They spent about two hours at the Lex, “didn’t want to meet anyone” and just relaxed and took in the scene. Bob had personally left a message on my answer-phone saying that he and Harvey would be happy to take me up on my invitation and be over that evening. Bob and Harvey had just got back from a day and a half in Kyoto (“It was nice, but we weren’t there long enough”) and were in the same clothes they had worn to Roppongi a few days before. The third time we got together was at the Lexington on the Saturday night before they returned to L.A. For the luncheon meeting, Bob wore a well tailored blue wool suit, and a blue checked open shirt. This gave the journalists more of gave the journalists more of a chance to ask personal questions than at a large, open press conference. There were five at each table and during lunch Bob, his friend “Raging Bull” Director Martin Scorsese and the film’s producer, Irwin Winkler moved around the room spending about 20 minutes at each table. United Artists had invited about 20 of Japan’s top film critics. Our second meeting came at luncheon press conference. Later I took them on a brief tour of Roppongi. They stayed in the club a few hours, drank and watched. Bob spent considerable time in the Oriental Hotel, my home away from home in Bangkok, when he was on location in Thailand for “The Deer Hunter” and knew the hotel’s manager and PR director.

That evening we rapped a little and, in talking about travel, learned we had many mutual friends in Bangkok. From all I’ve heard and read, he likes it that way. (Harvey played the part of the pimp “Sport” in the De Niro-starring film “Taxi Driver.”) Both actors were dressed in casual slacks, sportshirts and suede jackets.įrankly, if I hadn’t seen pictures of Bob (he prefers to be called that) the day before, I doubt if I would have recognized him. The first was at the Lexington Queen Disco in Roppongi where I had invited him and his close friend, actor Harvey Kietel. During Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro’s short stay in Tokyo (he was here to promote his latest film, “Raging Bull” for United Artists, now showing throughout Japan) I had the opportunity to spend some time with him on three occasions.

Robert de niro raging bull