HATS OFF TO DIANE

Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star who turned vulnerability and wit into art and made a style statement with her hat, passed away at 79

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Oscar-winning star Diane Keaton, known for her work in films like Annie Hall — which won her the golden statue — as also The Godfather films and Father of the Bride passed away age 79.

People reported that the actress — whose quirky, vibrant manner and depth made her one of the most singular actors of a generation — 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.

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 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 her first 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; 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."

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