The American comedian passed away in his sleep while he was in the Dominican Republic for the filming of his next film, “Dangerous Waters”. He was 67 years old.
American actor Ray Liotta, best known for his roles in police or mafia films, such as Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese in 1990, died Thursday, May 26 at the age of 67, announced his agent, Jennifer Craig, to The Hollywood Reporter.
She said he died in his sleep while in the Dominican Republic filming his next film, Dangerous Waters. A spokesman for the Directorate General of Cinema of the Dominican Republic confirmed the information to Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that the actor was with his wife.
Born in 1954 in Newark, New Jersey, and adopted at the age of 6 months, Ray Liotta made a name for himself in 1986 thanks to Dangerous in all respects, with Melanie Griffith, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. as Best Supporting Actor. He had notably then played in the baseball film Until the end of the dream, in 1989, alongside Kevin Costner.
He became a world star for playing real-life New York mafia gangster Henry Hill (1943-2012) on screen in Goodfellas. The actor – who is also the narrator in the film – breaks the screen alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, in what is considered by moviegoers one of the greatest films of the genre in the 20th century. , with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather trilogy.
” A legend “
In 1991, the film Goodfellas won an Oscar (Joe Pesci, best supporting role) and was nominated in five other categories. Some of its scenes, sometimes ultraviolent, and the dialogues entered forever into the world of cinematographic culture.
Several actors saluted his memory Thursday evening. In a press release sent to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert De Niro, 78, said he was “ very saddened” by the disappearance of the actor, “far too young to leave us”. Lorraine Bracco, who played his wife Karen Hill in Goodfellas, wrote on Twitter that she was “totally devastated” by the death of Ray Liotta: “I can be anywhere in the world, people come to see me and tell me that Les Affranchisis their favorite movie. Then they always ask me what I preferred during the shooting of this film. My answer has always been the same… Ray Liotta. »
For one of his last screen appearances in 2021, Ray Liotta starred in the movie Many Saints Of Newark. A History of the Sopranos, which traces the youthful years of mobster Tony Soprano, from the television series of the same name. Alessandro Nivola, who co-starred with him in this film, said he was “very lucky to [s’] be measured against this legend in one of his last roles”.
Ray Liotta was married from 1997 to 2004 to actress Michelle Grace, with whom he had a daughter.