Gangster film for Joe Pesci's performance. Others, however, strayed into stereotypes and the gratuitous use of Italian ethnicity in minor characters who happened to be criminals. This created a backlash in the Italian American community. The films of the 1990s produced several critically acclaimed mob films, many of which were loosely based on real crimes and their perpetrators. Many of these films featured long-time actors well known for their roles as mobsters such as Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Chazz Palminteri. "Goodfellas", directed by Martin Scorsese, starred Ray Liotta as real-life associate of the Lucchese crime family Henry Hill.
Robert De Niro Sr. York. The 1993 film "A Bronx Tale" was dedicated to De Niro Sr. after his death; it was the directorial debut of De Niro Jr. In 2010, De Niro Jr. announced the creation of the Robert De Niro Sr. Prize, an annual $25,000 prize administered by the Tribeca Film Institute and funded by De Niro Jr. that "focuses on a mid-career American artist devoted to the pursuit of excellence and innovation in painting." Past winners include Stanley Whitney, Joyce Pensato, Catherine Murphy, and Laura Owens. De Niro Sr. is the subject of the 2014 short documentary "Remembering the Artist". According