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Article: Neil Simon fitting successor to Worcester's Fitch.(INSIGHT)
- Article from:
- Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)
- Article date:
- May 13, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Albert B. Southwick
COLUMN: ALBERT B. SOUTHWICK
Last fall, when Neil Simon received the Mark Twain award for humor, I was struck by the comparison being made between him and Shakespeare.
Neil Simon is one of our national treasures, no doubt about that.
His plays are unmatched for their glittering wit and penetrating revelations of the somber side of ordinary life. But the comparison with Shakespeare seemed a bit off-base. A more logical predecessor would be Clyde Fitch (1865-1909).
Clyde Fitch? Is there anyone who even knows who he was? Probably few.
But a century ago, Clyde Fitch was as much the rage of ...