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Woody Allen, (born Allen Stewart Königsberg on December 1, 1935), is an American film director, screenwriter, stand up comic, and short story writer, whose large body of work and cerebral style have made him one of the most widely respected and prolific filmmakers in the modern era. He writes and directs his own movies and has acted in many of them as well. Allen draws heavily on literature, philosophy, European cinema and most importantly, New York City, where he was born and in which he has lived all his life, for much of his inspiration; indeed, his onscreen persona is that of the quintessential New York Jewish intellectual: neurotic and self-absorbed, cosmopolitan yet insecure, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. He is 5'7 1/2" and 125 lbs. His diminuitive size, unkempt hair, large nose, square rimmed glasses, and beige, baggy wardrobe combine to give him a somewhat goofy appearance.

Early years

Allen was born in Brooklyn, New York, into a Jewish family. His parents Martin Konigsberg and Nettea Cherrie, and his sister, Letty, lived in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where he attended a Hebrew school for eight years. After that, he went to Public School 99 and then to Midwood High, where "Red" (as he was called because of his hair) impressed students with his extraordinary talent at cards and magic tricks. To raise money, he began writing gags for the agent David O. Alber, who sold them to newspaper columnists. Reportedly, Allen's first published joke was "I am two with Nature." At sixteen, he started writing for show stars like Sid Caesar and began calling himself Woody Allen. He was a gifted comedian from an early stage.

He would later joke that when he was young he was often sent to inter-faith summer camps, in which he "was savagely beaten by children of all races and creeds".

Education

After high school, he went to New York University where he studied communication and film but, never much of a student, he soon dropped out due to poor grades. He also briefly attended City College of New York after that.

Writing for television

At nineteen, he started writing scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and others. In 1957, he won his first Emmy Award.

He started writing prose and plays, and in 1960, started a new career as a stand-up comedian and also began writing for the popular Candid Camera television show, even appearing in some episodes. Together with his managers he turned his weaknesses into his strengths and developed the neurotic, nervous, and shy figure famous from his later movies. He soon became an immensely popular comedian and appeared frequently in nightclubs and on television.

Film Career

Early films

His first movie production was What's New, Pussycat? in 1965, for which he wrote the screenplay. It was a largely unpleasant experience for Allen as he was trapped in Paris for six months during the production. Furthermore, the studio never showed much respect for his script, altering the film to the point where it bore little resemblance to Allen's original vision. Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966), in which an existing Japanese spy movie was redubbed in English by Allen and his friends with completely new, comic dialogue. In 1967, he also appeared in the offbeat James Bond spoof, Casino Royale.

1960s and 1970s

His first conventional directing effort was Take The Money and Run (1969), which was followed by Bananas, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask), Sleeper, and Love and Death. In 1972, he also starred in the film version of his own play called Play It Again, Sam, which was directed by Herbert Ross. All of Allen's early films are pure comedies that relied heavily on slapstick, inventive sight gags, and non-stop one-liners. Among the many notable influences on these films are Bob Hope and Groucho Marx.

His most successful movies were produced in a ten year period starting with Annie Hall; other critical and financial successes were Manhattan, The Purple Rose of Cairo (named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best films of all time, and Allen's personal favorite) and Hannah and Her Sisters (winner of three Academy Awards).

He returned to directing in 1977's Annie Hall, a modern classic that marked a major turn away to more sophisticated humor and thoughtful drama -- winning four Academy Awards. The film set the standard for modern romantic comedy and also started a fashion trend with the unique clothes worn by Diane Keaton in the film (the off-beat, masculine clothing, such as ties with cardigans, was actually Keaton's own). He also directed the serious drama Interiors, in the manner of the great Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman, one of Allen's major influences.

In 1976, he starred in, but did not direct, The Front, a serious look at Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s.

Allen won the 1978 O. Henry Award for his short story "The Kugelmass Episode" published in The New Yorker on May 2, 1977.

1980s

Most of his 1980s films, even the comedies, have somber and philosophical undertones. Many, like September and Stardust Memories, are often said to be heavily influenced by the works of European directors, most notably Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. Stardust Memories was considered by many to be a biting piece of work in which the main character (played by Allen) expresses resentment and scorn for his fans. In the film, overcome by the recent death of a friend from illness, he states, "I don't want to make funny movies any more." However, by the mid-80's Allen had begun to combine his love of both tragic and comic elements with the release of such films as Hannah and Her Sisters, Husbands and Wives and Crimes and Misdemeanors.

1990s

His 1992 film Shadows and Fog is an homage to Fritz Lang, G.W. Pabst and F.W. Murnau, and the German expressionists.

In the late 1990s he returned to lighter movies: Everyone Says I Love You, a musical, Mighty Aphrodite, for which Mira Sorvino won an Academy Award, and others.

2000s

Allen's movies in the 21st century have included Melinda and Melinda and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Small Time Crooks (2000), his first film with DreamWorks SKG studio, was a modest success, grossing over ten million dollars.

Allen's films tend to be more popular in Europe, particularly France, a country where he has a large fan base; in fact, he himself has said that he "survives" on the European market.

His latest film, Match Point, starring Scarlett Johansson, debuted at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Match Point is set in London.

Famous actors in his movies

Allen has attracted diverse and talented actors for his films, including Diane Keaton, Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Michael Caine, John Cusack, Anjelica Houston, Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Judy Davis, Stockard Channing, Carrie Fisher, Helen Hunt, Téa Leoni, Jonny Lee Miller, Amanda Peet, Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, Chloë Sevigny, Wallace Shawn, and David Ogden Stiers. He continues to write roles for the neurotic persona he created in the 1960s and 1970s. However, as Allen gets older, the roles have been assumed by other actors such as John Cusack (Bullets Over Broadway), Kenneth Branagh (Celebrity), Jason Biggs (Anything Else), and Will Ferrell (Melinda and Melinda).

Awards

Allen's film Annie Hall won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director (Allen).

Hannah and Her Sisters won three -- Best Actor in a supporting role, Best Actress in a supporting role, with Best Screenplay going to Allen.

Allen twice won the César Award for Best Foreign Film, the first in 1980 for Manhattan and the second in 1986 for The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Allen is the most frequently nominated person in the Academy Award category of Best Original Screenplay, with a total of 13 nominations. He has also been nominated many times in the category of Best Director, and his actors are also among the most frequently nominated people in their respective categories. Allen himself was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Annie Hall.

In a 2005 poll The Comedian's Comedian, Allen was voted the third greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

Allen won the 1978 O. Henry Award for his short story "The Kugelmass Episode" published in The New Yorker on May 2, 1977.

Personal Life

Early Marriages

In 1956, at age twenty, Allen married Harlene Rosen, a philosophy student. The two were divorced in 1962. Allen later married Bananas co-star Louise Lasser in 1966 in what began a pattern of romantic involvement with his leading ladies. Allen and Lasser were divorced in 1969 and Allen would not remarry until 1997.

Relationship with Diane Keaton

In 1970, Allen cast Diane Keaton in his Broadway play "Play It Again, Sam," which had a successful run. It was during this time that she became romantically involved with Allen and appeared in a number of his films, including 1977 Best Picture Annie Hall.

12-year relationship with Mia Farrow

Starting around 1980, Allen began a lengthy relationship with actress Mia Farrow who had leading roles in several of his movies. The two never married, but they adopted two children together, Dylan Farrow and Moses Farrow and had one biological child, Seamus Farrow. Allen did not adopt Farrow's older adopted daughter, Soon-Yi. Allen's adoptions of both Moses and Dylan were voided after he and Mia separated.

Seamus has not seen Allen in over 7 years and does not wish to pursue a relationship with him. At a younger age, he was also reportedly "phobic" of his father. Originally named Satchel, after baseball pitcher Satchel Paige, Allen's son changed his name to Seamus after his parents separated. Allen and Farrow's adopted daughter also changed her name after the separation, initially from Dylan to Eliza, then four years later to Malone.

The relationship between Farrow and Allen ended in scandal.

Affair with Farrow's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn

In 1992, Allen's personal life became very public, when he left his long-term partner Farrow after she stumbled across an envelope containing pornographic polaroid photograps Allen had taken of her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. Allen had been engaged in a sexual affair with Soon-Yi since before her graduation from high school. As Soon-Yi was an orphan without a birth record, her age is hard to verify. Estimates of her age in 1992 range from 17 to 22, at least 35 years younger than Allen. Allen said the affair with Soon-Yi may have been good for her self-confidence.

Allen has defended his actions, saying that he never lived with Farrow. However, Allen has also said of his relationship with Soon-Yi, "It's got a more paternal feeling to it."

Accusations of sexual abuse of daugter Dylan

Also in 1992, during a protracted legal battle following the revelation of Allen's affair with Soon-Yi, Farrow accused Allen of sexually abusing their seven-year-old adopted daughter Dylan. The case never went to trial and Allen was never indicted.

Farrow claimed to have seen Allen masturbating over Dylan. During three weeks of interviews Dylan said that Allen had inserted his right index finger into her vagina and kissed her "all over".

During the investigation Allen hired a team of private detectives to "get some dirt" on the investigative team. One of their targets was Sgt. John Mucherino. The investigators wanted to know if Mucherino was a drinker or gambler, and if he had any marital problems. Some of the detectives were former police officers who were friends with Mucherino.

Prosucutor Frank Maco said he had evidence to charge Allen, but would not do so for Dylan's sake. Of Dylan, Maco said "I saw complete withdrawal any time I tried to discuss the incident. This was complete withdrawal and regression. At the time she was so fragile and damaged I knew she would not be a good witness. I knew she needed healing. I was not going to interfere with her recovery."

Allen subsequently filed a complaint against Maco, which was dismissed..

In Dylan's custody trial, which Allen eventually lost, psychologist Susan Coates testified that Allen's relationship with Dylan was "inappropriately intense", but that she never observed Allen acting in a sexual way toward Dylan.

Coates also reported that a 1990 evaluation of Dylan said Dylan would easily be "taken over by fantasy".

As to Farrow, Coates said she was convinced that she might harm herself or Allen. Farrow had made angry phone calls and given Allen a Valentine with skewers through the hearts of her children. Coates said "I understood from Mr. Allen that Miss Farrow had repeatedly called him and said that she thought he should be dead, that she wanted to kill him". Farrow says the Valentine was not a threat, it was "an attempt to depict to a man who didn't know or didn't care what he had done."

Coates described Farrow's phone call to her reporting the allegations of abuse as puzzlingly calm.

Allen is barred from unsupervised visits with his biological children.

Some of these events echo the plotline of Allen's Husbands and Wives, released at the time of the legal battle In that film, Woody and Mia play a couple whose decade-long relationship is falling apart, with Woody's character becoming attracted to one of his college-age students. Farrow discusses the events in What Falls Away: A Memoir, ISBN 0385471874.

Marriage to Soon-Yi Previn

Allen and Soon-Yi married in 1997 and later adopted two daughters, naming both (Bechet Allen and Manzie Tio Allen) after jazz musicians (Sidney Bechet and Manzie Johnson).

Surprise appearance in Los Angeles

In 2002 Woody made a surprise appearance - his first ever due to his intense dislike of Los Angeles - at the Academy Awards telecast. It was part of a tribute to New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has been instrumental in encouraging filmmakers to film in his favorite city.

Musical Career

Allen studied the clarinet since adolescence. When he changed his name for show business, he took his first name from an idol, famed clarinettist Woody Herman. He has performed publicly at least since the late 1960s, notably with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the soundtrack of Sleeper. "Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band" plays every Monday evening at Manhattan's Carlyle Hotel, specializing in classic New Orleans jazz from the early twentieth century. The documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) documents a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band, as well as his relationship with Soon-Yi.

Bibliography

• Woody Allen Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)
• Getting Even (1971), ISBN 0394473485
• Without Feathers (1975), ISBN 0394497430
• Side Effects (1980), ISBN 0394511042
• Woody Allen on Woody Allen: In Conversation With Stig Bjorkman (1995), ISBN 080211556X

Books on Woody Allen

• Stephan Reimertz : Woody Allen : Eine Biographie. Reinbek 2000 ISBN 3499611457 (In German)
• -- : Woody Allen (rororo-Monographie). Reinbek 2005 ISBN 3499504103 (In German)
• Lauren Hill: 'The Essential Woody Allen'
• Graham Flashner: 'Fun With Woody'.

External links

• Woody Allen at IMDb
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• The Whore of Mensa - A Short Story by Woody Allen
• Woody Allen Movies
• Woody Allen at celebritywonder.com: many recent quotes and comments attributed to Allen

Woody Allen and Philosophy

• Filmography & analysis of Allen's Women in Film
• La De Da: Annie Hall as Divine Tragicomedy - essay written for the City of the Angels Film Festival, 2005.

References

1. The Importance of Being Famous: Behind the Scenes of the Celebrity Industrial Complex by Maureen Orth p233 ISBN: 0805075453

• 1935 births
• Adoptive parents
• American comedians
• American film directors
• American screenwriters
• American short story writers
• Autodidacts
• Best Actor Oscar Nominee
• Best Director Oscar
• Brooklynites
• College dropouts
• Film actors
• Jewish American actors
• Jewish Americans
• Jewish film directors
• O. Henry Award winners
• Prince of Asturias Award winner