‘Goodfellas’ Star Ray Liotta Dies At 67

Ray Liotta, star of Goodfellas and Field of Dreams, has died at the age of 67.

Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting the film Dangerous Waters. He leaves behind a daughter, Karsen and fiancée Jacy Nittolo.

Liotta was on a big resurgence. Recent turns included The Many Saints of Newark, Marriage Story and Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move. He finished the Elizabeth Banks-directed Cocaine Bear and was due to star in The Substance opposite Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. He was also set to executive produce the docuseries Five Families, about the dramatic rise and fall of the New York’s mafia’s Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo and Lucchese families.

Liotta first started his tv career with Another World before co-starring in Casablanca. He later went on to play a cop in ABC’s Our Family Honor before landing his big movie role as Ray Sinclair in Something Wild. He then starred as Eugene in the 1998 drama Dominick and Eugene.

This all led to his two most famous roles –  Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams and Henry Hill in Goodfellas.

These roles led to Liotta becoming a big-screen regular during the ’90s, when he would star in films such as Unlawful Entry, No Escape, Unforgettable, Turbulence, Operation Dumbo Drop, Cop Land and Corrina, Corrina. He continued to be busy in the 2000s with roles in Ridley Scott’s Hannibal, Silence of the Lamb, Blow, Narc, John Q, Identity and Smokin’ Aces. He also appeared as himself in Bee Movie.

Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese paid tribute to Liotta in a statement saying he was “absolutely shocked and devastated” by his death.

“He was so uniquely gifted, so adventurous, so courageous as an actor,” said Scorsese. “Playing Henry Hill in Goodfellas was a tall order, because the character had so many different facets, so many complicated layers, and Ray was in almost every scene of a long, tough shoot. He absolutely amazed me, and I’ll always be proud of the work we did together on that picture. My heart goes out to his loved ones, and it aches for his loss, way too early.”

Tributes to the actor have started to appear online from those in the industry including Jamie Lee Curtis, Viola Davis and James Mangold amongst many others.