Ray Liotta, star of ‘Field of Dreams,’ and ‘Goodfellas,’ dies at 67
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Actor Ray Liotta died in his sleep on Wednesday in the Dominican Republic where he was filming a new movie, “Dangerous Waters”.
Liotta, best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in “Goodfellas” and baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Field of Dreams”, was 67. No foul play is suspected in his death.
The Newark, New Jersey, native was born December 18, 1954. He was adopted out of an orphanage in 1955 at six months old by his father Alfred, an auto parts store owner, and mom Mary, a township clerk.
During his senior year of high school, young Liotta, who was focused on playing sports, was asked by his drama teacher if he wanted to be in a play, which he agreed to on a lark. This planted an acting seed that followed him to the University of Miami. He would say that he picked drama and acting because they had no math requirements attached. Whether he knew it or not at the time, it planted a seed, though he still assumed he’d end up working construction. After graduation, Liotta got an agent and soon his first big break on the soap opera “Another World”, thus avoiding a construction worker future he thought was his.
Liotta always assumed he was mostly Italian — the movies did too. But later in life while searching for his birth parents, he discovered he’s actually Scottish. Liotta tracked down his birth mother and found out he had a half brother, five half-sisters, and a full sister that he didn’t know about.
Liotta was engaged to fiancée Jacy Nittolo at the time of his passing. He announced their engagement in December saying on Instagram, “Christmas wishes do come true. I asked the love of my life to marry me, and thank God she said yes!!!“
Liotta is also survived by his 23-year-old daughter Karsen, whom he shares with ex-wife Michelle Grace.
Lorraine Bracco, who played Karen Hill in “Goodfellas”, tweeted on Thursday, “Utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about my Ray. I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up and tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas. Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie, my response has always been the same…Ray Liotta.”
