Al Pacino is honoring Diane Keaton, his former co-star and ex-girlfriend, following her dying.
Keaton died of pneumonia on Oct. 11. She was 79.
On Thursday, the “Scarface” star, 85, broke his silence concerning the beloved Oscar winner in a touching message shared with Deadline.
“When I first heard the news, I was shaken,” Pacino stated. “Diane was my partner, my friend, someone who brought me happiness and on more than one occasion influenced the direction of my life. Though over 30 years has [passed] since we were together, the memories remain vivid, and with her passing, they have returned with a force that is both painful and moving.”
Pacino and Keaton famously starred as Michael and Kay Corleone in “The Godfather” movie franchise. Off display, the previous couple was collectively on and off from the early Nineteen Seventies till they known as it quits for good in 1990.
The longtime actor, who was in Paris capturing a movie with French director Luc Besson when Keaton died, gushed over how the late star “lived without limits.”
“Everything she touched carried her unmistakable energy,” Pacino continued. “She opened doors for others, inspired generations and embodied a once-in-a-lifetime gift that radiated through her work and her life.”
Ron Galella, Ltd. by way of Getty Photographs
Wrapping up his heartfelt tribute, the filmmaker added, “People will miss her, but more than that, they will remember her. She left a mark that cannot fade. She was unstoppable, resilient and above all, deeply human. I will always remember her. She could fly — and in my heart, she always will.”
Keaton beforehand recalled to Folks in 2017 how she first grew to become infatuated with Pacino on the set of “The Godfather.”
“I was mad for him. Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker,” she instructed the outlet. “There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan, like this kind of crazy idiot savant. And oh, gorgeous!”
Keaton stated she and Pacino ultimately parted methods after she gave him an ultimatum to marry her, which he declined.
“I worked hard on that one. I went about it in not a perfect way,” she defined.
Regardless of their cut up, the pair continued publicly supporting one another earlier than Keaton’s dying.
When Keaton obtained the American Movie Institute’s forty fifth Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, Pacino lauded Keaton onstage, saying, “You’re a great artist. I love you forever.”
