4.4 out of 5. The Sunshine Boys Quartet were an American band formed in the late 1930s in Macon, Georgia. The rest of the film is highly satisfying; as a bonus, there's great NYC location shooting (always a plus in any movie). Gilford performed the role as Willie Clark opposite original Broadway star Sam Levene as Al Lewis from October 30, 1973 until February 10, 1974 before Jacobi joined the cast, performing the role of Al Lewis for 72 performances. View production, box office, & company info. DVD. She is an actress, known for The Producers (1967), Great Performances (1971) and It Takes a Thief (1968). The Sunshine Boys: a comedy in two acts, the collected plays of Neil Simon, Vol 3, Neil Simon The Sunshine Boys is a 1975 American comedy film directed by Herbert Ross and produced by Ray Stark, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and based on the play of the same name by Neil Simon, about two legendary (and cranky) comics brought together for a reunion and revival of their famous act. “Sam and I have the same thing in the play. Lee Meredith, Actress: The Producers. After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor. A suddenly-unemployed company executive suffers a nervous breakdown, and his supporting wife tries everything to console him and pick up the slack. THE SUNSHINE BOYS originally opened on Broadway in 1972, receiving a host of Tony Award nominations and playing over 500 performances; a 1997 revival also proved extremely popular, as did a television adaptation. Two friends try sharing an apartment, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day. As THE SUNSHINE BOYS opens, 73-year-old vaudeville comic Willy Clark (Walter Matthau) will never retire. Discover something for everyone this month with some choice picks for the best movies and TV to stream in April. His face has an utterly blank, almost zen look of serenity-in-utter-failure. 3.5 out of 5 stars 10. Lewis and Clark were famous comedians during the vaudeville era. Willy Clark's nephew is the producer of a TV variety show that wants to feature a reunion of this classic duo. That is for me an illusive point. A rock trio from Chicago featuring Freda Love Smith, Jacqueline Schimmel and Dag Juhlin How will Ben convince the crotchety old comedians to put aside their differences before the big show? The Sunshine Boys The chemistry between Benjamin and the two leads is actually better than that between Burns and Matthau. Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys Woody Allen. His acerbic partner, Sam Levene, is as tough as vintage chewing gum, and yet with a sort of credible lovability."[11]. Titled "Don't Poke With The Finger"[9] the caricature references the finger poke running gag and Willie Clarke's resentment over having been constantly and aggressively poked during the show and for 43 years by Al Lewis played by Sam Levene. The cast included real-life experienced vaudevillian actor George Burns as Lewis, Walter Matthau as Clark, and Richard Benjamin as Ben, with Lee Meredith, F. Murray Abraham, Rosetta LeNoire, Howard Hesseman, and We are 4 Brothers who love singing for the Lord! A crooked lawyer persuades his brother-in-law to feign a serious injury. Ben, Willy Clark's nephew, is the producer of a variety show that wants to feature a reunion of the classic duo. The Sunshine Boys (1975) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. 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