Mike Nichols, who directed a number of hit films recently passed away from cardiac arrest.

Mike Nichols, who directed a number of hit films has passed away. Nichols was born in Germany and moved to the United States at the age of 7.

At that time, he spoke very little English, but he went on to be quite successful . He graduated from the Walden School in New York City and soon attended the University of Chicago, which is where he studied medicine and also showed an interest in theater and comedy.

Nichols joined a group in Chicago and partnered up with comedy performer, Elaine May. It didn’t take very long for his career in show business to take off.

He was behind films such as ‘The Graduate’, and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?', ‘Working Girl’, and ‘Silkwood’.

Nichols married ABC News presenter Diane Sawyer in 1988.

As a response to his passing, ABC News president James Goldstone released a statement noting “He was a true visionary, winning the highest honors in the arts for his work as a director, writer, producer and comic… No one was more passionate about his craft than Mike.”