Film producer Charles Joffe dies at 78

Charles Joffe, the longtime Woody Allen producer who snagged a best picture Oscar for the filmmaker's famed comedy Annie Hall, has died. He was 78.

Joffe died on Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after a long battle with lung disease, his separated wife, Carol Joffe, told The Associated Press.

"When he was at the top of his game nobody was better," Allen said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.

Born July 16, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York, Charles Joffe studied journalism at Syracuse University before becoming a junior agent at MCA, Carol Joffe said.

He worked for Jack Rollins in the 1950s as a junior manager working with comedians. In the 1960s, the pair partnered to form Rollins and Joffe Productions, and developed the careers of Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Richard "Dick" Cavett and Allen, Carol Joffe said.

Charles Joffe moved to Los Angeles in 1972, while Rollins stayed in New York, she said.

Rollins and Joffe eventually moved on to different projects but have both been producing Allen's films since "Take the Money and Run" in 1969. Joffe picked up a trophy for best picture in 1977 when Annie Hall landed four Oscars.