{"id":1726,"date":"2022-05-26T18:36:16","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T18:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/?p=1726"},"modified":"2022-05-26T18:36:16","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T18:36:16","slug":"a-tribute-to-goodfellas-actor-ray-liotta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2022\/05\/a-tribute-to-goodfellas-actor-ray-liotta.html","title":{"rendered":"A Tribute to “Goodfellas” Actor Ray Liotta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ray Liotta, the actor whose career breakout came in the 1990 Martin Scorsese crime classic\u00a0Goodfellas\u00a0<\/em>after co-starring in\u00a0Field of Dreams<\/em>, has died. He was 67. Deadline first reported that Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting a film titled Dangerous Waters. <\/em>No foul play is suspected, but any other information regarding the circumstances of his death haven’t been released.<\/p>\n

Born on December 18, 1954, in Newark, NJ, Liotta studied acting at the University of Miami before landing his\u00a0Another World<\/em>\u00a0role. He had bit parts in telefilms and guested on\u00a0St. Elsewhere\u00a0<\/em>in 1983 before co-starring in\u00a0Casablanca,\u00a0<\/em>a short-lived 1983 NBC prequel series to the classic movie.<\/p>\n

Liotta went on to play a cop in the mid-\u201980s ABC drama\u00a0Our Family Honor\u00a0<\/em>before landing his first significant movie role as Ray Sinclair in the romantic comedy\u00a0Something Wild,<\/em>\u00a0starring Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels. He then starred with Tom Hulce in the 1988 drama\u00a0Dominick and Eugene,\u00a0<\/em> starring Jamie Lee Curtis. These two roles would lead Liotta to one of his most notable roles.<\/p>\n

Liotta played a ghostly version of Shoeless Joe Jackson in\u00a0Field of Dreams,\u00a0<\/em>widely considered among Hollywood\u2019s greatest baseball movies. His character was banned from baseball for life after the 1919 \u201cBlack Sox\u201d scandal and got a chance to play again when Ray Kinsella (Costner) was guided by voices to build a stadium in an Iowa cornfield. The film earned three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, directed by Phil Alden Robinson and co-starring Jones, Amy Madigan, and Burt Lancaster in his final big-screen role. <\/em>Then Martin Scorsese and Goodfellas <\/em>came calling.<\/p>\n

Coming off 1988\u2019s\u00a0The Last Temptation of Christ,\u00a0<\/em>the filmmaker pivoted to the mob genre with\u00a0Goodfellas\u00a0<\/em>and cast Liotta to star as Henry Hill, a role that Liotta worked hard to get. The film was a critical and commercial success, landing six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, with Pesci winning for Supporting Actor and Scorsese getting his third nomination for Best Director.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Ray Liotta (@rayliotta)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n