Woody Allen
Director, Screenwriter, Actor (1935–)
“I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be
there when it happens.”
“I don't know the question, but sex is definitely
the answer.”
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.”
Who Is Woody Allen?
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Woody Allen is an American film director, screenwriter, actor
and author who is best known for his romantic comedy films containing elements of parody
and slapstick. He is also known for writing strong and well-defined characters for his female
stars.
Early Life and Early Career
Coming from an often volatile and loud Jewish middle-class family gave Allen all the
material he needed to start writing monologues and performing stand-up comedy while still in
high school.
Allen attended New York University in 1953, promptly failing a course in motion picture
production. Discouraged, he dropped out of school and soon began writing for television.
Later Allen grew bored of it and tried his hand at stand-up comedy, becoming popular on the
New York City comedy club circuit. His comic persona was that of a long-suffering "nebbish"
(a person who is pitifully timid) — a personality he held onto throughout the years. The
filmmaker also wrote humorous short prose pieces throughout his career, many of which were
originally published in The New Yorker magazine.
Woody Allen Plays
Allen often appeared in his own plays and films, including What's New, Pussycat? in 1965
and his first play, Don't Drink the Water. Other famous plays of his are:
Take the Money and Run (1969), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But
Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Play It Again, Sam (1972) and Sleeper (1973).
Woody Allen Movies
Allen's career breakthrough came in 1977 with Annie Hall, starring Diane Keaton, with whom
Allen became romantically involved. Manhattan, released in 1979, was his homage to his
beloved New York City, a setting for many of his future films.
Over the next two decades, Allen produced mostly hits and some misses, and a combination
of comedies and drama:
Annie Hall (1977) Oscar (Best Director, Best Original Screenplay)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Oscar (Best Original Screenplay)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Midnight in Paris (2011) Oscar (Best Original Screenplay)
Blue Jasmine (2013)
Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
Adapted from https://www.biography.com/people/woody-allen-9181734
Among his featured performers were Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow, both of whom he was
romantically involved with. Allen later came under fire for his relationship with Farrow's
adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn and the alleged sexual assault of another adopted daughter,
Dylan Farrow, though his career continued to flourish.
