- Born
- Birth nameAllan Stewart Konigsberg
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Woody Allen was born on November 30, 1935, as Allen Konigsberg, in The Bronx, NY, the son of Martin Konigsberg and Nettie Konigsberg. He has one younger sister, Letty Aronson. As a young boy, he became intrigued with magic tricks and playing the clarinet, two hobbies that he continues today.
Allen broke into show business at 15 years when he started writing jokes for a local paper, receiving $200 a week. He later moved on to write jokes for talk shows but felt that his jokes were being wasted. His agents, Charles Joffe and Jack Rollins, convinced him to start doing stand-up and telling his own jokes. Reluctantly he agreed and, although he initially performed with such fear of the audience that he would cover his ears when they applauded his jokes, he eventually became very successful at stand-up. After performing on stage for a few years, he was approached to write a script for Warren Beatty to star in: What's New Pussycat (1965) and would also have a moderate role as a character in the film. During production, Woody gave himself more and better lines and left Beatty with less compelling dialogue. Beatty inevitably quit the project and was replaced by Peter Sellers, who demanded all the best lines and more screen-time.
It was from this experience that Woody realized that he could not work on a film without complete control over its production. Woody's theoretical directorial debut was in What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966); a Japanese spy flick that he dubbed over with his own comedic dialogue about spies searching for the secret recipe for egg salad. His real directorial debut came the next year in the mockumentary Take the Money and Run (1969). He has written, directed and, more often than not, starred in about a film a year ever since, while simultaneously writing more than a dozen plays and several books of comedy.
While best known for his romantic comedies Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979), Woody has made many transitions in his films throughout the years, transitioning from his "early, funny ones" of Bananas (1971), Love and Death (1975) and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972); to his more storied and romantic comedies of Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986); to the Bergmanesque films of Stardust Memories (1980) and Interiors (1978); and then on to the more recent, but varied works of Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Husbands and Wives (1992), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Celebrity (1998) and Deconstructing Harry (1997); and finally to his films of the last decade, which vary from the light comedy of Scoop (2006), to the self-destructive darkness of Match Point (2005) and, most recently, to the cinematically beautiful tale of Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Although his stories and style have changed over the years, he is regarded as one of the best filmmakers of our time because of his views on art and his mastery of filmmaking.- IMDb Mini Biography By: David McCollum and Michael Castrignano
- SpousesSoon-Yi Previn(December 22, 1997 - present) (2 children)Louise Lasser(February 2, 1966 - January 1970) (divorced)Harlene Susan Rosen(March 15, 1956 - November 1962) (divorced)
- Children
- Parents
- RelativesLetty Aronson(Sibling)Erika Aronson(Niece or Nephew)
- Frequently plays a neurotic New Yorker
- A lot of his movies feature at least one character who is a writer. This is often Woody himself.
- Nearly all of his films start and end with white-on-black credits, set in the Windsor typeface, set to jazz music, without any scrolling.
- Films his dialog using long, medium-range shots instead of the typical intercut close-ups
- Manages his one-film-per-year schedule by setting strict budgets. Actors--famous or otherwise--receive the same salary.
- Writes his scripts on a typewriter. He does not own a personal computer, and has his e-mail account managed by assistants.
- Does not allow his films to be edited for airlines and television broadcasts.
- According to Mia Farrow's biography, "What Falls Away", Frank Sinatra offered to have Allen's legs broken when he was found to be having an affair with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.
- Suspended from New York University.
- I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying.
- I'm not afraid of dying . . . I just don't want to be there when it happens.
- [in 1977] This year I'm a star, but what will I be next year? A black hole?
- On the plus side, death is one of the few things that can be done just as easily lying down.
- [asked if he liked the idea of living on on the silver screen] I'd rather live on in my apartment.
- Deconstructing Harry (1998) - $2,500,000
- Bullets Over Broadway (1995) - $1,500,000
- Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) - $500,000 +15% first-dollar gross
- What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) - $66,000
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