Diane Keaton, Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall' and The Godfather,' dies at 79, reports say
Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star of “Annie Hall,” “The Godfather” films and “Father of the Bride,” whose quirky, vibrant manner and depth made her one of the most singular actors of a generation, has died. She was 79.
People Magazine reported Saturday that she died in California with loved ones, citing a family spokesperson. No other details were immediately available, and representatives for Keaton did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.
The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.
“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!,” Bette Midler said in a post on Instagram. She and Keaton co-starred in “The First Wives Club.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, who played her nephew in “Marvin’s Room” when he was 18, wrote on Instagram that she was “one of a kind. Brilliant, funny and unapologetically herself...she will be deeply missed.”
Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in that necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family.
Her star-making performances in the 1970s, many of which were in Woody Allen films, were not a flash in the pan either, and she would continue to charm new generations for decades thanks in part to a longstanding collaboration with filmmaker Nancy Meyers.
She played a businessperson who unexpectedly inherits an infant in “Baby Boom,” the mother of the bride in the beloved remake of “Father of the Bride,” a newly single woman in “The First Wives Club,” and a divorced playwright who gets involved with Jack Nicholson’s music executive in “Something’s Gotta Give.”
Keaton won an Oscar for “Annie Hall” and would go on to be nominated three more times, for “Reds,” playing the journalist and suffragist Louise Bryant, “Marvin’s Room,” as a caregiver who suddenly needs care herself, and “Something’s Gotta Give,” as a middle-aged divorcee who is the object of several men’s affections.
In her very Keaton way, upon accepting her Oscar in 1978 she laughed and said, “This is something.”
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pak, Afghan forces trade fire along Chaman border: Report
Islamabad (PTI): A heavy exchange of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces was reported from the key Chaman border, according to a media report on Saturday.
Injuries were reported from the district hospital, but no fatalities occurred, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Officials from both sides accused each other of instigating the flare-up late on Friday night across the border in the Balochistan province.
While Pakistani officials said that Afghan forces had fired mortar shells on the Badani area, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed it was Pakistan that launched an attack on Spin Boldak, alleging that their forces were responding.
Pakistan's official sources told Dawn that Pakistani forces retaliated against the Afghan aggression and returned fire.
There were also reports of fighting on the Chaman-Kandahar highway, but these could not be immediately verified.
A senior official in Quetta confirmed on condition of anonymity that the exchange of fire started around 10 pm and continued until late at night.
The medical superintendent of Chaman district hospital said that three injured, including a woman, were brought to the medical facility.
There was neither any official word from the Inter-Services Public Relations -- Pakistan Army's media wing -- nor from the Foreign Office.
The Chaman border crossing, also known as Friendship Gate, connects Balochistan province to Afghanistan’s Kandahar.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated amidst regular allegations by Pakistan regarding the failure of the Afghan regime to deny safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists.
The two countries had agreed on a ceasefire following tensions last month, but the Foreign Office said last month that technically there was no truce as it was contingent on the Afghan Taliban stopping terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which they had failed to do.
