What you need to know
Patricia Arquette is remembering Diane Keaton.
Speaking exclusively to insiders at the New York City premiere of Murdough: Death in the Family on Monday, October 13, the Severance actress, 57, shared fond memories of working with the late Oscar-winning actress.
“She was very improvisational, very animated, very generous,” Arquette tells PEOPLE about co-starring with Keaton in the 1991 TV movie “Wildflowers.” Keaton also directed Arquette in the 1990 CBS School Break special episode, “The Girl with the Crazy Brother.”
Keaton, who passed away on Saturday, October 11, at the age of 79, directed both this film and the aforementioned television series.
Arquette told PEOPLE that the First Wives Club alum had a great vision for “beauty and design, photography and art,” and “art and music.”
“She was so energetic, so full of life,” the Oscar winner continues of Keaton. “There was no pretense,” she says.
The Medium star also praised the legendary actress for being “exactly who she is,” noting that “we have very few original artists, real original artists.”
“What an actress,” Arquette told PEOPLE, reflecting on Keaton’s decades-long career. “You know if you’ve seen ‘Reds’ (1981) or ‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’ (1977)? It’s all about comedy, but obviously ‘Annie Hall’ (1977) and ‘The Godfather’. I mean, her acting is incredible.”
Keaton’s role in Annie Hall earned her an Oscar for Best Actress. Keaton also appeared in all three The Godfather films as Al Pacino’s on-screen wife Kay.
“I was skipping school to watch the Reds,” Arquette tells PEOPLE about one of her favorite movies starring Keaton.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) confirmed to PEOPLE that they responded to Keaton’s home at 8:08 a.m. local time on Saturday and transported the 79-year-old woman to the hospital.
“Further details are unknown at this time and her family asks for privacy at this moment of great sadness,” a spokesperson for the actress tells PEOPLE.
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Keaton acted in plays in high school throughout his teens, and after graduating in 1964 went to college to study theater.
Although she did not graduate from college, Keaton continued to pursue her dreams and landed the lead role in Woody Allen’s Broadway show Play It Again, Sam in 1969, for which Keaton was nominated for a Tony Award.
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“I knew what I wanted in life, and I went after it,” Keaton said in his final interview with PEOPLE. “It makes things simpler when you’re someone you always know. Otherwise, it’s hard to find your way.”
Keaton is survived by two children, a daughter, Dexter, and a son, Duke, whom he adopted in 1996 and 2001, respectively.
Arquette’s next project is Murdaugh: Death in the Family, in which Jason Clarke plays Alex Murdaugh, a former South Carolina lawyer convicted of murdering his wife (played by Arquette) and son (played by Johnny Berchtold). The series will debut on Hulu on Wednesday, October 15th.
