Last Thursday, Hollywood and the world were mourning the sudden loss of Ray Liotta, the prolific actor in hit films like Goodfellas and Field Of Dreams. He was 67 years old. So far, it's been reported that Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic where he was shooting a new film.
"Ray was working on a project in the Dominican Republic called Dangerous Waters when he passed. He passed in his sleep. He is survived by his daughter, Karsen, and his fiancée, Jacy Nittolo," said his publicist Jennifer Allen.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Liotta was adopted when he was six months old from an orphanage. After graduating college, Liotta moved to New York City where he got work in commercials and tried to make it into acting. Eventually, he would go on to become one of the most prolific actors of his generation and had more than 120 roles to his name.
The actor made a name for himself playing mostly tough-guy roles. As macho and menacing as he was on screen, Liotta claimed it was all for the camera and that he never got into a fight in real life.
Liotta made his film debut in 1983's The Lonely Lady, before getting a big break playing ex-convict Ray Sinclair in the 1986 black comedy Something Wild. The actor then shined as mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's 1990 classic Goodfellas. Just a year before that, Liotta starred opposite Kevin Costner and played the role of the ghost of baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field Of Dreams. Liotta would later earn an Emmy for guest-starring as a gravely ill ex-con and alcoholic in the medical drama series ER. The actor was in the midst of a career resurgence with last year's drama The Many Saints Of Newark and was working until the end of his life.
In the wake of his passing, here are Liotta's five most memorable films you can watch on streaming platforms.
Goodfellas (1990)
On Apple TV
Liotta plays Henry Hill, a poor Irish-Italian growing up in 1950s New York City, who rises through the ranks of his Brooklyn neighbourhood's organised crime branch. With money from the mob he begins living the good life, but Henry ends up in the FBI's witness protection programme after testifying against his former partners in crime.
Marriage Story (2019)
On Netflix
This high drama indie film written and directed by Noah Baumbach follows a married couple, an actress (Scarlett Johansson) and a theatre director (Adam Driver), going through a sad divorce. Liotta plays the role of Driver's lawyer.
Point Of Origin (2002)
On HBO GO
Point Of Origin is a biographical crime film directed by Newton Thomas Sigel and details the account of the true story of convicted serial arsonist John Leonard Orr. Liotta plays an arson investigator whose behaviour draws the suspicion of his colleagues.
Blow (2001)
On Netflix
Blow is an American biographical crime film directed by Ted Demme and stars Johnny Depp as American cocaine smuggler George Jung and features drug kingpins Pablo Escobar and Carlos Lehder Rivas. Liotta plays Depp's father, Frederick "Fred" Jung, and the pair appeared in a number of emotional scenes together.
Field Of Dreams (1989)
On Apple TV
Based on W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel Shoeless Joe, the film stars Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella, a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by Liotta. Inspired by a voice, Ray can't ignore pursuing a dream he can hardly believe.
