She had me at la dee dah.

We have suffered a great loss in the world of cinema. Diane Keaton has died at 79. She was a star from her first moment on the screen to her last. She was spared the sad fate of so many movie stars, who spend decades outliving their fame. She worked up until last year, and was as great as ever. Hollywood can actually find roles for older women, if it tries.

She was almost certainly the only woman who had both Warren Beatty (1 movie) and Woody Allen (8 movies) as lovers.

Her acting style was amazing. She was typecast, in a way, as a ditz, but showed range in many roles. She seemed to be playing herself much of the time, but since we don’t know her, we can’t be sure. It seems unlikely. She made it look easy, and every actor I have ever heard describing their craft says “It is extremely hard work to make it look easy.” Acting is like being a duck: calm and placid on the surface, paddling away furiously under the water.

She will be missed.