Steve Martin is recalling a fond memory of Diane Keaton following her death at age 79.
Martin, 80, took to Instagram on Sunday, October 12, to share a photo of a playbill from Santa Ana College’s 1964 production of Carousel. Keaton’s name was circled under the list of leads, although she was listed as Diane Hall — her father’s surname. (Keaton took her mother’s maiden name after joining the Actors’ Equity Association, as there was already a Diane Hall registered with the organization.)
Elsewhere on the playbill, Martin’s name was circled under the list of building crew members.
“This playbill is from a 1964 college production of Carousel,” Martin captioned the post. “Diane ‘Hall’ (Keaton) is the lead; I’m a stage hand.”
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Martin and Keaton, whose death was confirmed on Saturday, October 11, were both acting students at the southern California college in the ‘60s. They went on to star together as husband and wife George and Nina Banks in 1991’s Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel, Father of the Bride: Part II. The pair reunited for a Father of the Bride Netflix special in 2020 called Father of the Bride: Part III (ish).
Fans took to the comments section of Martin’s post to gush over the playbill, with some likening it to How I Met Your Mother, while others simply considered it George and Nina’s origin story.
“This must be the back story of how the Banks’ met. 🪽,” one fan wrote.
“This might be my favorite tribute to her I’ve seen,” another fan added.
“How lovely you have kept that treasured piece of the beginning of a talented life well lived. 💔,” a third user commented.
In addition to sharing the playbill photo, Martin took to X with a throwback photo of a young Keaton and a quote from her famous 1977 film Annie Hall: “La dee da, la dee da.”
“Loved!” Martin said of his longtime friend.
He also took to Instagram to share a screenshot of Keaton’s 2021 Interview magazine feature, where she took questions from “25 famous friends and fans.” The screenshot showed a question from Martin Short, who also starred in the Father of the Bride films.
“Who’s sexier, me or Steve Martin?” Short, 75, asked Keaton.
Keaton responded, “I mean, you’re both idiots.”
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Martin added in the caption of the post, “Don’t know who first posted this, but it sums up our delightful relationship with Diane.”
Martin and Short paid tribute to Keaton at their live comedy show in Las Vegas on Sunday night by showing her photo and raising a toast to the actress during the encore, according to a fan on X.
A spokesperson for Keaton confirmed that the Book Club actress had died in California on Saturday.
“There are no further details available at this time, and her family has asked for privacy in this moment of great sadness,” the spokesperson told People in a statement.
A cause of death has not yet been revealed. However, the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to the outlet that they responded to a call at Keaton’s home at 8:08 a.m. and transported a 79-year-old woman to a local hospital. A source later revealed to TMZ that the person was Keaton.