The King of Comedy is a 1982 American satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard. Written by Paul D. Zimmerman, the film focuses on themes such as celebrity worship and American media culture. 20th Century-Fox released the film on February 18, 1983, in the United States, although the film was released two months earlier in Iceland. In the film, an aspiring stand-up comedian is increasingly obsessed with a successful comedian whom he met by chance.