Iconic Celebrity #10: Woody Allen
To movie lovers around the world, and especially native New Yorkers, Woody Allen is the voice of New York City. For over six decades, his books, movies, plays, stories and comedy routines have drawn their inspiration from and depicted life – or at least Allen's view of it – in New York. Although Allen has found inspiration for some of his latest and most acclaimed films abroad (notably "Match Point," which was filmed in London, "Midnight in Paris" and "To Rome, With Love"), there is no doubt that his heart belongs to New York.
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He Adored New York City
"Chapter 1. He adored New York City," says Woody Allen in the voiceover of the opening scene to "Manhattan," the filmmaker's masterful homage to his hometown. "He idolized it all out of proportion...no, make that... he – he romanticized all out of proportion."
Although Allen's character in the film rewrites that opening line four times in the first four minutes of the movie, that initial thought brilliantly sums up how the writer, director, producer and star of so many classic, popular and acclaimed films really sees New York City.
Early Beginnings
Born Allan Stewart Konigsberg in 1935 in the Bronx, Heywood "Woody" Allen was raised in Brooklyn. As a lifelong resident of NYC, Woody continues to draw upon its people, traditions, cultures, quirks and glories for inspiration for his comedies, his romances and his dramas. His movies, plays, books and other works are rife with jokes about and allusions to his Jewish upbringing, his student years at NYU and City College (from which he flunked out), his days as a script-writer for the big network television shows that were produced in New York – including "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show" – and his nights on the nightclub circuit in Greenwich Village. New York's museums, restaurants, parks, shops and streets are featured prominently in his films, as are its working class and upper class residents – many of whom he pokes fun at -- and not always good-naturedly-- as Woody does not suffer pompous fools, especially the city's snobby and intellectual elite.
New York, A Leading Man In Allen's Films
Allen has made New York the centerpiece, the setting and the love interest in many of his more than 40 films. While 1979's "Manhattan" is his masterwork, especially on that score, he has set and filmed his stories all over the city and its boroughs. From Broadway to the Hayden Planetarium, from the Carlyle Hotel to the Whitney Museum, and from Coney Island to The 21 Club, Allen has done more than just place his stories in New York, he has made the city a character in those stories. New York is the star or at least the co-star in so much of his work, including "Annie Hall," "Bullets Over Broadway," "Hannah and Her Sisters," "Mighty Aphrodite," "The Front," "Manhattan Murder Mystery," "Broadway Danny Rose," "Radio Days" and "New York Stories," just to name a few.
At Times, A Tempestuous Relationship
Allen has had a life-long love affair with New York. It has, however, like many love affairs, been rocky at times, especially when it was tested by largely negative reactions to his romantic relationship with, and subsequent marriage to, Mia Farrow's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, whom Woody helped raise during their 12-year partnership (Woody and Mia were never married, and Woody was not Soon-Yi's legal stepfather). More recent allegations of abuse by Mia Farrow and Dylan Farrow, whom she and Woody did adopt together, continue to play out in the New York press.
Giving Back to the City That Made Him
Woody Allen has paid the price in loss of privacy and bad press that every celebrity seems to pay, but if anyone is a true "mensch," as he says, of so many of the best characters in his films, it is Woody. New York helped make him wealthy and famous, and he has given back to the city through his support for many charities, notably the St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters. The charity has more than 25 shelters, soup kitchens, safe havens and drop-in centers in the New York area that provide free clothing, toiletries, diapers and other necessities to families in need. Last year they served over 1.5 million free meals to needy New Yorkers. Allen also supports the Doe Fund to fight homelessness in New York, and is also a major backer of the American Foundation for Aids Research.
"New York Was His Town, and It Always Would Be"
Woody has always and continues to give back to New York, not only through his charities, but through his mostly positive portrayal of the city and its people. Perhaps this is why to most native New Yorkers, especially those of a certain age, Woody has been, still is and always will be one of them. To his fans and many fellow New Yorkers, Woody is the one artist who best expresses how they feel about their city. As the final line in the opening sequence of "Manhattan" puts it: "New York was his town, and it always would be."
Mark G. McLaughlin is a professional and prolific writer with a proven publishing record in a wide variety of fields. An historian, novelist, freelance journalist, ghost-writer, book reviewer, magazine editor, web and magazine columnist, Mark has more than 30 years of experience. His work can be found at Examiner.com.
