Mike Nichols will receivethe Directors Guild of America's (DGA) Lifetime Achievement Award, the guild'shighest accolade, at the 56th Annual DGA Awards ceremony on Feb 7 in LosAngeles.

"There is hardly anentertainment medium that Mike Nichols hasn't pioneered and mastered," DGApresident Michael Apted said in a statement. "You can put any of these in frontof his name with the world winner: Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Grammy."

Over the course of a 37-yearcareer, the Berlin-born Nichols has amassed a credit roster that includes Who'sAfraid Of Virginia Woolf', The Graduate, Silkwood, Working Girl and the acclaimed HBO production Angels InAmerica.

He won the best directorAcademy Award for The Graduate in1968.

The Lifetime AchievementAward winner is selected by the president and former presidents of the guild,although the award is not presented on an annual basis. Only 30 have beenawarded in the guild's 68-year history.

Former winners includeMartin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Billy Wilder, Francis Ford Coppola and StevenSpielberg.

The DGA will announce itsfive nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement at 10am tomorrow (6).