Neil Simon, Broadway's master of comedy, dies at 91

In this July 2, 1977, file photo, playwright Neil Simon, right, poses for a photo on the set of "The Cheap Detective" with Dom DeLuise.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Neil Simon poses for a picture at the reception for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Monte Cristo Award in 2008.

NEW YORK — The playwright behind such comedic hits such as “The Odd Couple” and “Plaza Suite,” has died. Neil Simon was 91.

According to Bill Evans, Simon’s longtime friend and the Shubert Organization director of media relations, says the playwright died early Sunday of complications from pneumonia in a Manhattan hospital.

Simon was the American theater’s most successful and prolific playwright in the second half of the 20th century. He won three regular Tonys, plus one for special achievement, as well as a Pulitzer and the Mark Twain prize for humor.

Simon’s successes included “The Sunshine Boys,” ‘‘Plaza Suite” and “Sweet Charity.” Many of his plays were adapted into movies and one, “The Odd Couple,” became a popular TV series.