Newark, New Jersey, native Ray Liotta, best known for playing Henry Hill in “Goodfellas,” has died.
He was 67.
Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting his new movie, “Dangerous Waters,” his publicist confirmed to the Daily News Thursday.
His fiancee, Jacy Nittolo, was with him at the time.
The iconic actor, who has been on the screen for decades, also played Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Field of Dreams.” More recently, he appeared in the 2019 Netflix movie “Marriage Story” and the “Sopranos” prequel series “Many Saints of Newark.”
“It’s nice that the movie still lives on in people’s minds,” Liotta told the Daily News of “Goodfellas” in 2020, the 30th anniversary of the mob classic. “It seems like it’s one that’s going to keep on going.”
Though his turn as the ruggedly handsome Henry Hill, narrating the rise and fall of a Brooklyn mob family that pulled off a $6 million heist from the Lufthansa vault at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1978, made him a star, Liotta first turned heads in the the Jonathan Demme-directed “Something Wild,” which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
“Goodfellas,” directed by Martin Scorsese, racked up six Oscar nominations, with co-star Joe Pesci taking him the trophy for best supporting actor. The movie also starred Robert De Niro and Lorraine Bracco.
“Field of Dreams,” the Kevin Costner-starring flick about a farmer who builds a baseball field in his backyard to attract ghosts of MLB’s past, is widely regarded as one of the best sports movies. Liotta played Shoeless Joe Jackson, who brings his Chicago Black Sox teammates out for one more ball game.
His current project, “Dangerous Waters,” co-stars Odeya Rush, Eric Dane and Saffron Burrows in the story of a “sailing holiday that spirals out of control when a teenage daughter (Rush) uncovers the dark past of her mother’s new boyfriend.”
He also recently wrapped the Elizabeth Banks-directed “Cocaine Bear,” inspired by the true story of an American black bear that ingested a duffle bag full of cocaine in 1985. The movie, co-starring Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Margo Martindale, is due out in February.
In 2005, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for a guest role on the NBC medical drama “ER” as an alcoholic ex-con trying to make amends with his estranged son while the doctors try to save his life.
Liotta is survived by his daughter, Karen, and his fiancee.
“I am utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about my Ray,” Bracco tweeted. “I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & 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.”
“His work as an actor showed his complexity as a human being,” Jamie Lee Curtis tweeted. “A gentle man. So sad to hear.”
“Ray Liotta. Man. Just met dude for the first time last year,” wrote Jeffrey Wright. “GREAT actor. Nice to have had a chance to say that to him. RIP.”
“An extraordinary talent whose remarkable performances left an indelible mark on the screen,” wrote Cary Elwes. “Our deepest condolences to his family.”
“I adored you. I love knowing you all those years ago,” tweeted Kristin Chenoweth.
“He was a friend back in the day and it’s very sad,” Rosanna Arquette tweeted. “We had a lot of laughs. Rest In peace my friend.”
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