In this edition of From the Vault we celebrate the life of director Mike Nichols, who died on Wednesday, November 19th, 2014 at the age of 83. The Pacifica Radio Archives has a gem of an interview with Nichols, recorded while he was in the middle of making his second film, The Graduate, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards and earned Nichols the Oscar for Best Director. Conducted by KPFA producer Claire Clouzot in 1967 during a break in filming on the Berkeley set of The Graduate, this historic tape comes alive once again after nearly fifty years in storage, delivering an incredible glimpse into the early artistry of one of most iconic directors in the history of motion pictures.
From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project, funded in part by an award from the GRAMMY Foundation and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives and Records Administration, and past grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, and the American Archive funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with the generous support of Pacifica Radio Listeners. We also thank our partners and collaborators at the Pop-Up Archive, Amara, Other Minds Archives, George Blood Audio, and the California Audio Visual Preservation Project.