Woody Allen was born Allan Stewart Konigsberg on 1 December 1935, New York. At the age of fifteen he started writing quips for newspapers, using the pseudonym ‘Woody Allen’. He then worked as a writer for television performers, but later switched to be a comedian in nightclubs. There he was spotted by a film producer and wrote ‘What’s Up, Pussy Cat?’ in 1965.
His first theatrical attempt was in 1966 when he directed ‘What’s Up, Tiger Lily?’ Later he did films like Bananas (1971), and the controversial ‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex’.
Since then, one of his trademark formed - he always puts himself in the lead role in the movies he directs. Also, he developed his weird habit of talking to the camera as if it were a living thing.
Later, he went on to more serious material like ‘Love and Death’ in 1975 and ‘Annie Hall’ in 1977. The latter won an Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best director, and 2 other awards.
Allen also diversified to write plays; he did ‘Don’t Drink the Water’ in 1966, and ‘Play it Again, Sam’ in 1969, and also wrote humourous books like ‘Getting Even’ in 1971 and ‘Without Feathers’ in 1976.
His more recent films are ‘Mighty Aphrodite’ in 1995, which won an Oscar, and ‘Everybody Says I Love You’ in 1996, which was a mixture between a musical and a film. Both were well-received. ‘Sunshine Boys’ and ‘Deconstructing Harry’ are two films done in 1997 and yet to hit the screens. However, critics are predicting that the two films would be well-received.
Allen’s films are not very main stream, for they always depict very real situations in life, and he especially likes to play neurotic, underachieving New Yorkers involved in complicated love situations. Perhaps it was because of his own problems in life - he had been married 3 times, and his present girlfriend was he adopted daughter of his second wife.