he Los Angeles Times in 1991. He was also a stand-in for Robert DeNiro in “Taxi Driver” and Frank Sinatra in “The First Deadly Sin.”He had a small part in the first “Rocky” movie and formed a lifelong friendship with Sylvester Stallone.In 1991, he wrote the screenplay for the movie “29th Street,” about an Italian-American who wins more than $6 million in the first New York State Lottery, which he claimed was autobiographical.