Woody Allen Remembers Diane Keaton When we first met, I thought she was so charming, so beautiful, so magical, that I questioned my sanity. I thought: Was it possible to fall in love so quickly?
Diane Keaton and Woody Allen in the film Annie Hall. (via Getty Images)
It’s grammatically incorrect to say “most unique,” but all rules of grammar, and I guess anything else, are suspended when talking about Diane Keaton. Unlike anyone the planet has experienced or is unlikely to ever see again, her face and laugh illuminated any space she entered. 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. This article is featured in Culture and Ideas. Sign up here to get an update every time a new piece is published. Meanwhile, David Merrick and I were auditioning actresses in the Morosco Theatre for my play Play It Again, Sam. Sandy Meisner taught an acting class and told Merrick about an up-and-coming actress who was amazing. She came in and read for us and knocked us both for a loop. A small glitch was that she appeared to be taller than me, and we didn’t want that to figure in the jokes. Like two schoolkids, we stood back-to-back on the stage of the Morosco and measured. Fortunately we were the same height, and Merrick hired her...
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