Woody Allen's forgotten first wife who he dubbed 'Quasimodo' in his nightclub act breaks her silence after nearly 50 years 

  • Harlene Rosen was 16 when she married Woody Allen before he was famous in 1956
  • Their relationship turned sour when Allen began mocking a 'generic wife' on stage and TV 
  • She has written a heartfelt message to former husband ahead of his 80th birthday
  • Her tribute appears in Woody, a new biography published this week

By Jay Akbar For Mailonline

Published: 12:51 EST, 1 November 2015 | Updated: 18:43 EST, 1 November 2015

The first wife of American director Woody Allen has broken her silence almost 50 years after their bitter divorce.

Harlene Rosen was 16 when she married Allen - before he was famous - and later took legal action against him when he referred to her as 'Quasimodo' in his nightclub act and on TV.

She has now decided to end the hostilities by writing a heartfelt public message ahead of his 80th birthday next month.

Scroll down for video 

Harlene Rosen (left) was 16 when she married Allen (right) - before he was famous - and later took legal action against him when he referred to her as 'Quasimodo' in his nightclub act and on TV

Harlene Rosen (left) was 16 when she married Allen (right) - before he was famous - and later took legal action against him when he referred to her as 'Quasimodo' in his nightclub act and on TV

Allen was 19 when he proposed to Rosen in 1955 and they married the next year. She had played the piano in his jazz band but the relationship soured when he began making fun of a 'generic wife' in public, Dalya Alberge of the Sunday Times has reported.

Her tribute appears in Woody, a new biography published by St Martin's Press this week, and reads: 'Wondrous Woody, you inspired me with your enormous energy, creativity and charisma.

I loved going to movies with you. I loved making music with you... After our teenage summer of love, marriage was difficult. 

'You established a career. I completed four years of college. We supported each other, learnt about life and became adults. There was sadness, tears, laughter and love.'

Rosen sent the message to the book's author David Evanier who claims this is her first public statement in more than 30 years.

Allen agreed to pay $75 a week in alimony after they divorced in 1963 and that could have risen to $175 if he had a steady job. 

In the new biography, a research psychologist called Jack Victor told of how Allen wrote to him about his loneliness a year after they married.

Victor said: 'Leaving when she did, as Woody was about to make it, she got a bad deal.'

Allen (pictured in July) agreed to pay $75 a week in alimony after they divorced and that could have risen to $175 if he had a steady job

Allen (pictured in July) agreed to pay $75 a week in alimony after they divorced and that could have risen to $175 if he had a steady job

Allen went on to direct the films including Midnight In Paris, which made nearly £100million and Blue Jasmine, which earned around £60million. 

The book also includes interviews with some of the famous director's childhood friends who remember him as 'the funniest person' and an anxious youngster.

They said he 'never wavered' from his pursuit of becoming a comedian and practised 'in front of the mirror for seven hours a day'.

The book tackles the accusations of sexual abuse made by his ex-wife, actress Mia Farrow, and her adopted daughter Dylan. Allen was cleared of the allegations.

It also goes into his marriage to another one of Farrow's adopted daughters, Soon-Yi. 

When Evanier met Allen and asked him about the greatest joy in his life, he replied: 'My marriage to Soon-Yi. And my children.'

 

Comments (39)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now