Mike Nichols, the director whose peerless versatility and unmatched talent in directing across different media, has died. He was 83.

Among Nichols' unforgettable hits include The Graduate, Angels in America and Monty Python's Spamalot.

ABC News President James Goldston confirmed his death on Thursday.

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In his death, equally renowned director Steven Spielberg wrote: "Mike was a friend, a muse, a mentor, one of America's all time greatest film and stage directors, and one of the most generous people I have ever known."

In his Twitter page, Oscar winner Kevin Spacey thanked the director for giving him a start: "Mike Nichols gave me my start. A mentor, friend, colleague. One of the best observers of life. My thoughts are with Diane & his children."

Meanwhile, critically-acclaimed actress Julianne Moore posted on her Twitter: "So very sad to hear of Mike Nichols death. A great talent, a wonderful,  bright, charming human being."

With a career that spanned for over 50 years, Nichols, was one of the very few directors whose box-office success was equally matched by their critical wins.

Nichols had won an Oscar, four Emmys, one Grammy, and nine Tony awards, making him of the 12 people to have scored the four entertainment awards in Hollywood.

Nichols started out in show business as a comic act, when, in the 1950s, he became a part of the Compass Players, who later evolved into Second City. His team up with Elaine May, known as Nichols and May, was a resounding success.

After the two's split, Nichols returned to act on stage, where he won the Tony Award for directing the Neil Simon hit Barefoot in the Park in 1963, starting a Broadway career that saw hit after hit, including Murray Schisgal's Luv, The Odd Couple, and the Sheldon Harnick-Jerry Bock musical The Apple Tree.

Nichols debuted in Hollywood when he directed the movie adaptation of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966. The film, which starred Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, earned 13 Oscar nominations, winning five.

The following year, Nichols directed his most lasting film legacy, The Graduate (1967). Hailed as "one of the best seriocomic social satires we've had from Hollywood since Preston Sturges was making them," it gave Nichols the Oscar trophy for best director.

Nichols was married to ABC's anchor, Dianne Sawyer.

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