Sarah Paulson is reminiscing about her close friendship with the late Diane Keaton.
Keaton died of pneumonia in October at age 79. The Annie Hall star’s relatives said her health had declined “suddenly” and thanked her fans for their outpouring of “love and support” at the time.
The 50-year-old actor paid tribute to Keaton during The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment gala Wednesday in Los Angeles. During her speech, she opened up about navigating her grief after losing one of the “dear loves” of her life.
“I didn’t think I wanted to do this. I mean, why would I want to stand inside my grief in front of a bunch of people I don’t know?” Paulson said. “But then I thought, well, that was sort of what [Keaton] did best. Wasn’t it? Stand before you wearing her insides on the outside.”
The All’s Fair star said that she recently went through the hilarious emails, voicemails, and text messages from Keaton, which she shared with the audience.
“Moron, what is your address?” Paulson said, reciting the text from Keaton, with the audience laughing hysterically. “I want to see you and your house, idiot…Sarah, I hate your phone. It is always full, and I can never leave a message.”
“Look, I want to know every single thing that’s going on with you, your career, your love, your f***ing house,” Keaton wrote in another message. “When are you in? Love you, little special. Keep me abreast on developments.”
In a third text, Keaton mentioned Paulson’s long-term partner, Holland Taylor, who was apparently “full of energy.”
“She’s a force. Totally charming, unique,” the Annie Hall star wrote about Taylor, before telling Paulson: “You, on the other hand, you are a numbum skull. It’s sad you had so much potential.”
Paulson concluded her speech by reciting an email she wished she could send to Keaton.
“Dear Dum-Dum, I wanna tell you I’m sorry my voicemail was always full. I want to tell you I’m sorry I wasn’t available by the time you called,” the American Horror Story star read. “I want to tell you how much crummier the world is without you in it. I want to tell you everything that happened in my life in the 54 days since you left.”
“I want to tell you how the world lost its mind with grief the day you died. And I want to tell you, I will miss you forever and I continue to be a moron, and I know that you would be heartened to know that,” Paulson added. “But most of all, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being my friend, Sarah Paulson, actress. Please call.”
The two actors met while working on the 1999 film, The Other Sister, where Paulson played Keaton’s on-screen daughter. The pair remained friends for more than 25 years after the film wrapped.
In November, Paulson also recalled her favorite memory of Keaton during an episode of Andy Cohen’s late-night show, Watch What Happens Live.
“The thing that was most amazing about Diane was every time we would go to dinner, when the meal was finished, she would get up and she would ask to go to the kitchen and she would give cash to all the busboys,” the Ocean’s 8 star said.
