Woody Allen:
Is an American Film director, screenwriter, actor
Birth Name:   Allan Stewart Konigsberg

Born: December 1, 1935 (age 80), Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States

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. Allen directed and starred in two of his most famous films, Annie Hall and Manhattan. Among his featured performers were Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow, both of whom he was romantically involved with.


He would later joke that when he was young he was often sent to inter-faith summer camps, where he "was savagely beaten by children of all races and creeds.. While attending Hebrew school for eight years, he went to Public School 99 (now the Isaac Asimov School for Science and Literature)  and to Midwood High School. He later briefly attended City College of New York and soon flunked out.Later, he learned via self-study rather than in the classroom. He eventually taught at The New School. He also studied with writing teacher Lajos Egri. His status before the Selective Service System was "4-F", a medical deferment, although he later claimed his actual status was "4-P", hostage.


Early Career:

 he dropped out of school and soon began writing for television, including Sid Caesar's popular Your Show of Shows. His work won him an Emmy Award nomination, but Allen grew bored and soon tried his hand at stand-up comedy. A prolific writer and director, 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, on Broadway the following year. He made his directorial debut in 1966 with What's Up, Tiger Lily?, his career really beginning to soar by 1969 with Take the Money and Run.

 followed with Bananas (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Play It Again, Sam (1972) and Sleeper (1973). 

Career Highlights:

Allen also wrote for the Candid Camera television show, and appeared in some episodes. Along with that show, he wrote jokes for the Buddy Hackett sitcom Stanley and The Pat Boone Show. And in 1958 he cowrote a few Sid Caesar specials with Larry Gelbart. After writing for many of television's leading comedians and comedy shows, Allen was gaining the reputation for being a "genius", says composer Mary Rodgers. When given an assignment for a show he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producer Max Liebman.  Similarly, after writing for Bob Hope, Hope called him "half a genius.

 He starred, directed and co-wrote the movie (with Marshall Brickman), and it went on to win four Academy Awards, including for best picture, best director and best screenplay. Manhattan, released in 1979, was his homage to his beloved New York City, a setting for many of his future films.  produced mostly hits and some misses, and a combination of comedies and drama, including 1982's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy—the first of Allen's films to star his new love, Mia Farrow. In 1986, Hannah and Her Sisters earned Allen his second Oscar (best original screenplay). By the 1990s, Allen was ignoring Hollywood for the most part, producing low-budget films that included Husbands and Wives (1992), Bullets over Broadway (1994), Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and Sweet and Lowdown (1999).


Stand-up Comedian:

From 1960 to 1969, Allen performed as a stand-up comedian to supplement his comedy writing. His contemporaries during those years included Lenny Bruce, Shelley Berman, the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and Mort Sahl, his personal favorite. Comedy historian Gerald Nachman notes that Allen, while not the first to do stand-up, would eventually have greater impact than all the others in the 1960s, and would redefine the meaning of stand-up comedy: "He helped turn it into biting, brutally honest satirical commentary on the cultural and psychological tenor of the times.

Early Films:

His first movie was the Charles K. Feldman production What's New Pussycat? in 1965, for which he wrote the screenplay. He was disappointed with the final product, which inspired him to direct every film that he would later write. Allen's first directorial effort was What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966, co-written with Mickey Rose), in which an existing Japanese spy movie—Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), "International Secret Police: Key of Keys"—was redubbed in English by Allen and friends with fresh new, comic dialogue. In 1967, Allen played Jimmy Bond in the 007 spoof Casino Royale.

Allen directed, starred in, and co-wrote (with Mickey Rose) Take the Money and Run in 1969, which received positive reviews. He later signed a deal with United Artists to produce several films. Those films eventually became Bananas (1971, co-written with Rose), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (1972), Sleeper (1973), and Love and Death (1975). Sleeper was the first of four films where the screenplay was co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. 
In 1972, Allen wrote and starred in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, directed by Herbert Ross and co-starring Diane Keaton. In 1976, he starred in The Front (directed by Martin Ritt), a humorous and poignant account of Hollywood blacklisting during the 1950s.
Then came two of Allen's most popular films. Annie Hall won four Academy Awards in 1977, including Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Diane Keaton, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Woody Allen. Annie Hall set the standard for modern romantic comedy and ignited a fashion trend with the clothes worn by Diane Keaton in the film. In an interview with journalist Katie Couric, Keaton does not deny that Allen wrote the part for her and about her. She also explains that Allen wrote the part based on aspects of her personality at the time:


His 1991 film Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white homage to the German expressionists and features the music of Kurt Weill. Allen then made his critically acclaimed drama Husbands and Wives (1992), which received two Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and Best Original Screenplay for Allen. His film Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) combined suspense with dark comedy and marked the return of Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston.
He returned to lighter movies like Bullets over Broadway (1994), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, followed by a musical, Everyone Says I Love You (1996). The singing and dancing scenes in Everyone Says I Love You are similar to musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The comedy Mighty Aphrodite (1995), in which Greek drama plays a large role, won an Academy Award for Mira Sorvino. Allen's 1999 jazz-based comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown was nominated for two Academy Awards for Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress). In contrast to these lighter movies, Allen veered into darker satire towards the end of the decade with Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Celebrity (1998).


Later Career:

Allen began the new millennium with a string of comedies and mixed reviews, including Match Point in 2005, Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2008 and the romantic comedy Midnight in Paris in 2011, for which he won the 2012 Oscar for best original screenplay. To Rome with Love, a 2012 episodic comedy that featured an international cast, marked his first on-screen role in six years. Two years later, Allen was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of best original screenplay for the film Blue Jasmine (2013).

In 2014, Allen released the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight, which starred Colin Firth. In 2015, he turned back to drama with the release of his film Irrational Man, which brought together Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone in the starring roles.


Personal Life:

Allen has had three wives: Harlene Rosen (1956–1959), Louise Lasser (1966–1970) and Soon-Yi Previn (1997–present). Though he had a 12-year romantic relationship with actress Mia Farrow, the two never married. Allen also had romantic relationships with Stacey Nelkin and Diane Keaton.