Diane Keaton, known for her unique brand of comedic timing and inimitable style, has died, producer Dori Rath who worked with Keaton confirmed to CNN on Saturday.
Keaton was 79.
Her death was first reported by People magazine. CNN has reached out to her representatives, and the Los Angeles Police Department, which did not answer questions and referred inquiries to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner, which had no record of her death.
No cause of death was immediately available.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department told CNN that they received a call for medical assistance this morning at Keaton’s address and paramedics transferred a person to a hospital.
Keaton was a celebrated and prolific actor whose career spanned decades, early on earning an Academy Award in the best actress category for 1977’s “Annie Hall.” The film showcased Keaton’s abilities in the realm of comedy but also displayed her nimble handling of authentic and vulnerable moments.
Additionally, “Annie Hall” introduced filmgoers to Keaton’s matchless and gender-nonconforming sense of style – immediately identifiable by her use of men’s slacks, vests and hats. Decidedly ahead of her time from a fashion perspective, Keaton maintained a commitment to this sartorial mix well into her older years.
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An undeniable comedic talent who said in 1997 that she’s “more inclined to live comfortably in the world of humor,” Keaton nonetheless also made her mark in a number of dramatic movies – including a pivotal role in Francis Ford Coppola’s acclaimed “Godfather” films, in which she played Kay, wife to Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone.
Starting out
Keaton, who bore no relation to Buster or Michael, was born Diane Hall in 1946 in Los Angeles. In a 2004 “Fresh Air” podcast, she talked about how her mother, a homemaker and amateur photographer, won pageants and became Mrs. Highland Park and later Mrs. Los Angeles, which first gave her the urge to perform.
“I did want to go on stage, I saw that that was something that did appeal to me,” she said. “There she was in the theater, and I saw the curtain open and there was my mother, and I thought, ‘Hm, I think I’d like that for myself.’”
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| Al Pacino and Diane Keaton in "The Godfather." Courtesy Everett Collection/ |
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After finding her place on the theater stage in the late 1960s in a Broadway production of “Hair” – in which she gained some notoriety for declining to perform nude for one of the musical numbers and thereby forewent a sizable (at the time) $50 bonus – Keaton burst onto the film scene with the first “Godfather” film in 1972, going on to appear in several films throughout the decade opposite the writer and director Woody Allen, who was also her romantic partner around that time.
The films they acted in together include Allen’s “Sleeper” and “Play It Again Sam,” but it was her star turn in “Annie Hall,” in which she played the joyous and carefree titular character who falls in love with Allen’s bumbling, self-hating comedian, that would prove most memorable.
Leading lady
From there, Keaton enjoyed leading star-status in a fair share of notable films, including 1977’s “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” and 1981’s “Reds” opposite Warren Beatty, a film that scored multiple Oscar nods including another one for her.
Another classic film starring Keaton from the ’80s era was 1987’s “Baby Boom,” which featured her as a high-powered ad exec who suddenly finds herself saddled with the infant of a dead long-lost relative. The fish-out-of-water comedy costarred Sam Shepard and reminded audiences of Keaton’s deft skills at leading a movie that mixed the funny with the dramatic and thought-provoking.
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| Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Bette Midler in "First Wives Club." Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection |
The 1990s saw Keaton team up with her contemporary Hollywood powerhouses Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn for the hit 1996 comedy “First Wives Club,” about a trio of women who exact artful revenge on their husbands after the men leave them for younger women. Raking in $181 million at the domestic box office, “First Wives” was welcome proof that a successful film didn’t exclusively have to include explosions or aliens, and could even be led by three women in their 50s.
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