[to Jerry] Jesus, they certainly don't give you very good protection, do they? Look at you here. Who the hell is watching you? Any one of these freaks could just walk right up to you and do whatever he wants.
[to Rita, about Marilyn Monroe] She wasn't a great actress but she had a real gift for comedy. She died tragically, you know, alone, like so many of the world's most beautiful women. I'm going to see that doesn't happen to you, Rita.
[to Rita] You going to spend the rest of your life in that place? Is that what you really want, talking about nothing with nothings? I thought you wanted something a little better than that and that's what I'm offering. Every King needs a Queen, Rita. I want you to be mine. What do you say?
[on tape] Now, Jerry. Before I begin, I just want to thank you for listening to this material and for the opportunity that you've given me. You know, lots of people think that guys like you, you know, people who have made it, lose their feeling for struggling young talent such as myself. But now I know from experience that those people are just cynics, embittered by their own failure. I know, Jerry, that you're as human as the rest of us, if not more so.
[to Pupkin, about Langford] All of a sudden, with a gun on him, he wants to make up and be friends. And, once he's out the door, what happens then?
Rita Keane: [to Pupkin] You call me up all junior and senior year. Night after night after night, right? And every time I'm wondering 'when is this guy going to stop talking and ask me out?' Well, now I know the answer. August twelfth, nineteen seventy-six. It only took you ten, eleven years to work up to it.
The King of Comedy is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
made in 1981 starring
Robert De NiroRobert Mario De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer.De Niro is well-known for his method acting and portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese...
and
Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer and humanitarian. He is best-known for his slapstick humor in stage, screen, television, radio, recording and is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the...
, and directed by
Martin ScorseseMartin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe,...
. It was released in
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
on December 19, 1982 and subsequently, on February 18, 1983 in the United States by
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox, is one of the six major American film studios...
.
Synopsis
Rupert Pupkin (De Niro), a stage-door autograph hound, is an aspiring stand-up comic with obsessive ambition far in excess of any actual talent. A chance meeting with Jerry Langford (Lewis), a famous comedian and talk show host, leads Rupert to believe that his "big break" has finally come. His attempts to get a place on the show are continually rebuffed by Langford's staff and, finally, by Langford himself. Along the way, Rupert indulges in elaborate and obsessive fantasies where he and Langford are colleagues and friends.
When the straight approach does not work, Rupert hatches a kidnapping plot with the help of Masha (
Sandra BernhardSandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. She is also known for her relationship with Madonna during the late 1980s...
), a
stalkerStalking is a term used to describe unwanted attention by individuals to others. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation. The word "stalking" is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal...
familiar with Langford's movements. As ransom, Rupert demands that he be given the opening spot on that evening's Jerry Langford Show (guest hosted by
Tony RandallTony Randall was an American actor , comic, producer and director.-Early years :Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, who was an art and antiques dealer...
), and that the show be broadcast in normal fashion. The network brass, lawyers, and the FBI agree, with the understanding that Langford will be released once the show airs nationally. Between the taping of the show and the broadcast, Masha has her "dream date" with Langford, who is duct-taped to a chair in her parents'
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
townhouse.
Rupert's stand-up routine is well-received. He closes by confessing to the audience that he kidnapped Jerry Langford in order to break into show business. The studio audience laughs, thinking that it's a part of his act. Rupert responds by saying, "Tomorrow you'll know I wasn't kidding and you'll all think I'm crazy. But I figure it this way: better to be king for a night, than schmuck for a lifetime."
The movie closes with a news report of Rupert's release from prison, set to a montage of storefronts stocking his "long awaited" autobiography,
King For A Night. The report informs that Rupert still considers Jerry Langford his mentor and friend, and that he and his agent are currently weighing several "attractive offers."
The final scene shows Rupert taking the stage for an apparent TV special with a live audience and an announcer enthusiastically introducing and praising him.
Cast
- Robert De Niro
Robert Mario De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer.De Niro is well-known for his method acting and portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese...
- Rupert Pupkin
- Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer and humanitarian. He is best-known for his slapstick humor in stage, screen, television, radio, recording and is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the...
- Jerry Langford
- Diahnne Abbott
Diahnne Abbott , sometimes credited as Diahnne Eugenia Abbott/Diahnne Déa, is an African-American actress and singer. Abbott played supporting roles in films of the 1970s and 1980s, including Taxi Driver. Abbott was married to actor Robert De Niro...
- Rita Keane
- Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. She is also known for her relationship with Madonna during the late 1980s...
- Masha
- Shelley Hack
Shelley Marie Hack is an American former actress and model.-Biography:Hack was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. She graduated from Greenwich Academy and Smith College. She began her career as a teen fashion model and became the face of Revlon's Charlie perfume in the mid 1970s, which gave her...
- Cathy Long
- Ed Herlihy
Ed Herlihy was an American newsreel narrator for Universal-International. His voice was heard in countless films on every subject, making him one of the best-known voices in broadcast history...
- Ed Herlihy
- Lou Brown
Lou Brown is a singer-songwriter from Bournemouth, England. In 2003, she won the Southwest's Young Achiever of the Year Award and subsequently won a grant from the Prince's Trust to fund her first major album project...
- Band leader
- Loretta Tupper - Stage Door Fan
- Peter Potulski - Stage Door Fan
- Vinnie Gonzales - Stage Door Fan
- Whitey Ryan - Stage Door Guard
- Doc Lawless - Chauffeur
- Marta Heflin - Young Girl
- Katherine Wallach - Autograph Seeker
- Charles Kaleina - Autograph Seeker
Production
After
Raging Bull was completed, Scorsese was keen to do a pet project of his,
The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1960 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as Pontius...
, and wanted De Niro to play Jesus Christ. De Niro was not interested and became determined that their next collaboration should be a comedy. He had purchased the rights of a script by a film critic, Paul D. Zimmermann. Scorsese pondered whether he could face shooting another film, particularly with a looming strike by the
Writers Guild of AmericaThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers around New York City....
. Producer
Arnon MilchanArnon Milchan is a film producer and businessman. Milchan produced many successful films such as The War of the Roses, Once Upon a Time in America, Pretty Woman, Natural Born Killers, The Devil's Advocate and L.A. Confidential...
knew he could do the project away from Hollywood interference by filming entirely on location in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and deliver it on time with the involvement of a smaller film company.
In the biography/overview of his work,
Scorsese on Scorsese, the director had high praise for
Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer and humanitarian. He is best-known for his slapstick humor in stage, screen, television, radio, recording and is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the...
, stating that during their first conversation before shooting, Lewis was extremely professional and had assured him prior to shooting that there would be no ego clashes or difficulties. Scorsese said he felt Lewis' performance in the film was vastly underrated and deserved more acclaim.
According to an interview with Lewis in the February 7, 1983 edition of
People Magazine, he claimed that Scorsese and De Niro employed
method actingMethod acting is a technique in which actors try to engender in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters in an effort to create lifelike performances. It can be contrasted with more classical forms of acting, in which actors simulate thoughts and emotions through external means,...
tricks, including making a slew of anti-Semitic epithets during the filming in order to "pump up Lewis' anger." Lewis described making the film as a pleasurable experience and noted that he got along well with both Scorsese and De Niro. Lewis said that before the making of the film he was invited to collaborate on certain aspects of the script dealing with celebrity life. His suggested ending of Rupert Pupkin killing Jerry, however, was turned down. As a result, Lewis felt that the film, while good, did not have a "finish". Scorsese stated in an interview on the
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
release that Lewis suggested the brief scene where Jerry Langford is accosted by an old lady for autographs and she, upon Langford's polite stifle, suddenly screams out "You should get
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
!" This was based on a real-life incident that had happened to Lewis. Scorsese also stated that Lewis directed the actress playing the old lady in order to get the timing right.
Casting
Scorsese's first choice for talk show host Jerry Langford was
Johnny CarsonJohn William “Johnny” Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
. Carson refused the role, claiming "you know that one take is enough for me." The entire
Rat PackThe Rat Pack was a group of popular entertainers originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a group that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter...
was also considered — specifically
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the...
and
Dean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor and comedian. He was one of the best known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "Mambo Italiano", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That A Kick In The...
— before a decision was made to select Martin's old partner, Jerry Lewis.
Principal Photography
The film began shooting in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on June 1, 1981 to avoid clashing with a forthcoming writer's strike.
Distribution
The film was first released in
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
. It was released in the United States two months later.
The King of Comedy was the first film to open the
1983 Cannes Film Festival- Jury :*William Styron *Henri Alekan *Yvonne Baby *Sergei Bondarchuk *Youssef Chahine *Souleymane Cissé *Gilbert de Goldschmidt *Mariangela Melato *Karel Reisz...
. Although the film was well-received by critics, it bombed at the box office. De Niro has said that the film "...maybe wasn't so well received because it gave off an aurora of something that people didn't want to look at or know."
Pauline KaelPauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career she was published by City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
of
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry published by Condé Nast Publications...
was one of the critics who praised the film, calling the character of Rupert Pupkin as "
Jake LaMottaGiacobbe LaMotta , better known as Jake LaMotta, nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull", is a former boxing world middleweight champion who was famously portrayed by Robert De Niro in the film Raging Bull....
without fists". She also goes on to say that "De Niro in disguise denies his characters a soul. De Niro's 'bravura' acting in
Mean StreetsMean Streets is a 1973 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro and David Proval. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973...
,
Taxi DriverTaxi Driver is a film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The movie is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Cybill Shepherd, and a young Jodie Foster...
and
New York, New York collapsed into 'anti-acting' after he started turning himself into repugnant flesh eggies of soulless characters.....Pupkin is a nothing." Scorsese says that "people were confused with the
King of Comedy and saw Bob as some sort of mannequin." Scorsese himself has said that De Niro's role as Rupert Pupkin is his favorite of all their collaborations.
Debate about ending
Film scholar David Bordwell, writing in
Film Viewer's Guide, has mentioned the (un)reality of the ending as a topic for debate. A number of scenes in the film — Rupert and Jerry in the restaurant, Jerry meeting Rupert after having listened to his tape and calling him a genius, Rupert getting married "live" on Jerry's show — exist solely in Rupert's imagination, and Bordwell suggests that viewers may want to contemplate if the end sequence is just another fantasy.
In his commentary on the
Criterion DVD of
Black NarcissusBlack Narcissus is a film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden...
, Scorsese stated that Michael Powell's films influenced
The King of Comedy in its conception of fantasy. Scorsese said that Powell always treated the fantasy as no different
than reality, made the fantasy as realistic as possible. In the same commentary, Scorsese stated that Rupert Pupkin's character was one who was never able to differentiate between his fantasies and his reality, being incapable to separate either. Scorsese sought to achieve the same with this film to the point that, in his words, the "fantasy is more real than reality".
Cameos
- Scorsese has a cameo as "Man in Van". He later appears as the Jerry Langford show director, assuring Tony Randall
Tony Randall was an American actor , comic, producer and director.-Early years :Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, who was an art and antiques dealer...
that his cue cards are funny.
- Scorsese's mother plays Pupkin's (unseen) mother.
- Real life film and television producers Edgar Scherick and Frederick de Cordova
Frederick "Fred" Timmins de Cordova was an American motion picture and television director and producer. He was best known for his work on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.-Early life:...
have cameo roles as a network president and producer of the Langford show, respectively.
- A gang of punks is seen on a street corner in the film. Billed in the credits as "Street Scum", they are played by Mick Jones
Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist and a vocalist for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983...
, Joe StrummerJohn Graham Mellor , better known by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead singer of the English punk rock band The Clash...
, and Paul SimononPaul Gustave Simonon is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for punk rock band The Clash. His most recent work is his involvement in the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, released in January 2007.- Biography :Simonon was born in...
of The ClashThe Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly...
, actor-singer Ellen FoleyEllen Foley is an American singer and actress, who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the sitcom Night Court...
("Paradise by the Dashboard Light"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was first released in 1977 on the album Bat Out of Hell, with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley...
," Night CourtNight Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 1984 until May 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
), Don LettsDon Letts is a British film director and musician. He is credited as the man who through his DJing at clubs like The Roxy brought together punk and reggae music.-Biography:...
, Kosmo VinylKosmo Vinyl was a longtime associate and sometime manager for The Clash, as well as being associated with The Jam, two English bands of the 1970s and 1980s...
, and Pearl Harbor. At the time, Foley was Mick Jones' girlfriend — she even sang "Hitsville UK"Hitsville UK" is the 13th single released by The Clash, and the second off their fourth album Sandinista!. It is a duet between lead guitarist Mick Jones and his one-time girlfriend Ellen Foley....
" on the Clash album Sandinista!This article is about the punk album. For information about the political organisation see, Sandinista National Liberation Front.Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the punk rock band The Clash. It was released in 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side...
. Letts and Mick Jones were original members of the rock group Big Audio DynamiteBig Audio Dynamite were a British musical group formed in 1984 by the ex-guitarist and singer of The Clash, Mick Jones. The group were noted for their effective mixture of varied musical styles, incorporating elements of punk rock, dance music, hip hop, reggae, and funk...
. New WaveNew Wave is a genre of rock and pop music that emerged in in the middle to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, and...
singer Pearl Harbor was married to Simonon at the time. Her group, The Explosions, were a popular local San Francisco band in the early 1980s.
- Tony Randall
Tony Randall was an American actor , comic, producer and director.-Early years :Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, who was an art and antiques dealer...
as emergency guest host of the Jerry Langford Show.
- Victor Borge
Victor Borge , born Børge Rosenbaum, was a Danish comedian, conductor and pianist, affectionately known as The Clown Prince of Denmark, The Unmelancholy Dane, and The Great Dane.-Early life and career:Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark, into a Jewish family...
and Dr. Joyce Brothers as guests on the Jerry Langford Show.
- Lou Brown and Ed Herlihy
Ed Herlihy was an American newsreel narrator for Universal-International. His voice was heard in countless films on every subject, making him one of the best-known voices in broadcast history...
as band leader and announcer, respectively, of the Jerry Langford Show.
Critic's Lists
- Halliwells Top 1000 #180
- 1001 Movies You Must See Before you Die
- Jonathan Rosenbaum: 1000 Essential Films
- The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
- Total Film Presents The 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time #85
- Empire's list of 500 greatest films (no. 87)
Cultural References
In the 2007 film
I Think I Love My WifeI Think I Love My Wife is a romantic comedy-drama 2007 film directed by and starring Chris Rock and Kerry Washington. Rock also co-wrote and produced the film. It is a remake of the 1972 French film, Chloe in the Afternoon by Éric Rohmer...
, the firm where
Chris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time....
's character works is called "Pupkin & Langford" after Lewis' and De Niro's characters.
On the PBS television show
Between the LionsBetween the Lions is a PBS Kids' puppet show designed to promote reading. The show is a co-production between WGBH in Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, in association with Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The show has won seven Daytime Emmy awards between 2001 and 2007...
,
Rupertpupkin was suggested as a possible name for Rumplestiltskin.
On the HBO show "Entourage", Vincent Chase's code name is Rupert Pupkin. It is shown on the cell phones of the other characters.