Ray Liotta, Legendary ‘Goodfellas’ Star, Dies Suddenly at 67

Ray Liotta, a legendary actor who is known for his role in Goodfellas, has died suddenly, according to Deadline. He was 67 years old. Deadline reports that Liotta died in his sleep while in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting the film Dangerous Waters. He was engaged to be married to Jacy Nittolo and leaves behind a daughter, Karsen.

Liotta kept himself busy over the years. His most recent projects included The Many Saints of Newark, Marriage Story and No Sudden Move. He recently finished filming an upcoming movie called Cocaine Bear which is directed by Elizabeth Banks and was due to star in the working title film The Substance opposite Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. Liotta will star in the Apple TV+ series Black Bird which will premiere on July 8. 

Liotta got his start in the late 1970s, appearing in the soap opera Another World. He made his film debut in 1983’s The Lonley Lady which was followed by Something Wild in 1986. For his portrayal of Ray Sinclair in Something Wild, Liotta earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. And in 1989, Liotta played the role of Shoeless Joe Jackson in the baseball film Field of Dreams which also starred Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones. 

But Liotta became a household name in Goodfellas which was released in 1990. He played the role of Henry Hill who was a mobster associated with the Lucchese crime family. Goodfellas earned critical acclaim and was nominated for six academy awards. 

“That was a pretty momentous moment in my career,” Liotta told Men’s Journal about Goodfellas. “The fact that [Martin] Scorsese was directing. All of a sudden [Robert De Niro] came into the project. I was living in Los Angeles at the time, but I moved here for the shoot, which was getting delayed a while. My mother was sick with cancer and died in the middle of us filming. The fact that that was going on made me less intimidated by the situation, I believe, because I was thinking, ‘My mother is dying of cancer. I am going to come here and be afraid of a guy who is an actor?’”

Some of the other notable films Liotta starred in are Cop Land, Blow, John Q, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and Hubie Halloween. He also appeared on the TV shows St. Elsewhere, Frasier, Family Guy, The League, Shades of Blue and ER. Liotta earned a Primetime Emmy Award for his appearance on ER, winning Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.