The Unruly Life Of Woody Allen - Tapa dura

Previous biographies have either been principally studies of his work (John Baxter¿s WOODY ALLEN: A LIFE, HarperCollins, 1998) or authorised (Eric Lax¿s WOODY ALLEN: A LIFE, Cape, 1992). Marion Meade tells the whole story from his working class beginnings in the Bronx, through his early career as a gag writer for New York newspaper columnists, his struggles as a stand-up comedian, to his break-through into films with What¿s New Pussycat (which he wrote and starred in alongside Peter O¿Toole). As a writer/director he has made many films most notably Annie Hall (starring Diane Keaton with whom he lived for many years), Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters (with Mia Farrow, with whom he had a 13 year relationship) and Broadway Danny Rose. Marion Meade¿s is an unauthorised life, but many of those close to Allen both professionally and personally have talked as her previous books on Keaton and Dorothy Parker were widely praised.

Marion Meade is the author of six biographies, including Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell is This?, and two novels. The New York Times Book Review selected her last biography, Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase, as one of the notable American books of 1995. She studied at Northwestern University and received a Master¿s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She lives in New York City.