Allen Stewart Konigsberg was born on December 1, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Martin and Nelttie Konigsberg. Some sources incorrectly claim his first name to be “Woodrow.” By the time he was fifteen years of age, he was selling one-liners to gossip columns. He graduated from Midwood High School in Brooklyn, and attended New York University for a while. He was suspended from college and never graduated. In his stand-up days, he referred to himself as ”Heywood”, and while he was working in that capacity, he was hired to write “What’s New, Pussycat?” in 1965. A year after, he directed his first film, “What’s Up, Tiger Lily?”
He often makes films about a director making films and casts himself in the role. If there is one character in the film who is a writer, that role is usually played by him as well. He is often a neurotic New Yorker, which is the favorite locale (and type of person) of nearly all of his films. Of all the actors who have worked with him, Diane Keaton, Alan Alda, Mia Farrow and Judy Davis are the most frequently seen.
Known for his trademark thick black glasses that have remained unchanged since the 1960s, Woody Allen is one of the most prolific filmmakers of all time. He has written, produced and more often than not starred in a film almost every year since 1969. He has more Academy Awards (fourteen) for writing than anyone else in the industry. All of them are “Written Directly For The Screen” Category. In addition to being a comedian, musician and filmmaker, he is also a respected playwright.
Married four times, Woody Allen is the father of five children (two adopted), and his life and personal choices have brought him more than his share of controversy. Perhaps the most prominent unpopular move he made (which certainly lost him a lot of fans), was his marriage to a step-daughter through Mia Farrow and her former husband, Andre Previn. Although the girl was not a blood relative, Allen had been a father figure to her, and all of the incestuous implications of the liaison were there for a more than willing press to spread as far and in as ugly a manner as possible.
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