University of Texas center to honor Robert De Niro
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Actor Robert De Niro is helping the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas celebrate 65 years of work.
The actor, director and producer has worked with the collection library and museum for more than 16 years. The center will honor De Niro for his dedication with a new endowment called "The De Niro Curator Film."
“It is a privilege to welcome Robert De Niro, a great friend of the Ransom Center and ardent supporter of the arts, to Austin as we celebrate 65 years of archiving important American cultural history,” said Harry Ransom Center Director Stephen Enniss. “This endowment will support the ongoing work to preserve film history and inspire the next generation of filmmakers.”
In 2006, De Niro donated his own collection of film-related materials. The collection includes books, scripts, costumes, interviews, photographs and videotapes, said Steve Wilson, associate curator of the Ransom Center’s film collection, in a university release. Wilson praised the actor's archive for its depth.
“I strongly believe in and support what the Harry Ransom Center does to open the creative process of filmmaking to students and the community,” De Niro said. “The Center has done a remarkable job curating a breadth of collections underscoring the history of the art form and the business.”
For more than a decade, the valued collection has provided insight of Hollywood filmmaking in the late 20th century to present with the help from one of the best in the business.
“One of the most important things about the Harry Ransom Center is that the material will be accessible to students and the public,” said De Niro. “Ultimately, that’s what it’s all about.”
Robert De Niro will mark the Ransom Center's 65th anniversary with "A Celebration of Film" gala in Austin. The event will generate critically needed funding for the new endowment to preserve and expand the collection. The star-studded gala will take place Sept. 24 at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center on campus.