Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro in Cape Fear

Robert De Niro (1943 - )

Movie Deaths

• Bloody Mama (1970) [Lloyd Barker]: Dies of a heroin overdose off-screen; his body is shown lying in the field afterwards when his brothers discover him. (inaccurate, the real Lloyd Barker was shot by his wife and outlived all his brothers as well).

• Mean Streets (1973) [John "Johnny Boy" Civello]: Shot in the neck by Martin Scorsese as Richard Romanus drives past the car in which Robert is riding with Harvey Keitel and Amy Robinson; we last see him staggering out and clutching his neck. (Although the movie itself is ambiguous as to whether he survives, I'm mentioning it because I figured I'd receive suggestions about it if I left it out.)

• Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) [Bruce Pearson]: Dies of Hodgkin's lymphoma off-screen. We only see a scene of Michael Moriarty walking out of the cemetery after Robert's funeral.

• 1900 (1976) [Alfredo Berlinghieri]: Commits suicide by lying on the railroad tracks as the train approaches.

• The Swap (Line of Fire) (1979) [Sam Nicoletti]: Bludgeoned to death by an unknown assailant (either Jarred Mickey or one of Jarred's thugs) in Robert's film-editing room. (All of Robert's scenes in this movie were taken from the 1969 film Sam's Song, in which he did not die; for his death scene in this version, a double (only seen from the back) was used.)

• Brazil (1985) [Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle]: Crushed to death and/or devoured by scraps of newspaper that completely envelop him in the street. This portion of the movie is happening only in Jonathan Pryce's mind as he's being tortured by Michael Palin.

• The Mission (1986) [Rodrigo Mendoza]: Mortally wounded in battle with Portuguese soldiers; he remains alive long enough to see Jeremy Irons approaching, finally dying after seeing him brutally gunned down as well.

• Cape Fear (1991) [Max Cady]: Drowned after a fight with Nick Nolte having been hand cuffed to a railing on Nick's houseboat during a thunderstorm at night. He dies after making eye contact with Nick while Nick is praying before sinking below the surface.

• This Boy's Life (1993) [Dwight Hansen]: Dies of terminal illness off-screen; his death is mentioned in the narration at the end of the movie.

• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) [Sharp-Featured Man/The Creation]: As the "Sharp-Featured Man", Robert is executed by hanging for the murder of John Cleese. His corpse is used as the body of the creature created by Kenneth Branagh. As the monster, Robert later commits suicide by allowing himself to burn to death at end of the cremation ceremony for Kenneth while floating off into the Arctic ocean on an iceberg.

• Heat (1995) [Neil McCauley]: Shot in the chest by Al Pacino in a shoot-out by an airfield. He dies as Al holds his hand in a final handshake.

• The Fan (1996) [Gil Renard]: Shot to death by police after Robert attempts to kill Wesley Snipes by throwing a knife at him. Robert dies from his wounds as he talks to Wesley.

• Jackie Brown (1997) [Louis Gara]: Shot to death in their car by Samuel L. Jackson, as Samuel has a gun on him questioning him on why he killed Bridget Fonda.

• Great Expectations (1998) [Arthur Lustig]: Stabbed to death by loansharks on a train.

• Men of Honor (2000) [Master Chief Billy Sunday]: Although he survives the actual film, the US DVD includes an alternate ending in which he drowns while saving a young boy.

• 15 Minutes (2001) [Detective Eddie Fleming]: Stabbed to death by Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov. His death is shown again depicted on Oleg's recorded video footage.

• Godsend (2004) [Richard Wells]: Although he survives the actual film, the US DVD includes two alternate endings in which he dies.

• Hide and Seek (2005) [David Calloway]: Shot in the chest by Famke Janssen in a sewer, while he's stalking Dakota Fanning.

• Machete (2010) [Senator John McLaughlin]: Shot in the chest by Billy Blair on top of being non-fatally electrocuted when he falls against an electric fence, while Robert is disguised as a Mexican laborer.

• New Year's Eve (2011) [Stan Harris]: Dies from cancer off-screen. We last see him sitting on the hospital roof with Hilary Swank as they watch the New Year's ball drop; his death is revealed in a later scene when Hilary holds an envelope with Robert's belongings.

• Freelancers (Crossfire) (2012) [Joe Sarcone]: Shot in the head by a sniper working for Pedro Armendáriz Jr. after he gets out of 50 Cent's car, just as police are about to arrest him.

• The Bag Man (2014) [Dragna]: Shot to death by John Cusack after being shot in the stomach by Rebecca Da Costa.

• Joker (2019) [Murray Franklin]: Shot in the head and chest by Joaquin Phoenix in front of a live studio audience.

TV Deaths

• Saturday Night Live (December 24, 2010) [Mr. Bernard]: Dies under unspecified causes off-screen, shortly before the sketch begins; his body is shown afterwards when Bill Hader and Andy Samberg discover him in the beach house and move him around in a parody of Weekend at Bernie's.

Gallery

Robert De Niro in Bloody Mama

Robert De Niro in Heat

Robert De Niro (right) in Joker

Robert De Niro's death in Jackie Brown

Robert De Niro in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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notables Connections

• Ex-Husband of Diahnne Abbott.

• Ex-Husband of Grace Hightower.

• Father of Ralphael De Niro.

• Stepfather / adoptive of Drena De Niro.