Diane Keaton is known mostly for her work on the big screen, but songwriter Carole Bayer Sager had the chance to foster another one of the late actress’ talents: singing.

In an interview with People on Monday, October 13, Sager, 81, opened up about her time collaborating with Keaton — who died at age 79 on Saturday, October 11 — on her first and only solo single, “First Christmas.” The song was cowritten with Jonas Myrin and released in November 2024.

“I was just playing the song for my husband [Robert A. Daly, Board of Directors Chair at the American Film Institute]. We were listening to her sing this song [that] Jonas and I wrote, and she loved it so much,” Sager said of the Christmas tune.

Sager recalled of Keaton, “She so loved recording this song and working with me and Jonas … she

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