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Leonardo DiCaprio is remembering his late co-star Diane Keaton, with whom he starred in 1996’s Marvin’s Room, as someone who made those around her feel like “the funniest person in the world.”
In a recent interview with Time, which named the actor its “Entertainer of the Year,” 50-year-old DiCaprio said of Keaton: “She had the most incredible laugh…It would echo through the entire set, and she made you feel like the funniest person in the world.”
“I mean, burst-out-loud laughing. I’ll never forget it,” he added. “I kind of lived to make her laugh every day on set, because it was so infectious. She was incredible.”
Keaton played Bessie, the aunt of DiCaprio’s troubled teen character, Hank, in the Jerry Zaks-directed drama, whose star-studded cast also boasted Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro.
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DiCaprio was one of a number of celebrities to share touching tributes to the actress following the news of her death on Saturday, Oct. 11, when the legendary actress — known for her roles in such beloved films as Father of the Bride, First Wives Club and Annie Hall — died in California. She was 79.
Sharing a photo of himself and Keaton seemingly taken around the time of filming some three decades ago, DiCaprio wrote on his Instagram Stories, “Diane Keaton was one of a kind. Brilliant, funny, and unapologetically herself.”
“A legend, and icon, and a truly kind human being. I had the honor of working with her at 18. She will be deeply missed,” he added, concluding with a dove emoji.
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A number of Keaton’s other former co-stars have turned out on social media and elsewhere to pay their respect to the late legend, including her First Wives Club costar Bette Midler.
Midler, 79, called Keaton “brilliant, beautiful [and] extraordinary” in an Instagram post, alongside a black-and-white photo of her former costar and longtime friend posing in a suit and hat, one of her signature looks.
“I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me,” the Broadway star continued. “She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”
