The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced Robert De Niro as the recipient of the 44th Chaplin Award. The award will be presented at an award gala on Monday, May 8, 2017. Prior to the presentation of the award, the event will celebrate De Niro’s four decade-long career, as well as his championing of independent film through the Tribeca Film Festival.

• De Niro will take home the 2017 trophy for a four-decade acting career that stretches from early work including “Mean Streets,” “Raging Bull” and “The Godfather Part II” to more recent projects such as “Silver Linings Playbook”, reported Variety.
• He is also the high-profile co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, launched in the wake of 9/11 in an effort to boost the economic prospects of lower Manhattan.
• The 73-year-old actor-producer will be honored by the Film Society at a springtime gala featuring notable guests and presenters as well as movie and interview footage drawn from De Niro’s career.
• He joins a list of previous Chaplin recipients that includes Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor, Meryl Streep, Billy Wilder and last year’s honoree, Morgan Freeman. The 44th annual Chaplin Award gala is set for May 8.
• Prior to that, De Niro’s latest project, the Broadway musical adaptation of “A Bronx Tale,” which he co-directs, opens in December.