From 1980 to 1992, Allen had a professional and personal relationship with actressMia Farrow. They collaborated on 13 films. The couple separated after he began a relationship in 1991 with Mia's andAndre Previn's 21-year-old adopted daughterSoon-Yi Previn. In 1992, Farrowpublicly accused him of sexually abusing their adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.[22][23] The allegation gained substantial media attention, but Allen was never charged or prosecuted and has vehemently denied the allegation. Allen married Previn in 1997 and they have adopted two children.[24]
Allen's parents did not get along, and he had anestranged relationship with his mother.[33] He spoke German in his early years.[citation needed] While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he also attended Public School 99, now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature,[34] and thenMidwood High School, from which he graduated in 1953. Unlike his comic persona, he was more interested in baseball than school and was picked first for teams.[35][25] He impressed students with his talent forcards andmagic tricks.[36]
Allen began to call himself Woody in high school.[37][38] According to Allen, his first published joke read: "Woody Allen says he ate at a restaurant that had O.P.S. prices—over people's salaries."[39] He was soon earning more than both of his parents combined.[35] After high school, he attendedNew York University, studying communication and film in 1953, before dropping out after failing the course "Motion Picture Production". He briefly attendedCity College of New York in 1954, dropping out during his first semester.[40] He taught himself rather than studying in the classroom.[25] He later taught atThe New School and studied with writing teacherLajos Egri.[41]
Allen began writing short jokes when he was 15,[42] and the next year began offering them to variousBroadway writers for sale.: 539 One of them,Abe Burrows, co-author ofGuys and Dolls, wrote, "Wow! His stuff was dazzling." Burrows wrote Allen letters of introduction toSid Caesar,Phil Silvers, andPeter Lind Hayes, who immediately sent Allen a check for just the jokes Burrows included as samples.[43] As a result of the jokes Allen mailed to various writers, he was invited, then age 19, to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job onThe NBC Comedy Hour in Los Angeles, then a job as a full-time writer for humoristHerb Shriner, initially earning $25 a week.[39] He began writing scripts forThe Ed Sullivan Show,The Tonight Show, specials for Sid Caesar post-Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), and other television shows.[44] By the time he was working for Caesar, he was earning $1,500 a week. He worked alongsideMel Brooks,Carl Reiner,Larry Gelbart, andNeil Simon. He also worked withDanny Simon, whom Allen credits for helping form his writing style.[39][45] In 2021, Brooks said of working with Allen, "Woody was so young then. I was about 24 when I started, but Woody must have been 19, but so wise, so smart. He had this tricky little mind and he'd surprise you, which is the trick of being a good comedy writer."[46] In 1962 alone, he estimated that he wrote 20,000 jokes for various comics.[47] Allen also wrote forCandid Camera and appeared in several episodes.[48]
Allen wrote jokes for theBuddy Hackett sitcomStanley andThe Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and in 1958 he co-wrote a few Sid Caesar specials withLarry Gelbart.[49] ComposerMary Rodgers said he was gaining a reputation. When given an assignment for a show, he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producerMax Liebman.[49] Similarly, after he wrote forBob Hope, Hope called him "half a genius".[49]Dick Cavett said: "He can go to a typewriter after breakfast and sit there until the sun sets and his head is pounding, interrupting work only for coffee and a brief walk, and then spend the whole evening working."[50] Allen once estimated that to prepare for a 30-minute show, he spent six months of intensive writing.[50] He enjoyed writing, despite the work: "Nothing makes me happier than to tear open a ream of paper. And I can't wait to fill it!"[50]
Allen's new manager,Jack Rollins, suggested he perform his written jokes as a stand-up. "I'd never had the nerve to talk about it before. ThenMort Sahl came along with a whole new style of humor, opening up vistas for people like me."[60] Allen made his professional stage debut at theBlue Angel nightclub inManhattan in October 1960, where comedianShelley Berman introduced him as a young television writer who would perform his own material.[60]
In his early stand-up shows, Allen did not improvise: "I put very little premium on improvisation", he toldStuds Terkel.[61] His jokes were created from life experiences, and typically presented with a dead serious demeanor that made them funnier: "I don't think my family liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib."[47] And although he was described as a "classicnebbish", he did not tell the standard Jewish jokes of the period.[62] Comedy screenwriterLarry Gelbart compared Allen's style toElaine May's: "He just styled himself completely after her".[63]
Cavett recalled seeing the Blue Angel audience mostly ignore Allen'smonologue: "I resented the fact that the audience was too dumb to realize what they were getting."[64] It was his subdued stage presence that eventually became one of Allen's strongest traits, Nachman argues: "The utter absence of showbiz veneer and shtick was the best shtick any comedian had ever devised. This uneasy onstage naturalness became a trademark."[65] Allen brought innovation to the comedy monologue genre.[66]
Allen first appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on November 1, 1963, and over nine years his guest appearances included 17 in the host's chair. He subsequently released three LP albums of live nightclub recordings: the self-titledWoody Allen (1964),Volume 2 (1965), andThe Third Woody Allen Album (1968), recorded at a fund-raiser for SenatorEugene McCarthy's presidential run.[67] In 1965, Allen filmed a half-hour standup special in England forGranada Television, titledThe Woody Allen Show in the UK andWoody Allen: Standup Comic in the U.S.[68] It is the only complete standup show of Allen's on film.[68] The same year, Allen, along withNichols and May, Barbra Streisand,Carol Channing,Harry Belafonte,Julie Andrews,Carol Burnett, andAlfred Hitchcock, took part inLyndon B. Johnson's inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1965. First LadyLady Bird Johnson described Allen and the event in her published diary,A White House Diary, writing in part, "Woody Allen, that forlorn, undernourished little comedian, stopped shooting a movie in Paris and flew across the Atlantic for about five minutes of jokes".[69]
Allen also performed standup comedy on other series, includingTheAndy Williams Show andThePerry Como Show, where he interacted with other guests and occasionally sang.[citation needed] In 1971, he hosted one of his finalTonight Shows, with guestsBob Hope andJames Coco.[76] Hope praised Allen on the show, calling him "one of the finest young talents in show business and a great delight".[77]Life magazine put Allen on the cover of its March 21, 1969, issue.[78]
The next play Allen wrote for Broadway wasPlay It Again, Sam, which opened on February 12, 1969, starring Allen,Diane Keaton and Roberts.[84] The play received a positive review fromClive Barnes ofThe New York Times, who wrote, "Not only are Mr. Allen's jokes—with their follow-ups, asides, and twists—audaciously brilliant (onlyNeil Simon andElaine May can equal him in this season's theater) but he has a great sense of character".[85] The play was significant to Keaton's budding career, and she has said she was in "awe" of Allen even before auditioning for her role, which was the first time she met him.[86] In 2013, Keaton said that she "fell in love with him right away", adding, "I wanted to be his girlfriend so I did something about it."[87] For her performance she was nominated for aTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.[88] After co-starring alongside Allen in the subsequentfilm version ofPlay It Again, Sam, she acted in seven more of his films. includingSleeper,Love and Death,Annie Hall,Interiors, andManhattan.[89] Keaton said of their collaboration: "He showed me the ropes and I followed his lead. He is the most disciplined person I know. He works very hard".[87]
Allen in the early 1970s
In 1969, Allen directed, starred in, and co-wrote with Mickey Rose themockumentary crime comedyTake the Money and Run, in which he plays the low-level thief Virgil Starkwell.[90] The film received positive reviews; criticVincent Canby ofThe New York Times wrote, "Allen has made a movie that is, in effect, a feature-length, two-reel comedy—something very special and eccentric and funny."[91] In 1971, Allen wrote and directed the slapstick comedy filmBananas, in which he plays Fielding Mellish, a bumbling New Yorker who becomes involved in a revolution in a country inLatin America. The film also starredLouise Lasser as his romantic interest.[92] In an interview withRoger Ebert, Allen said, "The big, broad laugh comedy is a form that's rarely made these days and sometimes I think it's the hardest kind of movie to make... with a comedy likeBananas, if they're not laughing, you're dead, because laughs are all you have."[93]
I don't like meeting heroes. There's nobody I want to meet and nobody I want to work with—I'd rather work with Diane Keaton than anyone—she's absolutely great, a natural.
In 1979, Allen paid tribute at theFilm Society at Lincoln Center to one of his comedy idols,Bob Hope, who said of the honor: "It's great to have your past spring up in front of your eyes, especially when it's done by Woody Allen, because he's a near genius. Not a whole genius, but a near genius".[108] WithManhattan (1979), Allen directed a comic homage toNew York City, focused on the complicated relationship between middle-aged Isaac Davis (Allen) and 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), co-starring Keaton andMeryl Streep.[109] Keaton, who has made eight movies with Allen, has said, "He just has a mind like nobody else. He's bold. He's got a lot of strength, a lot of courage in terms of his work. And that is what it takes to do something really unique."[102]
Mia's a good actress who can play many different roles. She has a very good range, and can play serious to comic roles. She's also very photogenic, very beautiful on screen. She's just a good realistic actress ... and no matter how strange and daring it is, she does it well.
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) was the first movie Allen made withMia Farrow, who stepped intoDiane Keaton's role when Keaton was shootingReds.[120] He next directedZelig, in which he starred as a man whose appearance transforms to match that of those around him.[121]Radio Days, a film about his childhood in Brooklyn and the importance of the radio, co-starred Farrow in a part Allen wrote for her.[119]Time magazine calledThe Purple Rose of Cairo one of the 100 best films of all time.[122] Allen has called it one of his three best films, withStardust Memories andMatch Point.[123] In 1989, Allen and directorsFrancis Ford Coppola andMartin Scorsese madeNew York Stories, ananthology film about New Yorkers. Vincent Canby called Allen's contribution,Oedipus Wrecks, "priceless".[124]
On March 8, 1995, Allen's one-act playCentral Park West[126] opened[127] off-Broadway as a part of a larger piece titledDeath Defying Acts,[128] with two other one-act plays, one byDavid Mamet and one byElaine May. Critics described Allen's contribution as "the longest and most substantial of the evening".[129] During this decade Allen also starred in the television filmThe Sunshine Boys (1995), based on theNeil Simonplay of the same name,[130] and made asitcom "appearance" via telephone in a 1997 episode, "My Dinner with Woody", ofJust Shoot Me! that paid tribute to several of his films. He provided the voice of Z inDreamWorks' first animated film,Antz (1998), which featured many actors he had worked with; Allen's character was similar to his earlier roles.[131]
Small Time Crooks (2000) was Allen's first film with theDreamWorks studio and represented a change in direction: he began giving more interviews and made an attempt to return to his slapstick roots. The film is similar to the 1942 filmLarceny, Inc. (from a play by S. J. Perelman).[132] Allen never commented on whether this was deliberate or if his film was in any way inspired by it.Small Time Crooks was a relative financial success, grossing over $17 million domestically, but Allen's next four films foundered at the box office, including Allen's most costly film,The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (with a budget of $26 million).Hollywood Ending,Anything Else, andMelinda and Melinda have "rotten" ratings on film-review websiteRotten Tomatoes and each earned less than $4 million domestically.[133] Some critics claimed that Allen's early 2000s films were subpar and expressed concern that his best years were behind him.[134] Others were less harsh; reviewing the little-likedMelinda and Melinda,Roger Ebert wrote, "I cannot escape the suspicion that if Woody had never made a previous film, if each new one was Woody's Sundance debut, it would get a better reception. His reputation is not a dead shark but an albatross, which with admirable economy Allen has arranged for the critics to carry around their own necks."[135]
2005–2014: Career resurgence
Allen in January 2006
"In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now", Allen said in a 2004 interview. "The avaricious studios couldn't care less about good films—if they get a good film they're twice as happy but money-making films are their goal. They only want these $100 million pictures that make $500 million."[136] Allen traveled to London, where he madeMatch Point (2005), one of his most successful films of the decade, garnering positive reviews.[137] Set in London, it starredJonathan Rhys Meyers andScarlett Johansson. It is markedly darker than Allen's first four films with DreamWorks SKG. InMatch Point Allen shifts focus from the intellectual upper class of New York to the moneyed upper class of London. The film earned more than $23 million domestically (more than any of his films in nearly 20 years) and over $62 million in international box office sales.[138] It earned Allen his first Academy Award nomination since 1998, for Best Writing – Original Screenplay, with directing and writing nominations at the Golden Globes, his first Globe nominations since 1987. In a 2006 interview withPremiere Magazine he said it was the best film he had ever made.[139]
On October 20, 2011, Allen's one-act playHoneymoon Motel opened on Broadway as part of a larger piece titledRelatively Speaking, with two other one-act plays byEthan Coen andElaine May.[149] In February 2012, Allen appeared on a panel at the92nd Street Y in New York City with moderatorsDick Cavett andAnnette Insdorf, discussing his films and career.[150] His next film,To Rome with Love (2012), is a Rome-set comedy starringJesse Eisenberg,Elliot Page,Alec Baldwin,Penelope Cruz,Greta Gerwig, andJudy Davis. The film is structured in four vignettes featuring dialogue in both Italian and English. It marked Allen's return to acting since his last role inScoop.[151] Bob Mondello gave it a mixed review, writing, "To Rome with Love is just froth—a romantic sampler with some decent jokes and gorgeous Roman backdrops. It goes down easily, but I have to say it's interesting less for what it is than for how it is."[152]
It's really cool to work with a director who's done so much, because he knows exactly what he wants. The fact that he does one shot for an entire scene—[and] this could be a scene with eight people and one to two takes—it gives you a level of confidence... he's very empowering.
In July and August 2014, Allen filmed the mystery dramaIrrational Man inNewport, Rhode Island, withJoaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone,Parker Posey andJamie Blackley.[165] Allen said that this film, as well as the next three he had planned, had the financing and full support ofSony Pictures Classics.[166] Jonathan Romney ofFilm Comment gave the film a mixed review, praising Stone's performance but calling the film "disconcertingly impersonal—all the more so as it overtly carries certain traditional marks of his patented brand, being a light-highbrow comedy of manners, peppered with bookish in-jokes."[167]
On January 14, 2015,Amazon Studios announced a full-season order for a half-hourAmazon Prime Instant Video series that Allen would write and direct, marking the first time he has developed a television show. Allen said of the series, "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price [the head of Amazon Studios] will regret this."[168][169][170] At the2015 Cannes Film Festival, Allen said of his upcoming Amazon show: "It was a catastrophic mistake. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm floundering. I expect this to be a cosmic embarrassment."[171] On September 30, 2016,Amazon Video debuted Allen's first television series production,Crisis in Six Scenes. The series is a comedy set during the 1960s. It focuses on the life of a suburban family after a surprise visitor creates chaos among them. It stars Allen,Elaine May, andMiley Cyrus, with the latter playing a radical hippie fugitive who sells marijuana.[172][173]
Allen's next film,Café Society, starred an ensemble cast, includingJesse Eisenberg,Kristen Stewart, andBlake Lively.[174]Bruce Willis was set to co-star, but was replaced bySteve Carell during filming.[175] The film is distributed byAmazon Studios, and opened the2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2016, the third time Allen has opened the festival.[176] Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian gave the film a positive review, writing, "The film looks ravishing, with shots of New York which recall images in Allen's great work, Manhattan, but however wonderfully composed, there is something almost touristy in both them, and in his evocation of golden age Tinseltown, like his homages to Paris and Rome. Allen brings it all together in his closing moments which conjure something unexpectedly melancholy and shrewdly judged. It has entertainment and charm."[177]
In September 2016 Allen started filming the drama filmWonder Wheel, set in the 1950s inConey Island, and starringKate Winslet,Justin Timberlake,Juno Temple, andJim Belushi.[178] The film served as the closing night selection at the 55thNew York Film Festival on October 15, 2017,[179] and was theatrically released on December 1, 2017,[180] as the first movie self-distributed to theaters byAmazon Studios.[181] The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising Winslet's leading performance. Owen Gleiberman ofVariety wrote, "Wonder Wheel isn't a comedy—on the contrary, it often feels like the most earnest kitchen-sink drama that Clifford Odets never wrote. It may or may not turn out to be an awards picture, but it's a good night out, and that's not nothing."[182] In 2017, Allen received a standing ovation when he made a rare public appearance at the45th Annual Life Achievement Tribute award ceremony forDiane Keaton. Before presenting her with the award he spoke about their longtime collaboration and friendship, saying, "From the minute I met her, she was a great, great inspiration to me. Much of what I have accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her".[183]
Allen returned to filming in New York City with the romantic filmA Rainy Day in New York, starringTimothée Chalamet,Selena Gomez,Elle Fanning,Jude Law,Diego Luna,Liev Schreiber andRebecca Hall. The production in New York began in September 2017.[184] During the film's release, Chalamet, Gomez, and Hall announced, in the light of theMe Too movement, that they would donate their salaries to various charities.[185] The film received mixed reviews but earned praise for its performances. In February 2019 it was announced that Amazon Studios had droppedA Rainy Day in New York and would no longer finance, produce, or distribute films with Allen. He filed a lawsuit for $68 million, alleging Amazon gave "vague reasons" to terminate the contract, dropped the film over "a 25-year old, baseless allegation", and did not make payments.[186][187] The case was later settled and dismissed.[188][189] It was released throughout Europe beginning in July 2019,[190][191] receiving mixed reviews and grossing $20 million.[192][193][194] After over a year's delay, the film was released in the U.S. on October 9, 2020, byMPI Media Group and Signature Entertainment.[195]
On March 2, 2020, it was announced that after shopping the book from publishers it was decided thatGrand Central Publishing would release Allen's autobiography,Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020.[201][202][203] According to the publisher, the book is a "comprehensive account of Allen's life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs, and print...Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life."[204][205] The decision to publish the book was criticized by Dylan andRonan Farrow, the latter of whom cut ties with the publisher.[206][207] The announcement also incited criticism from employees of the publishers.[208][209] On March 6, the publisher announced that it had canceled the book's release, saying in part, "The decision to cancel Mr. Allen's book was a difficult one."[210] Hachette's decision also drew criticism from novelistStephen King, Executive director ofPEN AmericaSuzanne Nossel, and others.[211][212] On March 6, 2020, Manuel Carcassonne of Hachette's French branch, the publishing companyStock, announced it would publish the book if Allen permitted it.[211] On March 23, 2020,Arcade published the memoir.[213][214][215]
In June 2020, Allen appeared onAlec Baldwin's podcastHere's the Thing and talked about his career as a standup comedian, comedy writer, and filmmaker, and his life during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[216] In September 2022, Allen suggested that he might retire from filmmaking after the release of his next film.[217] In an interview withLa Vanguardia, Allen said, "My idea, in principle, is not to make more movies and focus on writing."[218] Allen's publicist later said, "Woody Allen never said he was retiring, nor did he say he was writing another novel. He said he was thinking about not making films, as making films that go straight or very quickly to streaming platforms is not so enjoyable for him, as he is a great lover of the cinema experience. Currently, he has no intention of retiring and is very excited to be in Paris shooting his new movie, which will be the 50th."[219]
Allen has made 50 feature films to date, with his latest film,Coup de chance (2023), a domestic thriller set in Paris. The film is Allen's first French-language film.[220] It premiered at the80th Venice International Film Festival to positive reviews.[221] Chris Vognar ofRolling Stone called it "a pretty slight and minor film, but for an 87-year-old American working in a second language, it can't help but seem impressive".[222] Owen Gleiberman ofVariety called it "his best sinceBlue Jasmine".[223]
In February 2024, it was reported that Allen had expressed interest in starting a new film as soon as summer 2024: "In a new interview with Spanish filmmakerDavid Trueba, the 88-year-old Allen confirms that he is currently trying to launch a new film, which could start shooting as early as this summer in Italy."[224] Plans for the Italian production were canceled due to lack of funding, and in November Allen announced plans for a film to be shot in Barcelona.[225] This also never materialized. On October 30, 2025, news broke that the community ofMadrid, Spain, was giving Allen 1,500,000 euros to make a film there, to be shot in summer 2026. It would be Allen's 51st film.[226]
In September 2025, during a 98-minute interview onHonestly[227] withBari Weiss, Allen seemed content that he had made 50 films and no more. He said he was still an atheist and a naturally worrisome person who actively avoids his watching his films, that he writes daily, and thatManhattan is a metropolitan poem. He said his favorite musician isSidney Bechet, favorite painterCamille Pissarro, and favorite baseball playerWillie Mays.
Critical reception and commentary
In 1973,Pauline Kael wrote inThe New Yorker that Allen's "tension between his insecurity and his wit makes us empathize with him", that he had found a "nonaggressive way to deal with urban pressures", and that he "delivers his zingers without turning into a cynic".[228]
Theater
While best known for his films, Allen has also had a successful theater career, starting as early as 1960, when he wrote sketches for the revueFrom A to Z. His first great success wasDon't Drink the Water, which opened in 1966 and ran for 598 performances on Broadway. His success continued withPlay It Again, Sam, which opened in 1969, starring Allen andDiane Keaton. The show played for 453 performances and was nominated for threeTony Awards, although none of the nominations were for Allen's writing or acting.[229]
In the 1970s, Allen wrote a number of one-act plays, such asGod andDeath, which were published in his 1975 collectionWithout Feathers. In 1981, Allen's playThe Floating Light Bulb opened on Broadway. It was a critical success and a commercial flop. Despite twoTony Award nominations, a Tony win for the acting ofBrian Backer (who won the 1981Theater World Award and aDrama Desk Award for his work), the play only ran for 62 performances.[230]
In 1995, after a long hiatus from the stage, Allen returned to theater with the one-actCentral Park West,[231] an installment in an evening of theater,Death Defying Acts, that also included new work byDavid Mamet andElaine May.[232]
For the next few years, Allen had no direct involvement with the stage, but productions of his work were staged.God was staged at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center inRio de Janeiro,[233] and theatrical adaptations of Allen's filmsBullets Over Broadway[234] andSeptember[235] were produced in Italy and France, respectively, without Allen's involvement.
In 2003, Allen returned to the stage withWriter's Block, an evening of two one-acts,Old Saybrook[236] andRiverside Drive,[237][231] that playedOff-Broadway's Atlantic Theatre.[238] The production marked his stage-directing debut[239] and sold out the entire run.[240]
In 2004, Allen's first full-length play since 1981,A Second Hand Memory,[241] was directed by Allen and enjoyed an extended runOff-Broadway.[240] In June 2007 it was announced that Allen would make two more creative debuts in the theater, directing a work he did not write and an opera—a reinterpretation ofPuccini'sGianni Schicchi for theLos Angeles Opera[242]—which debuted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on September 6, 2008.[243] Of his direction of the opera, Allen said, "I have no idea what I'm doing." His production of the opera opened theFestival of Two Worlds inSpoleto, Italy, in June 2009.[244]
On October 4, 2024, Allen's playBrooklyn Story premiered in Budapest, Hungary. Written in English, it was translated to and performed in Hungarian.[249] On November 7, 2025, the Central Theater in Budapest premiered another new Allen play,Pure Madness, also in Hungarian.[250] In an interview posted on October 29, 2025, with producerJulian Schlossberg, Allen mentioned having plays also currently being performed in or premiering in Germany, Russia, and France.[251] As of 2025,Brooklyn Story andPure Madness have not had official premieres in the United States.
Jazz band
Allen withJerry Zigmont and Simon Wettenhall performing at Vienne Jazz Festival,Vienne, France, in September 2003
Allen is a passionate fan of jazz, which appears often in the soundtracks to his films. He began playing clarinet as a child and took his stage name from clarinetistWoody Herman.[252] He has performed publicly at least since the late 1960s, including with thePreservation Hall Jazz Band on the soundtrack ofSleeper.[253]
Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band have been playing every Monday evening at theCarlyle Hotel in Manhattan for many years[254] specializing inNew Orleans jazz from the early 20th century.[255] He plays songs bySidney Bechet,George Lewis,Johnny Dodds,Jimmie Noone, andLouis Armstrong.[256] The documentary filmWild Man Blues (directed byBarbara Kopple) chronicles a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band, as well as his relationship with Previn. The band released the albumsThe Bunk Project (1993) and the soundtrack ofWild Man Blues (1997). In 2005, Allen, Eddy Davis and Conal Fowkes released the trio albumWoody With Strings.[257][deprecated source] In a 2011 review of a concert by Allen's jazz band, critic Kirk Silsbee of theLos Angeles Times suggested that Allen should be regarded a competent musical hobbyist with a sincere appreciation for early jazz: "Allen's clarinet won't make anyone forgetSidney Bechet,Barney Bigard orEvan Christopher. His piping tone and strings of staccato notes can't approximate melodic or lyrical phrasing. Still his earnestness and the obvious regard he has for traditional jazz counts for something."[258]
Allen and his band played at theMontreal International Jazz Festival on two consecutive nights in June 2008.[259] For many years he wanted to make a film about the origins of jazz in New Orleans. Tentatively titledAmerican Blues, the film would follow the different careers ofLouis Armstrong andSidney Bechet. Allen stated that the film would cost between $80 and $100 million and is therefore unlikely to be made.[260]
Film critics includingRoger Ebert andBarry Norman have highly praised Allen's work.[318][319] In 1980, onSneak Previews,Siskel and Ebert called Allen andMel Brooks "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers."[320]Pauline Kael wrote of Allen that "his comic character is enormously appealing to people partly because he's the smart, urban guy who at the same time is intelligent, is vulnerable, and somehow by his intelligence, he triumphs".[321]
Favorite films
In 2012, Allen participated in theSight & Sound film polls.[322] Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Allen's choices, in alphabetical order, were:[323][324]
the movie ofStreetcar is for me total artistic perfection.... It's the most perfect confluence of script, performance, and direction I've ever seen. I agree withRichard Schickel, who calls the play perfect. The characters are so perfectly written, every nuance, every instinct, every line of dialogue is the best choice of all those available in the known universe. All the performances are sensational.Vivien Leigh is incomparable, more real and vivid than real people I know. AndMarlon Brando was a living poem. He was an actor who came on the scene and changed the history of acting. The magic, the setting, New Orleans, the French Quarter, the rainy humid afternoons, the poker night. Artistic genius, no holds barred.
If directors had their way, we would not let our films be tampered with in any way—broken up for commercial or shortened or colorized. But we've fought the other things without much success, and now colorization—because it's so horrible and preposterous and more acutely noticeable by audiences—is the straw that broke the camel's back.... The presumption that colorizers are doing him [the director] a favor and bettering his movie is a transparent attempt to justify the mutilation of art for a few extra dollars.[327]
In addition to directing, writing, and acting in films, Allen has written and performed in several Broadway, off-Broadway, and other theatrical productions.
Over his more than 50-year film career, Allen has received many award nominations. He holds the record for mostAcademy Award nominations forBest Original Screenplay, with 16 nominations and three wins (Annie Hall,Hannah and Her Sisters, andMidnight in Paris). Allen has been nominated forBest Director seven times and won forAnnie Hall. Three of Allen's films have been nominated forAcademy Award for Best Picture,Annie Hall,Hannah and Her Sisters, andMidnight in Paris.
Allen shuns award ceremonies, citing their subjectivity. His first and only appearance at the Academy Awards was at the2002 Oscars, where he received a standing ovation. As a New York icon, he had been asked by the Academy to introduce a film montage of clips of New York City in the movies thatNora Ephron compiled to honor the city after the9/11 attacks.[331]
In 2004,Comedy Central ranked Allen fourth on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians,[335][336] while a UK survey ranked Allen the third-greatest comedian.[337]
In 1956, Allen married Harlene Rosen. He was 20 and she was 17. The marriage lasted until 1959.[338] Rosen, whom Allen called "the Dread Mrs. Allen" in his standup act, sued him fordefamation as a result of comments he made during a television appearance shortly after their divorce. In his mid-1960s albumStandup Comic, Allen said that Rosen had sued him because of a joke he made in an interview. Rosen had beensexually assaulted outside her apartment. According to Allen, the newspapers reported that she had been "violated". In the interview, Allen said, "Knowing my ex-wife, it probably wasn't amoving violation." In an interview onThe Dick Cavett Show, Allen repeated his comments and said that she "sued me for a million dollars".[339]
According to theLos Angeles Times,Manhattan was based on Allen's romantic relationship with actressStacey Nelkin.[340] Her bit part inAnnie Hall ended up on thecutting room floor, and their relationship reportedly began when she was 17 and a student atStuyvesant High School in New York.[341][342][343] In December 2018The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Babi Christina Engelhardt, who said she had an eight-year affair with Allen that began in 1976 when she was 17 years old (they met when she was 16), and that she believes the character of Tracy inManhattan is a composite of any number of Allen's presumed other real-life young paramours from that period, not necessarily Nelkin or Engelhardt. When asked, Allen declined to comment.[344]
In 1968,[345] Allen castDiane Keaton in his Broadway showPlay It Again, Sam. During the run she and Allen became romantically involved. Although they broke up after a year, she continued to star in his films, includingSleeper as a futuristic poet andLove and Death as a composite character based on the novels ofTolstoy andDostoevsky.Annie Hall was very important in Allen's and Keaton's careers. It is said that the role was written for her, as Keaton's birth name was Diane Hall. She then starred inInteriors as a poet, followed byManhattan. In 1987, she had a cameo as a nightclub singer inRadio Days, and she was chosen to replaceMia Farrow inManhattan Murder Mystery after Allen and Farrow began having problems with their relationship. In total Keaton has starred in eight of Allen's films. As of 2018 Keaton and Allen remained close friends.[346] In a rare public appearance, Allen presented Keaton with theAFI Life Achievement Award in 2017.[347]
Mia Farrow
Allen andMia Farrow met in 1979 and began a relationship in 1980;[348] Farrow starred in 13 of Allen's films from 1982 to 1992.[349] Throughout the relationship they lived in separate apartments on opposite sides ofCentral Park in Manhattan. Farrow had seven children when they met: three biological sons from her marriage to composerAndré Previn, three adopted girls (two Vietnamese and one South Korean,Soon-Yi Previn), and an adopted South Korean boy,Moses Farrow.[348]
In 1984, she and Allen tried to conceive a child together; Allen agreed to this on the understanding that he need not be involved in the child's care. When the effort failed, Farrow adopted a baby girl,Dylan Farrow, in July 1985. Allen was not involved in the adoption, but when Dylan arrived he assumed a parental role toward her and began spending more time in Farrow's home.[350] On December 19, 1987, Farrow gave birth to their sonSatchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow.[351][352] According to Allen, his intimate relationship with Mia Farrow ceased completely after Satchel's birth and he was asked to return her apartment key; they maintained a working relationship when they filmed a movie, and he regularly visited Moses, Dylan and Satchel, but he and Mia were only "social companions on those occasions where there'd be a dinner, an event, but after the event she'd go home and I'd go home."[353] In 1991, Farrow wanted to adopt another child. According to a 1993 custody hearing, Allen told her he would not object to another adoption so long as she would agree to his adoption of Dylan and Moses; that adoption was finalized in December 1991.[350]Eric Lax, Allen's biographer, wrote inThe New York Times that Allen was "there before they [the children] wake up in the morning, he sees them during the day and he helps put them to bed at night".[348]
In 1977, Mia Farrow and André Previn adoptedSoon-Yi Previn fromSeoul, South Korea. She had been abandoned. The Seoul Family Court established a Family Census Register (legal birth document) on her behalf on December 28, 1976, with a presumptive birth date of October 8, 1970.[354][355] According to Mia Farrow, a bone scan in the U.S. estimated that she was between six and eight years old ("We're saying seven") in early 1978, in accordance with the Seoul Family Court's information.[356] According to Previn, her first friendly interaction with Allen took place when she was injured playing soccer during11th grade and Allen offered to transport her to school. After her injury, she began attendingNew York Knicks games with Allen in 1990.[357] They attended more games and by 1991 had become closer.[350] In September 1991, she began studies atDrew University in New Jersey.[358]
In January 1992, Farrow found nude photographs of Previn in Allen's home. Allen, then 56, told Farrow that he had taken the photos the day before, about two weeks after he first had sex with Previn.[359] Both Farrow and Allen contacted lawyers shortly after the photographs were discovered.[350][360] Previn was asked to leave summer camp because she was spending too much time taking calls from a "Mr. Simon", who turned out to be Allen.[358]
In an August 1992 interview withTime magazine, Allen said, "I am not Soon-Yi's father or stepfather", adding: "I've never even lived with Mia. I've never in my entire life slept at Mia's apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners over there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word." Saying that Soon-Yi never treated him as a father figure and that he rarely spoke to her before their romantic relationship, Allen seemed to see few or no problems with their relationship.[361]
On August 17, 1992, Allen issued a statement saying that he was in love with Previn.[362] Their relationship became public and "erupted into tabloid headlines and late-night monologues in August 1992".[363]
According to court testimony, on August 4, 1992, Allen visited the children at Mia Farrow's home inBridgewater, Connecticut, while she was shopping with a friend.[360] The next day, that friend's babysitter told her employer that she had seen that "Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap".[368][369] When Farrow asked Dylan about it, Dylan allegedly said that Allen had touched Dylan's "private part" while they were alone together in the attic.[360] Allen strongly denied the allegation, calling it "an unconscionable and gruesomely damaging manipulation of innocent children for vindictive and self-serving motives".[370] He then began proceedings inNew York Supreme Court for sole custody of his and Farrow's son Satchel, as well as Dylan and Moses, their two adopted children.[371] In March 1993, a six-month investigation by the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic ofYale-New Haven Hospital concluded that Dylan had not been sexually abused.[372][373]
In June 1993, Judge Elliott Wilk rejected Allen's bid for custody and rejected the allegation of sexual abuse. Wilk said he was less certain than the Yale-New Haven team that there was conclusive evidence that there was no sexual abuse and called Allen's conduct with Dylan "grossly inappropriate",[374][375][376] although not sexual.[377] In September 1993, the state prosecutor announced that despite having "probable cause", he would not pursue charges in order "to avoid the unjustifiable risk of exposing a child to the rigors and uncertainties of a questionable prosecution".[374][378] In October 1993 theNew York Child Welfare Agency of theState Department of Social Services closed a 14-month investigation and concluded there was not credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment, and the allegation was unfounded.[379]
In 2014, when Allen received aGolden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, the issue returned to the forefront of media attention, withMia Farrow andRonan Farrow making disparaging remarks about Allen on Twitter.[380][381] On February 1, 2014,New York Times journalistNicholas Kristof, with Dylan's permission, published a column that included excerpts from a letter Dylan had written to Kristof restating the allegation against Allen, and called out fellow actors who have continued to work in his films.[382][383] Allen responded to the allegation in an open letter, also inThe New York Times, strongly denying it. "Of course, I did not molest Dylan...No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing", he wrote.[384][385][386]
In 2018,Moses Farrow (who was present at Mia's Bridgewater house during Allen's visit) published a blog post called "A Son Speaks Out." In the post, Moses strenuously denied the abuse allegations, writing, "given the incredibly inaccurate and misleading attacks on my father, Woody Allen, I feel that I can no longer stay silent as he continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit." He also recounted a series of instances of alleged physical abuse at the hands of Mia Farrow: "It pains me to recall instances in which I witnessed siblings, some blind or physically disabled, dragged down a flight of stairs to be thrown into a bedroom or a closet, then having the door locked from the outside. [Mia] even shut my brother Thaddeus, paraplegic from polio, in an outdoor shed overnight as punishment for a minor transgression".[387][388]Hollywood remained largely split over the allegation. Some defended Dylan's allegation, while others vouched for Allen's innocence, citing potentialextortion from Farrow as a result of Allen and Soon-Yi's courtship.[389]
The 1997 documentaryWild Man Blues, directed byBarbara Kopple, focuses on Allen, and other documentaries featuring Allen include the 2002 cable television documentaryWoody Allen: A Life in Film, directed byTime film criticRichard Schickel, which interlaces interviews of Allen with clips of his films,[392] and the 1986 short filmMeetin' WA, in which Allen is interviewed byFrench New Wave directorJean-Luc Godard.[393]
Eric Lax wrote the bookWoody Allen: A Biography.[25]
In 2015,David Evanier publishedWoody: The Biography, which was billed as the first new biography of Allen in over a decade.
In early March 2020,Grand Central Publishing, a division ofHachette Book Group, announced that it would publish Allen's memoir,Apropos of Nothing, on April 7, 2020.[396] Days later, after employee walkouts, parent company Hachette announced that the title was canceled and rights had reverted to Allen.[397] On March 23, 2020,Skyhorse Publishing announced that it had acquired and releasedApropos of Nothing through itsArcade imprint.[214]
In February 2021,HBO releasedKirby Dick's andAmy Ziering's four-part documentaryAllen v. Farrow, which explores the sexual abuse allegations against Allen.[398][399] The series drew largely positive reviews from critics.Lorraine Ali of theLos Angeles Times wrote that it "makes a compelling argument that Allen got away with the unthinkable thanks to his fame, money, and revered standing in the world of film—and that a little girl never received justice."[400] Rachel Brodsky wrote inThe Independent that the "documentary will sound the death knell for Woody Allen's career."[401]Hadley Freeman inThe Guardian wrote that the series "sets itself up as an investigation but much more resemblesPR, as biased and partial as a political candidate's advert vilifying an opponent in election season."[402] A statement on behalf of Allen and Previn denounced the documentary as "a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods" and said that they were approached two months before it was aired on HBO and "given only a matter of days 'to respond.' Of course, they declined to do so."[403] The filmmakers said they gave Allen and Previn two weeks to comment, which is "more than ample time by journalistic standards."[404]
Notes
^abcDespite most references listing his birth date as December 1, in his 2020 autobiography,Apropos of Nothing, Allen writes that he was actually born on November 30: "Actually, I was born on the thirtieth of November very close to midnight, and my parents pushed the date so I could start off on a day one."[1] The discrepancy first came to light in 2015, when authorDavid Evanier addressed it in his bookWoody Allen: The Biography.[2][3][4][5] Since Allen's confirmation, various sources have corrected the date in their databases.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
^Horgan, Richard (December 14, 2015)."Woody Allen's Bronx Bump".Adweek. "Woody's birthday is not really December 1; it is November 30."
^"Revisiting Woody Allen's Highs, Lows On His 80th Birthday".MetroFocus. December 1, 2015. "Today on Dec. 1, film legend Woody Allen celebrates his 80th birthday. However, it's not his real birthday. He was born on Nov. 30 but chose the first of December as his birthday so he could be no. 1."
^Newton, Michael (January 13, 2012)."Woody Allen: cinema's great experimentalist".The Guardian. London.Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. RetrievedApril 9, 2012.In the 1970s, Allen looked irreverent, hip, a part of the New Hollywood generation. In an age of 'auteurs', he was the auteur personified, the writer, director and star of his films, active in the editing, choosing the soundtrack, initiating the projects
^"Woody Allen: Rabbit Running".Time. July 7, 1972. pp. 5–6.I never had a teacher who made the least impression on me. If you ask me who are my heroes, the answer is simple and truthful: George S. Kaufman and the Marx Brothers.
^Allen, Woody."Central Park West".Concord Theatricals. RetrievedOctober 26, 2023.A well to do psychiatrist has just discovered that her best friend is having an affair with her husband
^Groteke 1994, p. [page needed]After Alison Stickland left Frog Hollow on the afternoon of August 4, she told Casey in passing, "I had seen something at Mia's that was bothering me." What she claimed to have seen was this: In the television room that afternoon, Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap. Casey phoned Mia the next day, August 5, and, in passing, related Alison's remark.
^Wilk, Elliot J. (July 6, 1993),Custody Case Ruling, New York, NY: Supreme Court - New York County,The evidence suggests that it is unlikely that he could be successfully prosecuted for sexual abuse. I am less certain, however, than is the Yale-New Haven team, that the evidence proves conclusively that there was no sexual abuse.
^Wilk, Elliot J. (June 7, 1993),Custody Case Ruling, Supreme Court - New York County,I did not see it as sexual, but I saw it as inappropriately intense because it excluded everybody else
Galef, David (February 21, 2003). "Getting Even: Literary Posterity and the Case for Woody Allen".South Atlantic Review.64 (2):146–160.doi:10.2307/3201987.ISSN0277-335X.JSTOR3201987.
Groteke, Kristi (1994).Mia & Woody: Love and Betrayal. Carroll & Graf.ISBN9780786700660.OCLC1036704501.After Alison Stickland left Frog Hollow on the afternoon of August 4, she told Casey in passing, "I had seen something at Mia's that was bothering me." What she claimed to have seen was this: In the television room that afternoon, Dylan was sitting on the sofa, and Woody was kneeling on the floor, facing her, with his head in her lap. Casey phoned Mia the next day, August 5, and, in passing, related Alison's remark.
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