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Diane Keaton Reaches ‘Lifelong Dream’ With Help From a Friend
Diane Keaton recorded an emotional Christmas song which she described as her ‘lifelong dream’ just months before her sad passing.
The Oscar-winning actress, who passed away on October 11 at the age of 79, had recorded the song First Christmas, with lyrics that capture the deep sorrow of losing someone dear and the heartache of spending the festive season without them for the first time.
In moving black-and-white footage from the studio, the Hollywood icon can be seen by a piano as she recorded her debut solo single, which has now become her final piece of music.
‘Now I wish that I could let go, it’s a silent night, it’s another year, the first Christmas without you here, I miss you so,’ are the heartfelt lyrics sung by Diane, who collaborated with her close friend and songwriter Carole Bayer Sager on the song.
Carole, who confessed she was ‘stunned’ by Diane’s ‘very thin’ appearance in her last weeks, stated she never anticipated the lyrics would take on such a poignant significance just 10 months after the song was released.
Honoring Diane’s memory, Carole remarked that she was a ‘magic light for everyone’ while sharing video clips of the duo embracing during the recording session, a clip that will now stand as a lasting testament to their friendship.
When she released the track last November, Diane wrote on Instagram that the song was ‘so close’ to her heart, telling her followers: ‘I hope it brings you some peace and comfort this holiday season, like it does for me.’
She had previously spoken about her long-standing dream of being a singer, saying: ‘I had a fantasy of being a nightclub singer that I carried through even into my early twenties. I sang a couple of gigs, as they call them, but I was not very good.’
On her passion for singing, Diane added: ‘I have this love of it. I love music. I love singing ballads and sad songs, it’s just so much fun.’
Songwriter Carole, 81, who was previously married to Burt Bacharach, shared footage of Diane recording First Christmas on Instagram, captioning the post: ‘Rest in peace Diane, you so made this world a better place.’
In a second post, the friends can be seen holding hands and hugging, with a grieving Carole adding: ‘Whoever dreamed the lyric could apply to you.’
The lyrics to First Christmas, co-written by singer-songwriter Jonas Myrin, 42, include: ‘When you love someone for so, so long, but they’re not coming home… I never thought I’d do this on my own…
‘The snow falls on my window, I wish that I could let go, it’s a silent night, it’s another year… The first Christmas without you here.’
Jonas who played the piano for Diane as she recorded the festive ballad, wrote a heartfelt tribute to the actress, saying he was ‘heartbroken’ by her passing.
He wrote: ‘To have been trusted to help bring her lifelong dream of recording an original song to life is something I’ll carry with me forever.
‘First Christmas, which I co-wrote with Carole and produced for Diane last year, became her first and final song, and now those words hold a meaning I could have never imagined.
‘Beyond the song itself, it’s the memories from our time together that I hold closest. Diane always filled the room with such laughter and little jokes that kept us smiling, and she always arrived so stylishly, as if ready for a Vogue shoot at any moment.’
Jonas also recounted how much the song meant to Diane, revealing she called him in tears, overwhelmed by what a milestone it was for her.
He added: ‘I will never forget when she called me, saying that getting to sing this song was one of the greatest gifts of her career.
‘It was a dream she had carried her whole life to sing and record an original song and being able to help her bring that dream to life with Carole was incredibly special.’
Ending the post, Jonas said: ‘Diane was fearless, curious, generous, and full of love in everything she did. Her voice, her heart, and her art will live on in those notes and in the legacy she leaves behind.’
In contrast to her illustrious career, which saw the actress star in Annie Hall, Reds, and Something’s Gotta Give, Diane’s final weeks were spent in solitude.
A source revealed to People magazine that Diane had become a ‘recluse’ amid the ‘rapid decline’ in her health.
‘It was unexpected, especially for someone with such strength and spirit,’ a friend told the US publication.
Carole explained how Diane’s life had been affected by the Los Angeles wildfires in January, which led her to move to Palm Springs.
It had been some time before the friends were able to meet up, and Carole said she was ‘stunned’ by Diane’s dramatic weight loss.
She said: ‘I saw her two or three weeks ago, and she was very thin. She had lost so much weight. She had to go to Palm Springs because her house had been damaged inside, and they had to clean everything.
‘She was down there for a while, and when she came back, I was kind of stunned by how much weight she’d lost.’
The sudden deterioration in Diane’s health led her to make the heartbreaking decision to sell her ‘dream home’ in Sullivan Canyon, Los Angeles, which she had spent years renovating.
After writing her book The House That Pinterest Built, which detailed the refurbishments to her home, Diane listed the property for £21 million earlier this year.
Alongside her award-winning career and A-list properties, Diane leaves behind her beloved children.
Diane, who famously dated Al Pacino, Woody Allen, and Warren Beatty, became a single mother for the first time in her 50s after adopting two children.
She raised daughter Dexter and son Duke, adopted in 1996 and 2001, on her own, saying that ‘motherhood was not an urge I could resist.’
