Woody Allen Honors Diane Keaton In Personal Essay Following Icon’s Shocking Death At 79

Hollywood is continuing to honor Diane Keaton. Following the news of the beloved actress’ passing on Oct. 11, many celebrities paid tribute to her, including Woody Allen. Allen and Keaton not only collaborated on numerous projects together, including on “Annie Hall” which Keaton won the Best Actress Oscar for in1978, but the pair also dated. In a heartfelt essay for The Free Press, the 89-year-old filmmaker reflected on their personal and professional relationship, noting how they met when Allen was auditioning actresses for his play, “Play It Again, Sam.” “I first laid eyes on her lanky beauty at an audition and thought, ‘If Huckleberry Finn was a gorgeous young woman, he’d be Keaton.’ Fresh out of Orange County, she flew to Manhattan to act, got a job as a coat check girl, and was hired for a small part in the musical Hair, in which she eventually had the lead,” he penned, adding, “For the first week of rehearsal we never spoke a word to one another. She was shy, I was shy, and with two shy people things can get pretty dull. Finally, by chance we took a break at the same moment and wound up sharing a fast bite at some Eighth Avenue joint. That was our first moment of personal contact. The upshot is that she was so charming, so beautiful, so magical, that I questioned my sanity. I thought: Could I be in love so quickly?”