It was in some of the small comedy clubs in Greenwich Village that a relatively unknown amateur stand-up comic, Woody Allen, began developing a character routine about a nervous and neurotic Jewish New Yorker that became his trademark and launched his career.
Before that he had been writing for different television shows like The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Caesar’s Hour. In the 1960s he began writing screenplays, often directing and starring in them himself. While he had built up a bit of a cult following for his early works, it was the movie Annie Hall that really placed him in the ranks of one of the top filmmakers in America.
He has written several short stories and plays, and is also an accomplished clarinetist, playing regularly in Manhattan.
His published writings include The Insanity Defense (a collection that includes Getting Even, Without Feathers and Side Effects) and Mere Anarchy. Allen’s theater projects include Riverside Drive, Old Saybrook, Central Park West, Death, Don’t Drink the Water and Play It Again, Sam.