Robert DeNiro Pays Tribute To His Gay Father In HBO Doc "Remembering the Artist": WATCH
Robert DeNiro, under his gruff exterior and behind the tough-guy roles, is really just a big ole sweetheart: Remembering the Artist: Robert DeNiro Sr, a new documentary airing on HBO June 9, sees Bobby D eulogizing his late father, an artist who not only struggled with his work but also his sexuality.
DeNiro spoke with Out about his father and the upcoming film:
Yeah, he probably was [conflicted about his homosexuality], being from that generation, especially from a small town upstate. I was not aware, much, of it. I wish we had spoken about it much more. My mother didn’t want to talk about things in general, and you’re not interested when you’re a certain age.
Again, for my kids, I want them to stop and take a moment and realize that you sometimes have to do things now instead of later, because later may be 20 years from now — and that’s too late.
The elder DeNiro garnered some acclaim as part of the New York School of artists in the 1940s and '50s but his work was eclipsed by the Pop Art and Abstract Expressionist movements of the 1960s. His home life was equally troubled—in the doc, the younger DeNiro reads from his father's journals, including passages revealing he left his wife when he realized he was gay.“We were not the type of father and son who played baseball together, as you can surmise, But we had a connection," says the Raging Bull star. “I wasn't with him a lot, because my mother and he were separated and divorced… He was absent in some ways. (But) he was very loving. He adored me… as I do my kids.”Despite the fact that DeNiro Sr. died more than twenty years ago, the actor continues to preserve his art studio in Soho. “It was the only way to keep his being, his existence alive. To me, he was always a great artist.”
Below, watch the trailer for Remembering the Artist: Robert DeNiro Sr., premiering June 9 at 9pm on HBO.
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