Woody Allen

Before he emerged as one of the foremost American filmmakers of the 20th century, Woody Allen was a standup comic. Although his tenure as a performing comedian was relatively short-lived, its importance to the development of his later work was pivotal; on-stage and on record, Allen honed to perfection the uniquely neurotic and uniquely New York sensibility which became the hallmarks of his career as an actor, writer, and director, firmly establishing the self-deprecating, awkward persona which long defined him in the eyes of the movie-going public. Woody Allen was born Allen ...