Stan - Woody ALLEN (born 1935)

The "poet of America's emotionally disenfranchised," Woody Allen wove his movie fables of urban neuroses in a framework of classic slapstick. As a film director, Allen viewed life as a concentration camp from which no one can escape alive.

Woody was born Allen (or Alan) Stewart Konigsberg on Dec. 1, 1935, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Until he was 18, Woody read virtually nothing but comic books, but he was a natural writer. He began selling one-liners for ten cents each to gossip columnists. In the early 1960s Allen began performing as a stand-up comic. His humour was based on exaggerations from his own life.

His fast-growing reputation brought an offer to write and act in a movie, which became the surrealistic farce 'What's New, Pussycat?' (1965). 'What's Up, Tiger Lily?' (1966) was a Japanese spy film that he converted into a comedy by dubbing in his own freewheeling dialogue. Meanwhile, he had two Broadway hits 'Don't Drink the Water' (1966) and 'Play It Again, Sam' (1969; film 1972), in which he played a neurotic film critic who enlists the help of Humphrey Bogart's ghost to get a girl.

To maintain control over his material, Allen became a director with 'Take the Money and Run' (1969), a mock documentary about a would-be public enemy. 'Bananas' (1971) depicted life as a television game show. Other films, in which the bizarre sight gags submerge Allen's neuroticism, were 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex' (1972), 'Sleeper' (1973), and 'Love and Death' (1975).

By the time he made the introspective 'Annie Hall' (1977), his definitive chronicle of the flaws and failures of relationships, Allen was willing to delete scattershot gags that would have damaged its credibility. It brought him three Academy awards for best picture, best direction, and best screenplay.

For 'Manhattan' (1979), he won another Oscar for direction. 'A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy' (1982) was the movie in which Mia Farrow replaced Diane Keaton as the prototypical Allen heroine.

In his acclaimed 'Zelig' (1983) Allen portrayed a man so eager to conform that he becomes a human chameleon. He developed an informal repertory of performers for films like 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' (1985), 'Hannah and Her Sisters' (1986, best screenplay), and 'Radio Days' (1987). Among his later films were 'Crimes and Misdemeanors' (1989), 'Alice' (1990), 'Shadows and Fog' (1992), and 'Husbands and Wives' (1992). Allen's books include 'Getting Even' (1971), 'Without Feathers' (1975), and 'Side Effects' (1980).

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