Robert De Niro necessary to elicit the best performance from those with whom he is working. During the filming of "The King of Comedy", he directed a slew of anti-Semitic epithets at co-star Jerry Lewis to enhance and authenticate the anger demonstrated by Lewis' character. According to "People" magazine, the technique was successful, with Lewis recalling, "I forgot the cameras were there... I was going for Bobby's throat." De Niro married his first wife, Diahnne Abbott, in 1976. They have a son, Raphael, a former actor who works in New York real estate. De Niro also adopted Abbott's daughter Drena De Niro from
A Bronx Tale (play) The play had a sold-out run and Palminteri received a 1989–1990 Special Award from the Outer Critics Circle. Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro attended a performance of "A Bronx Tale" and offered to buy the film rights to the show. Palminteri agreed to sell the film rights on the conditions that he would be able to write the screenplay and that he be cast as the role of Sonny. The film version of "A Bronx Tale" premiered in 1993. The film version marked the directorial debut of De Niro and helped catapult Palminteri's film acting career. In 2007,