by a ...
In the Spirit
1990
as Marianne Flan
After her husband loses his job, Marianne moves from Beverly Hills to a nightmare New York City. She hires ditzy psychic Reva to redecorate her apartm...
Calling the Shots
1988
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary about women in the film industry. Numerous notable actresses and female directors share their thoughts.
Ishtar
1987
Director, Writer, Songs
Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, the ...
Tootsie
1982
Additional Writing
When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego – Dorothy Michaels – in order to land a part in a daytime drama, ...
Reds
1981
Additional Writing
An account of the revolutionary years of the legendary American journalist John Reed, who shared his adventurous professional life with his radical co...
California Suite
1978
as Millie Michaels
The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Heaven Can Wait
1978
Screenplay
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to...
Mikey and Nicky
1976
as Woman on TV (voice) (uncredited)
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Desperate and terrified, h...
Mikey and Nicky
1976
Director, Writer
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Desperate and terrified, h...
The Heartbreak Kid
1972
Director
Three days into his Miami honeymoon with needy and unsophisticated Lila, Lenny meets tall, blonde Kelly. This confirms his fear that he has made a ser...
Such Good Friends
1971
Screenplay
Julie Messinger, a repressed woman, grapples with her hidden passions when a routine hospital visit for her husband, Richard, spirals into chaos. As s...
A New Leaf
1971
as Henrietta Lowell
After running out of funds, Henry Graham, a carefree playboy, plots to marry and murder wealthy botanist Henrietta Lowell.
A New Leaf
1971
Director, Screenplay
After running out of funds, Henry Graham, a carefree playboy, plots to marry and murder wealthy botanist Henrietta Lowell.
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970
as Self (archive footage)
Constructed from a wealth of archival footage, the documentary follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1955 to 1968, in his rise from regional activi...
All the Difference
1970
as Voice
From many distinguished American poets comes the connecting narrative for this gorgeously photographed treatise on America the Beautiful and America t...
The Graduate
1967
as Girl with Note for Benjamin (uncredited)
A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
Bach to Bach
1967
as Woman
A Bach recording plays in a New York apartment, while off-screen a man and a woman in bed together for the first time engage in pseudo-intellectual co...
Bach to Bach
1967
Writer
A Bach recording plays in a New York apartment, while off-screen a man and a woman in bed together for the first time engage in pseudo-intellectual co...
Luv
1967
as Ellen Manville
Depressed by the direction his life is taking, Harry decides to take his own life by jumping off the Manhattan Bridge. At the last minute he's stopped...
Enter Laughing
1967
as Angela Marlowe
A machinist's apprentice in Depression-era New York, David dreams of becoming the new Ronald Colman. Defying the wishes of his parents, David lands a ...
The Fabulous Fifties
1960
as Self
The Fabulous Fifties, CBS, combines style, humor, and imagination. It was rich in touches of quality showmanship and equally rich in the memories of a...
Crackpot
N/A
Director, Writer
Described as a "crazy, kooky comedy." Details TBA.