Woody Allen was born in Brooklyn, NY in the December of 1935 as Allan Stewart Konigsberg. In his childhood he enjoyed magic, movies, and music. Mr. Allen got started writing comedy for his school newspaper while in High School but he wasn’t sure what he wanted to be in his adult career. He went to college, but he dropped out. With help of a relative, the young Allan started writing for radio and television.
At age 25, he began performing even though he had immense stage fright. He would practice at small clubs till he could get over being in front of larger and larger audiences. His first film was the 1965 classic “What’s New Pussycat?”. His first directing role was in 1966 for “What’s Up, Tiger Lily?”. From there he has been very active as a Writer, Director, and Actor often being all three in many of his movies.
Woody Allen’s success can be attributed to his insane work ethic. He is known for constantly practicing and perfecting his interests, often times locking himself away in his own apartment to work with little interaction with the outside world. This has been an advantage in that his movies are often un-influenced by other people’s work. Woody Allen tries to stay true to himself. Instead of making movies that he believes will be commercial success, he makes ones he would want to watch.
Looking over Woody Allen’s life we can see wild success, but it comes at a price. Neurosis, anxiety, and anti-social behavior is the curse this talented man must live with. It seems for Mr. Allen, being productive and prolific in the art form of film is his coping mechanism to life.
If you would like to see Woody Allen’s extensive filmography list click here.
