Guthrie, Woody (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie), 1912-67, American folk singer, guitarist, and composer, b. Okemah, Okla. Having learned harmonica as a boy and guitar as an adolescent, Guthrie was an itinerant musician and laborer from the age of 13. He was always deeply involved in union and left-wing politics, and he wrote many of his over 1,000 published songs on themes of social injustice, poverty, and politics. A friend of Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, and Ramblin Jack Elliott, Guthrie exerted a strong influence on younger performers, notably Bob Dylan. His most famous song is probably "This Land Is Your Land."

Guthrie's son, Arlo Guthrie, 1947-, b. New York City, is also a folk singer and composer. He is best known for "Alice's Restaurant," a rambling, witty song that was the basis of a motion picture in which he starred (1969).

Allen, Woody, 1935-, American actor, writer, and director, one of contemporary America's leading filmmakers, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Allen Stewart Konigsberg. Allen began his career writing for television comedians and performing in nightclubs. His early film comedies, which often depict neurotic urban characters preoccupied with sex, death, and psychiatry, include Sleeper (1973) and Annie Hall (1977; Academy Award, best picture). Much of Allen's later work in comedy and drama explores these themes as well as a sophisticated New Yorker's various other preoccupations.

Among his later films are the stylish Manhattan (1979); Broadway Danny Rose (1984), a New York comedy; the probing family drama Hannah and Her Sisters (1986; Academy Award, best screenplay); the 1930s comedy Radio Days (1987); the searing Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989); Husbands and Wives (1992), a bittersweet domestic drama; the romantic and partly musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996); and the fictional jazz biography Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Several subsequent films failed to achieve the critical and popular plaudits earned by many of his earlier films, but Match Point (2005), a tale of wealth, lust, crime, and luck set in London, did much to revive his flagging reputation. Allen again used the city as the setting for the comedy Scoop (2006) and the drama Cassandra's Dream (2008) and turned to Catalonia, Spain, for his sensual, melancholy-tinged comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Allen also has written humorous prose pieces, many published in the New Yorker, and plays. In 1992, in a bitter public dispute, Allen left Mia Farrow for her adopted daughter then sued the actress for custody of their children and lost (1993).

orig. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie

(born July 14, 1912, Okemah, Okla., U.S.—died Oct. 3, 1967, New York, N.Y.) U.S. singer and songwriter, one of the legendary figures of American folk music. He left home at age 15 to travel the country by freight train. With his guitar and harmonica he sang in the hobo and migrant camps of the Great Depression, later becoming a musical spokesman for labour and populist sentiment. He wrote more than a thousand songs, including “So Long (It's Been Good to Know Yuh),” “Hard Traveling,” and “Union Maid.” In New York City he joined Pete Seeger and others in the Almanac Singers; after serving in World War II, he continued to perform with them for farmer and worker groups. “This Land Is Your Land” was his most famous song, and it became an unofficial national anthem. His autobiography, Bound for Glory (1943), was filmed in 1976. His son Arlo (b. 1947) also achieved success as a songwriter and singer.

Learn more about Guthrie, Woody with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. Allen Stewart Konigsberg

(born Dec. 1, 1935, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. film director, screenwriter, and actor. After writing routines for comedians and performing as a nightclub comic, he wrote the Broadway play Don't Drink the Water (1966). His early films, such as Bananas (1971) and Sleeper (1973), combined highbrow comedy and slapstick. Later romantic comedies such as Annie Hall (1977), which won him two Academy Awards, and Manhattan (1979) offered a bittersweet view of New York life. He continued making films into the 21st century, most notably Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), and Bullets over Broadway (1994).

Learn more about Allen, Woody with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie

(born July 14, 1912, Okemah, Okla., U.S.—died Oct. 3, 1967, New York, N.Y.) U.S. singer and songwriter, one of the legendary figures of American folk music. He left home at age 15 to travel the country by freight train. With his guitar and harmonica he sang in the hobo and migrant camps of the Great Depression, later becoming a musical spokesman for labour and populist sentiment. He wrote more than a thousand songs, including “So Long (It's Been Good to Know Yuh),” “Hard Traveling,” and “Union Maid.” In New York City he joined Pete Seeger and others in the Almanac Singers; after serving in World War II, he continued to perform with them for farmer and worker groups. “This Land Is Your Land” was his most famous song, and it became an unofficial national anthem. His autobiography, Bound for Glory (1943), was filmed in 1976. His son Arlo (b. 1947) also achieved success as a songwriter and singer.

Learn more about Guthrie, Woody with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. Allen Stewart Konigsberg

(born Dec. 1, 1935, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. film director, screenwriter, and actor. After writing routines for comedians and performing as a nightclub comic, he wrote the Broadway play Don't Drink the Water (1966). His early films, such as Bananas (1971) and Sleeper (1973), combined highbrow comedy and slapstick. Later romantic comedies such as Annie Hall (1977), which won him two Academy Awards, and Manhattan (1979) offered a bittersweet view of New York life. He continued making films into the 21st century, most notably Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), and Bullets over Broadway (1994).

Learn more about Allen, Woody with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Woody may mean:

• a name in its own right - Woody
• a short form of Woodrow (name)
• an adjective for wood
• the code name for version 3.0 of the Debian Linux distribution
• American slang for an erection
• alternative unit of momentum

A name or nickname of:

• Sheriff Woody, a character in the Toy Story movies
• a thin car in the Pixar film Cars (film)
• Mannequin, a jointed model of the human body utilized by artists and popularized on the photography website DPChallenge.com.
• Wood (musician) or Woody, drummer for indie/rock band British Sea Power
• Woody Woodpecker, Walter Lantz/Universal Pictures cartoon character
• Woody Allen, actor and director
• Woody Evans, jazz great
• Woody Evans, American writer
• James "Woody" Green or Woody Rock, R&B/gospel music performer and member of Dru Hill
• Woody Guthrie, musician
• Woody Harrelson, actor
• Woody Hayes, football coach
• Woody Herman, musician
• Woody Paige, sportswriter
• Woody Strode, actor
• Woodrow Wilson, US President
• Ronnie Wood, member of The Rolling Stones and The Faces
• Stuart John Wood, guitarist of the Bay City Rollers
• Daniel Woodgate, drummer
• Andrew Wood, lead singer of Mother Love Bone and Malfunkshun

See also

• Woodie, a station wagon with wooden panels
• Wooden roller coaster – or 'Woodie' – a wood roller coaster