The Woodman

Woody Allen turns 74 today.

He's one of the most respected filmmakers in the world, and is a rare artist who did it his way. Giving up a remunerative comedy-writing career, he went from stand-up to Broadway to TV specials to movies (and still turns out the occasional play or New Yorker piece).

He write, directs and usually stars in his movies. He's been turning them out at a pace of about one a year since the late 60s. There's no one like him.