The extraordinary breadth of actor, director, and producer Robert De Niro's cinematic career from the 1960s through 2020 is reflected in his collection of papers, film, movie props, and costumes at the Ransom Center. De Niro is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation and a key figure in The New Hollywood, an artistic renaissance that began in the late 1960s. He appeared in many of the period's key films: (1976), (1980), (1974), and (1978). De Niro has produced more than two dozen films since the late 1980s and directed (1993) and (2006).

The papers described in this finding aid include De Niro's heavily annotated scripts and correspondence, stage play and photographic materials from his early career, make-up and wardrobe photographs, wardrobe continuity books, costume designs, and posters, as well as extensive production, publicity, and research materials. The collection focuses exclusively on De Niro's professional career: while some congratulatory correspondence and exchanges with his colleagues provide insight into the personal side of his working relationships, De Niro's private life remains private. The papers are arranged in five series: I. Films, 1888-2021; II. Plays, circa 1961-2016; III. Television, 1970-2018; IV. Projects, 1899-2012; and V. Early Career and Career-Related, 1946-2018.

Most of the papers are located in the first series, Films, which includes scripts plus related production, publicity, and research materials for over one hundred films documenting De Niro's career from the 1968 film through , released in 2023. While the type and amount of material present varies from film to film, there is not only abundant evidence of De Niro's rigorous preparation for his acting roles from the large amounts of research material present and his copious notations in scripts, but also insight into the collaborative nature of his work with a variety of noted writers, directors, actors, and other film artists. The evolution of many screenplays can also be traced, often from the original source material through numerous drafts to the final shooting script. The close attention paid to the details of wardrobe, make-up, and hairstyle design and continuity is also evident and particularly well-represented in the production materials.

Series II. Plays contains scripts, photographs, and production and publicity materials from stage productions, ranging from De Niro’s early appearances on stage as an actor to the musical adaptation of , which he co-directed on Broadway in 2016. Series III. Television consists of scripts and production and research materials for television productions De Niro acted in or produced, including appearances on individual episodes of shows such as and television movies like (2017), a Home Box Office (HBO) production.

Series IV. Projects, includes plays, screenplays, and television scripts received, reviewed, or considered. These productions were either never realized or were completed without the involvement of De Niro. The majority of the works originate from writers and directors with whom De Niro has long been closely associated and include scripts for such notable films as , , , , , , , , , , and . This series also includes screenplays and research materials for an unrealized film project that De Niro was to direct, tentatively titled Some of the research materials collected for this project were later used for .

Series V., Early Career and Career-Related, contains articles about De Niro, collected materials, early contracts, correspondence, and photographs as well as materials related to awards, film festivals, public appearances, and tributes. Of special note are photographs, résumés, contracts, programs, and reviews documenting De Niro’s student work and early stage and film roles. Much of the correspondence in the collection is located in this series, often congratulatory in nature or related to shared projects. Correspondents include friends and industry colleagues, such as Kenneth Branagh, Michael Cimino, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard, Roland Joffé, Harvey Keitel, George Lucas, David Mamet, Al Pacino, Harold Pinter, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Lee Strasberg, Jack Valenti, and Harvey Weinstein, among others. A complete index of all correspondent names in this series is included in this finding aid.

The Costumes and Props, 1967-2023 (bulk 1990-2023), consist of more than 8,000 costume, prop, and makeup items from over fifty-six motion pictures and two theater productions. Included are items from unidentified productions for which the genre and date are unknown. The costumes and props were acquired along with De Niro's personal papers, moving image materials, and personal effects, and are described in a separate database.

Additions to the original accession were processed and added to the inventory in 2012, 2018, 2023, and 2024. Electronic files were added to the inventory in 2022 and 2023.

Series I. Films, 1888-2021

The bulk of the De Niro Papers are located in this series and comprise materials from over one hundred films dating from De Niro's 1968 film through , released in 2023. Materials in this series are arranged alphabetically by film title, and items for each film are consistently arranged in this order: screenplays first, followed by production, publicity, and research materials.

Screenplays

Screenplays are heavily represented in the collection and are present for all of De Niro's acting roles. The number of screenplays present for each film varies from film to film, but most are represented by multiple versions. For example, has thirty-five scripts written steadily over the course of three years, while has twenty scripts that evolved intermittently from conception to completion over a span of about ten years.

Modern screenplays are notorious for their variant titles, multiple writers, and numerous re-writes, and the De Niro scripts are no exception. Working with information provided on the title pages and dated revisions, multiple scripts for individual films have been arranged in their probable order of creation, although undated scripts and inserted revisions make definitive sequencing difficult. The films and provide good examples of a complex array of scripts with more than a dozen writers and derivative drafts.

Descriptions of individual scripts in the following folder list are often limited to the date of the original script and, for subsequent revisions, the date last revised. Variant titles, draft numbers or other draft identifications (e.g., final shooting script), and writer names are also included if present. The descriptions frequently also include either with RDN notes or no RDN notes. De Niro's handwritten annotation of scripts is a hallmark of his working method; rendered in ink, these annotations are primarily dialogue and script changes and notes regarding his role. Later scripts are often annotated on the title page with the date De Niro read the script and/or discussed it with the screenwriter.

Shooting scripts are present for most of the films. In most cases, the shooting scripts designated in the finding aid are the ones De Niro used during filming. They are heavily annotated with De Niro's handwritten notes and are often bound in three-ring binders full of inserted script revisions and production materials. The shooting script contained a particularly large amount of inserted material; in order to preserve it and also retain its original order, a facsimile copy was created and is available for research use. The original script is restricted from access and may be viewed only with the permission of the Ransom Center’s Film Curator.

Production materials

The production materials in the De Niro Papers reflect the myriad tasks involved in filmmaking. While nearly all the De Niro films contain some production materials, their type and quantity varies from film to film. The papers contain a large volume of production materials for the two films De Niro directed, and , and a smaller selection of production materials from other films. Among the types of items present are ADR (automated dialogue replacement) sheets, call sheets, casting lists and résumés, contact and crew lists, dialogue notes, one-liner and shooting schedules, continuity and make-up photographs, production reports, production stills, recruited audience preview reports, storyboards, De Niro's handwritten notes, production-related memos and correspondence, congratulatory correspondence, and wardrobe continuity and inventory lists. Several films also include original costume, tattoo, and set designs, as well as location photography.

Photographs dominate the production materials in terms of sheer volume and include hair/make-up, wardrobe, and production stills. The prints are largely in 4x6-inch and Polaroid formats, but also include 8x10-inch and oversize. Prints have been arranged by roll number and sleeved in frame order. Frame order is especially critical for documenting make-up application, as evidenced by more than 3,000 prints for . For this film, De Niro endured a full-body plaster cast used to create a body suit that transformed him into The Creature. Shot by shot, the photographs document the painstaking 16-hour make-up sessions, capturing the intricate application of face, hair, and body prosthetics in incredible detail. The Polaroids are primarily make-up and wardrobe continuity prints and are often marked with scene numbers and other pertinent information. In some cases, metal rings or safety pins were used for portability on the set and to retain scene sequence. For the film , 135 continuity Polaroids on a single ring record the state of De Niro's hair and beard for each scene, to guarantee continuity over multiple takes and reshoots.

Wardrobe continuity material is present for more than three dozen films, ranging from a few sheets for some films to the wardrobe continuity book for , comprised of over two hundred pages. Typically, wardrobe items were listed in detail on specially formatted sheets and supplemented with Polaroids showing De Niro in costume, as well as individual items such as shoes and jewelry. Because overlapping Polaroids were often taped onto the wardrobe sheets and presented a handling problem, facsimiles were made of some of the wardrobe continuity material in the collection. Due to preservation concerns, all Polaroids have been removed to cold storage, but are accessible with advance notice.

Publicity materials

This category of film material is the least prevalent in this series, and the amount and type varies from film to film. Publicity materials include advertising graphics and layouts, articles and reviews, correspondence and memos, marketing and promotional materials, posters, premiere programs and tickets, press kits, press junket itineraries, press releases, publicity and studio stills, screening cards and invitations, and tour information. Three cardboard cutout standees of De Niro in costume created to promote , , and were transferred to the Costume and Personal Effects Department at the Ransom Center and are cataloged in the Ransom Center’s Objects and Visual Materials database.

Research materials

De Niro is well known for thoroughly researching and preparing for his acting roles. In addition to articles, pamphlets, chapter sections, and other printed material, the collection includes 311 books used for research on topics ranging from mobsters and tattoos to Jesuits and baseball. For each film, the books are arranged by author and title within the research section and each book is cataloged with a bv (bound volume) number. Some of these books are inscribed to De Niro and De Niro also annotated many of the volumes with handwritten notes. Many of the books originally contained loose items; these items have been withdrawn and filed together. The new location of each withdrawn item is indicated in the folder list, and correspondence found inside bound volumes is listed in the Index of Selected Correspondents included in this finding aid. Research material for , , and is particularly extensive.

Some correspondence and production memoranda are scattered throughout Series I. and selected correspondents appear in the Index of Selected Correspondents included in this finding aid.

Series II. Plays, circa 1961-2016

A smaller volume of work in this series documents De Niro’s work on stage as actor, producer, and director. Arranged alphabetically by production title, the material includes annotated scripts, production photographs, programs, and publicity materials from productions De Niro acted in, including early roles in plays such as , , , , , , and as well as De Niro’s starring role on Broadway in Reinaldo Povod’s (1986). Also in this series are materials related to theatrical productions co-produced (, 2002) and co-directed (, 2016) by De Niro. Materials from are particularly extensive, with many annotated drafts of the script by Chazz Palminteri and production materials including casting lists, calendars, and timelines.

Series III. Television, 1970-2018

This series consists of scripts, photographs, and production and research materials from television productions De Niro appeared in or produced, arranged alphabetically by title. These include scripts for individual episodes of series De Niro guest starred on, from an early appearance on the soap opera in 1970 to his cameo appearances playing Robert Mueller on in 2018. Materials from , directed by Barry Levinson for Home Box Office (HBO) (2017), are also filed in this series, and include a significant volume of research materials collected by De Niro for his role as Bernie Madoff in that film.

Series IV. Projects, 1899-2012

Throughout De Niro's long career, a great quantity of script material has come his way for consideration. The plays, screenplays, and television scripts in this series are some of the projects that held De Niro's interest although, for a variety of reasons, his involvement remained limited. The projects material has been arranged alphabetically by title. The majority of works include writers and directors with whom De Niro has long been closely associated, such as Michael Cimino, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, George Gallo, Michael V. Gazzo, William Goldman, Elia Kazan, Robert Kuhn, David Mamet, Michael Powell, Richard Price, Paul Schrader, Martin Scorsese, and David Seltzer. Notable film projects in this series include , , , , , , , , , , and . Series II also contains a significant volume of screenplays and research materials for an unrealized film project that De Niro was to direct, tentatively titled Some of the research materials collected for this project were later used for . Approximately thirty of the bound volumes collected as research for are restricted from access; patrons with a research interest in any volumes listed as restricted in the finding aid can contact the Ransom Center’s Film Curator for more information. Duplicates of bound volumes collected for research were removed from the collection.

Series V. Early Career and Career-Related, 1946-2018

This series contains articles about De Niro, award-related materials, books retained for general research and received as gifts, correspondence, photographs, and posters. Also included are materials from film festivals, public appearances, tributes, and film series; and material that documents De Niro’s early career, including acting class materials, head shots, resumes, contracts, and reviews.

Much of the correspondence in the collection is located in this series, often congratulatory in nature or related to shared projects. Correspondents include friends and industry colleagues, such as Giorgio Armani, Lauren Bacall, Robert Bolt, Kenneth Branagh, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Cimino, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Barry Diller, Richard Dreyfuss, Dominick Dunne, Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hayden, Israel Horovitz, Ron Howard, Roland Joffé, Garson Kanin, Elia Kazan, Harvey Keitel, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Martin Landau, George Lucas, David Mamet, Marsha Mason, Al Pacino, Joseph Papp, Jane Pauley, Harold Pinter, Richard Pryor, Cliff Robertson, Oliver Sacks, Martin Scorsese, Gene Shalit, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Lee Strasberg, Emma Thompson, Jack Valenti, Harvey Weinstein, Robin Williams, Henry Winkler, Shelley Winters, and Franco Zeffirelli, among others. An index of all correspondent names in this series is included in this finding aid.

Early career-related materials include many photographs from the early days of De Niro's career. De Niro created his own résumé head shots, the earliest of which lists his acting experience through 1963. This series of photographs ends in the early 1970s with the appearance of studio publicity stills for films such as and . The résumés attached to many of the head shots, some with four different images per print, provide valuable information regarding De Niro's stage performances that date from his days in training with The Dramatic Workshop, Luther James Studio, Stella Adler Theatre Studio, and Raphael Kelly. These résumés include the parts he played in repertory theater, tours, commercials, performances at Hunter College and Sarah Lawrence College, the off-Broadway shows, and early films including and . Often play reviews are also attached to the head shots. Programs and production photographs for many of these early plays are filed by title in Series II.

The series also contains materials from events De Niro attended, including the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, and many other awards ceremonies, film festivals, and tributes; clippings of articles and other publicity materials; photographs of De Niro, ranging from informal snapshots to studio portraits; and collected materials, including books, photographs, programs, and posters. De Niro’s commercial and advertising work is also documented in this series, with scripts, clippings, and artwork from commercials and print advertisements spanning his career from 1967 to 2018.

Costumes and Props, 1967-2023 (bulk 1990-2023)

The Robert De Niro Costumes and Props consist of more than 8,000 costume, prop, and makeup items from over fifty-six motion pictures and two theater productions. Included are items from unidentified productions for which the genre and date are unknown. The costumes and props were acquired along with De Niro’s personal papers, moving image materials, and personal effects, and are described in a separate database.

The materials in this collection provide evidence of decisions made and/or implemented by the costume designer, the wardrobe department, the property master, and the makeup artist. The collection is arranged by production title and, within each production, by item number, reflecting the order in which the material was received and/or cataloged. A list of represented productions is appended to this description. Item-level descriptions are available in a searchable database which is accessible by production, actor, and costume designer.

The collection contains more than 5,100 costumes, 2,350 props, 350 makeup items such as colored contact lenses and fake teeth, and 200 production accessories, a category which includes items used by De Niro in conjunction with a production but not visible on film, such as padding worn in fight scenes. Also included are about thirty personal effects such as De Niro’s personal trailer slippers used on the set of (2004). Of the roughly 300 different types of objects in the collection, shirts, pants, jackets, shoes, socks, neckties, and belts are the most prevalent.

Coverage varies from one or two items to hundreds of objects per production. Generally, older productions are represented by fewer items. With 1,000 items, (1993) is by far the most thoroughly documented production. For this film, in addition to more than 200 items worn by De Niro in the character of Lorenzo, the collection includes items worn or used by two dozen actors including Chazz Palminteri, Taral Hicks, and Joe Pesci. Other well documented productions are (1990), (1991), (1991), (1992), (1993), (1995), (1995), (1999), (2000), (2000), (2001), (2002), (2004), and (2005). Of the forty costume designers credited in this collection, the best represented are Rita Ryack, Aude Bronson-Howard, Richard Bruno, John A. Dunn, and Daniel Orlandi.

Many items were received at the Ransom Center with wardrobe tags attached indicating the name of the actor, the scene number, and/or change number in which the item was used, and whether the item was actually worn or used. Apart from materials representing , nearly all items were worn or used by Robert De Niro. Some items in the collection were used by De Niro’s stunt doubles or photo doubles. If an item does not have a wardrobe tag, it is very difficult to determine the exact circumstances of its use, even with the aid of wardrobe continuity books and Polaroids located in the Robert De Niro Papers.

Similarly, the sources of items in this collection are poorly documented. Most contemporary costumes were purchased off-the-rack from mainstream retailers. Some period costumes were fabricated by tailors for specific productions, notably the archbishop’s vestments from (2004). Domonic Gherardi and Anto are the best represented tailors. Vintage items may have been obtained from suppliers who specialized in providing vintage clothing to the motion picture industry. Props for stunt doubles tended to be fabricated using De Niro’s prop as a model. The manufacturer’s label is often the best, and only, indication of the source of an item if it is not indicated in the wardrobe continuity book.