The character of Hugh Simon (played by Kenneth Mars) in Peter Bogdanovich's film "What's Up, Doc?" was a parody of John Simon, according to Bogdanovich. He is also known for his criticism of poor American writing, and edited the 1981 collection "Paradigms Lost: Reflections on Literacy and Its Decline". He was one of the guests on the PBS special "Do You Speak American?" In addition, Bryan Garner referred to Simon as a language maven and credited him with improving the quality of American criticism.