Steve Martin has paid tribute to the late Deane Keaton by sharing a cherished college playbill from their earliest joint theatrical venture as aspiring young performers.
Tributes have poured in from friends and fans worldwide for Keaton—a cinematic icon known for roles in Annie Hall and The Godfather—following her sudden and unexpected passing at the age of 79 on Saturday.
Martin, who shared the screen with her in the 1991 comedy Father Of The Bride, fondly recalled their time working together during a college rendition of popular musical Carousel.
On Sunday, the 80-year-old comedian took to Instagram to share a playbill from their student production, staged while both were teenage acting students at Santa Ana College in Southern California.
The extensive cast list highlights Keaton—then using her birth name, Diane Hall—in the leading role of Carrie Pipperidge, the musical’s main character.
Captioning the post, he wrote: ‘This playbill is from a 1964 college production of Carousel. Diane “Hall” (Keaton) is the lead; I’m a stage hand.’
Steve Martin has remembered the late Deane Keaton by sharing a treasured college playbill from their first stage production as young, aspiring actors
Martin also shared a snippet from an Interview magazine article where Martin Short poses the question: ‘Who’s sexier, me or Steve Martin?’ to which Keaton humorously responds, ‘I mean, you’re both idiots.’
Captioning the post, her Father Of The Bride co-star wrote: ‘Don’t know who first posted this, but it sums up our delightful relationship with Diane.’
Elsewhere the actor shared a black and white image of Keaton alongside the simple caption: ‘Loved.’
Both Martin and Keaton would go on to enjoy hugely successful careers, with the two friends eventually playing husband and wife in Father Of The Bride and its two sequels.
Details were not immediately available regarding the circumstances surrounding Keaton’s death and her loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People.
Keaton was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in Annie Hall, the charming girlfriend of Allen’s comic Alvy Singer.
The film also garnered Oscars for best picture, best director and best original screenplay, cementing Keaton’s place as one of the industry’s top actresses and an offbeat style icon as well.
The actress made her mark co-starring in eight Allen movies, from Play It Again, Sam to Manhattan and Manhattan Murder Mystery.
Martin, who famously starred alongside the actress in 1991 comedy Father Of The Bride (pictured) recalled working with her on a college production of popular musical Carousel
Friends and fans across the world have shared tributes to Keaton following her sudden and unexpected death at the age of 79 on Saturday
The actor also shared a black and white photo of Keaton with the simple caption, ‘Loved’
Martin is pictured with close friend Keaton at her 45th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute ceremony in 2017
In The Godfather films, she played Kay Adams, the girlfriend and eventual wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone.
Apart from the Allen cannon, fans adored her portrayal as Martin’s wife in 1991 comedy Father of the Bride, as the nervous and doting couple plan an extravagant wedding for their daughter.
Late in her career, Keaton starred in two movies about aging women; Book Club, with its message that love has no age, and Poms, the story of a terminally ill woman who moves to a retirement community to die, but winds up forming a cheerleading squad.
A BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, Keaton scored Oscar nominations three other times for best actress, for Reds, Marvin’s Room and Something’s Gotta Give.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, home of the Oscars, said in a tribute to Keaton: ‘Some actors play emotions. Diane Keaton lived inside them.’
