The King of Comedy
Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.
Critics Sentiment
Rupert arrives uninvited at Jerry Langford's country home
Rupert pursues Rita and fabricates his success
The film jumps from its lowest point during the Rita subplot to its peak with the excruciating house invasion sequence.
Critics found The King of Comedy to be a brilliantly uncomfortable masterpiece, with particular praise for De Niro's fearless performance and the film's prescient satire of celebrity culture. While some sequences like the romantic subplot received mixed reactions, the core obsession narrative and climactic television appearance were widely acclaimed. The ambiguous ending divided critics but reinforced the film's unsettling examination of fame and delusion.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 75
Robert De Niro
Rupert Pupkin
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Langford
Diahnne Abbott
Rita
Sandra Bernhard
Masha
Shelley Hack
Cathy Long
Frederick de Cordova
Bert Thomas
Ed Herlihy
Ed Herlihy
Lou Brown
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
Richard Baratz
Caricaturist
Catherine Scorsese
Rupert's Mom (voice)
Cathy Scorsese
Dolores
Chuck Low
Man in Chinese Restaurant
Crew
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