On October 11, local time in the United States, actress Diane Keaton, who had starred in classic films such as "The Godfather", "Annie Hall" and "Marvin's Room", passed away suddenly at the age of 79.
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton has been in the film industry for nearly six decades, and she has continued to produce new films in recent years. It can be said that her acting career continued until the end of her life. She won an Oscar for Best Actress for "Annie Hall" and was nominated three times for "Reds," "Marvin's Room," and "Something's Gotta Give." In 2017, she received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Stills from Annie Hall
According to US media reports, Diane Keaton's health had deteriorated rapidly in recent months, and she had been absent from the public eye for some time. Furthermore, in March of this year, her Los Angeles home was suddenly listed for sale. However, Keaton was known for her privacy, and her family has not yet disclosed the specific cause of her death.
Less than a month after Robert Redford's passing, news of Diane Keaton's passing has plunged the American entertainment industry and even the world of film into mourning once again. The golden age of the star-studded "New Hollywood" seems to be fading. Robert De Niro, who worked with her many times, told The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm deeply saddened to hear of Diane's passing. I loved her, and the news of her passing caught me completely off guard. I didn't expect her to leave us like this. We will miss her. May she rest in peace."
Diane Keaton (left) and Meryl Streep in "Marvin's Room."
Meryl Streep, who co-starred with Keaton in "Marvin's Room," also posted a message saying Keaton was "our American treasure, an extraordinary girl whose image will never fade, and a talented artist. Her departure is shocking, but her smile, her style, and her unique spirit will live forever in the movies and in our hearts."
In addition, Leonardo Dicaprio, who co-starred with these two Hollywood predecessors in "Marvin's Room", Bette Midler, who co-starred with Keaton in "The First Wives Club", Mary Steenburgen and Jane Fonda, who co-starred with her in "The Book Club", actors Ben Stiller and Viola Davis, director Paul Feig and others also posted on social media to express their condolences.
Young Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton was born in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946. She was interested in acting even as a student. She dropped out of college after just one year to pursue her dream in New York.
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton got her start on stage in New York. It was while appearing in the Broadway comedy "Play It Again, Sam" that she met Woody Allen, the play's writer and lead. Not only did this performance earn her a Tony Award nomination, but she also became romantically involved with Allen during rehearsal. They lived together for a while, and even after their separation, they remained close friends. In recent years, when Allen was being ostracized by Hollywood, Keaton remained loyal to him, becoming one of the few filmmakers to publicly support him.
Diane Keaton and Woody Allen in "Manhattan."
Diane Keaton and Woody Allen also complemented each other's filmmaking. She once said that what attracted her most to Woody Allen was his unique sense of humor. From 1971 to 1993, she and Allen collaborated on eight films, including "Sweepstakes" (1973), "Love and Death" (1975), and "Manhattan" (1979). Of course, the most famous of these was "Annie Hall," for which she won an Oscar.
Released in 1977, "Annie Hall" continues Woody Allen's signature humorous and introspective storytelling. The role of Annie Hall was tailor-made for Diane Keaton—her real name is Diane Hall, but upon her Broadway debut, she discovered an actress with the same name and adopted her mother's maiden name. In addition to her superb acting, Keaton's distinctive style also left a lasting impression.
Diane Keaton's classic image in "Annie Hall".
The combination of a white men's shirt, wide tie, baggy trousers, a slim-fitting vest, and a black fedora became a classic of the era, inspiring many women to imitate it and becoming known as the "Annie Hall look." Even with the resurgence of intellectual style in fashion, it remains relevant. According to some film historians, Diane Keaton's look in the film was primarily her own creation, not the film's costume designers.
Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in "Reds."
In addition to Woody Allen, Diane Keaton also had relationships with two famous Hollywood filmmakers, Warren Beatty and Al Pacino. The former was the director and leading actor of "Reds," in which she starred, while the latter worked with her on Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" trilogy.
Diane Keaton and Al Pacino in "The Godfather."
However, perhaps due to her free-spirited personality, these romances eventually ended in failure, and Keaton chose to remain unmarried. She adopted a daughter and a son in 1996 and 2000 respectively. "Becoming a mother has completely changed me," she said at the time.
In addition to caring for her children, Diane Keaton devoted significant time to caring for her mother from the time she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1993 until her death in 2008. "She was everything to me," she said of her mother. "She was my role model for how to create with life. She was the center of everything beautiful."
Diane Keaton in her final film, "Reunion Camp."
While caring for her children and supporting her mother, Diane Keaton never gave up her acting career, appearing in various films in her later years, including "The Young Pope," "Hampstead Park," "The Book Club," and "Granny Cheerleaders." Actresses like her, past seventy and still able to play leading roles in films, are rare in Hollywood. This is perhaps due to her unique personal charm. "I'm not acting, I'm just myself," she once said, defining her acting style.
