Ray Liotta, actor and producer, has died. Deadline reports that Liotta passed away in his sleep in Dominican Republic. He was currently filming the movie Dangerous Waters. He was 67 years of age.
Raymond Allen Liotta, was born December 18, 1954 in Newark. He w
as abandoned by his biological mom when he turned six months old. Mary and Alfred Liotta adopted him. Liotta graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in acting. He then moved to New York where he worked as a bartender. He soon had his own agent, and he made his acting debut in the soap opera Another World, where he played Joey Perrini, for three years. He decided to make a career in film and moved to Los Angeles in 1983 to start his career in film. In the drama Career through All Beds, he won seven Golden Raspberry Awards.
His first major role was in 1986’s crime comedy Dangerous Lady with Jeff Daniels ( Martian – Save Mark Watney) and Melanie Griffith( Lolita_), earning him a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor. He was first seen in the Oscar-winning drama Field of Dreams. Then he got his big break in Martin Scorsese’s mafia drama GoodFellas, playing the role of Henry Hill, the mobster. He was also a star in films like Escape from Absolom, Cop Land, Blow, Hannibal, and Identity.
In 2005, he won an Emmy for his appearance on Emergency Room as Charlie Metcalf, a terminally ill character. This was his only Emmy award in his 40-year career. After the series Smith was cancelled after three episodes, he assumed one of the major roles in the crime series Shades of Blue with Jennifer Lopez. His last appearances include Modern Family, Young Sheldon, and the third season Hanna.
In The Many Saints of Newark, the prequel of The Sopranos, Liotta was cast as twin brothers Aldo and Salvatore Moltisanti, two mobsters. Many projects are in post-production at the moment, including the horror film Cocaine Bear. It will also be in Apple’s forthcoming series Black Bird, which will air starting July 8.
Liotta played a variety of villains, gangsters, and cops. He was also well-known for his comedy side. He also scored the animated film Bee Movie in which he parodied his Emmy-winning guest role and poked fun at his Mobster image on an episode of SpongeBob. He voiced Morty Szyslak (Moe’s father) in “The Mattress King” on The Simpsons. He also voiced Thomas “Tommy” Vercetti in the game Grand Theft Auto : Vice City.
His daughter Karson, who was in a relationship with Michelle Grace and his fiance Jacy Nickelo, are his survivors.