RAGINGBULL, JAKE, and VIKKI LAMOTTA
Forty years have passed since Raging Bullx entered the consciousness of fight fans and moviegoers around the world. The film, starring Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta, premiered in New York on November 14, 1980, and was released in the United Kingdom on February 19, 1981.
The movie had special meaning for Vikki LaMotta (the second of Jake’s seven wives), who was portrayed onscreen by Cathy Moriarty. During her marriage to Jake (which began when she was sixteen years old), Vikki was subjected to brutal beatings. Finally, she left and carved out a new life for herself. But Raging Bull brought her back into Jake’s orbit. The following pages are excerpted from KNOCKOUT: The Sexy, Violent, Extraordinary Life of Vikki LaMotta co-authored by Vikki with Thomas Hauser. The book has just been reissued in print and eBook form by Encore Press.
BEING involved with the movie carried a burden. Part of the price was being forced to relive a painful frightening period of my life. And just as bad, I had to deal with Jake in person all over again.
Over two decades had passed since we’d been together. And Jake still didn’t understand the difference between right and wrong. He’d gotten older without getting wiser. He was single again, broke, still violent, and drinking. And he wanted me. At first, his attempts at reconciliation had a poignant quality.
“Vikki, the greatest part of my life is happening now and I want you there with me. I was finished, washed up, a bum, gone completely. Then DeNiro comes along and everything’s different for me. I’m gonna be rich. People will respect me. You and I, we had such a beautiful love story. You’re the only person I ever loved. The movie is fate. You belong with me.”
