Ed Begley Jr. starred in the movie Book Club with Diane Keaton.
Now the actor is speaking out about his final memories of his co-star in the days following Keaton’s death. The actress was 79. Her cause of death remains unclear, but first responders were called to her home after a medical emergency.
Begley revealed to People that he saw Keaton fairly recently in what was one of her final public appearances, although he didn't put an exact date on it.
"I saw her fairly recently at Jack Nicholson's birthday party, and it was good to see her there,” Begley told People. “She loved Jack Nicholson, as I do, and Jack loved her. So I don't mean to speak for him. I'm sure he's as devastated as I am by her loss.”
Keaton, of course, also co-starred with Nicholson in a well-known movie, Something's Gotta Give. Nicholson turned 88 years old in April.
According to E Online, Keaton wasn't seen a lot in her final months. Other than the birthday party, "her last public appearances were holiday shopping last Christmas and stepping out for errands in August 2024," that site reported. Her friend, songwriter, Carol Bayer Sager, saw her a few weeks before she died and has commented on how thin she looked.
Begley gushed about Keaton in the interview with People. "But yeah, she's a wonderful actress, a wonderful lady. I played her brother in an HBO film called Running Mates with Ed Harris. So I'm glad I knew her these many years," he said.
Other celebrity tributes continue to flow in for Keaton. "The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. 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!" wrote Bette Midler on Instagram.
Woody Allen, with whom Keaton starred in the classic movie Annie Hall, wrote on Instagram, "A few days ago the world was a place that included Diane Keaton. Now it's a world that does not. Hence, it's a drearier world. Still, there are her movies. And her great laugh still echoes in my head."