Ray Liotta, ‘Goodfellas’ & ‘Shades Of Blue’ Star, Dies At 67: Cause Of Death Under Investigation

Ray Liotta, best known for portraying Henry Hill in the 1990 film Goodfellas has died in the Dominican Republic at the age of 67, his publicist says. Liotta was filming the mystery thriller film, Dangerous Waters and then passed away in his sleep. There are no further details regarding his cause of death at this time.

While known for plenty of iconic roles as both criminals and cops from a landmark Martin Scorsese flick to primetime dramas like Shades Of Blue, Liotta was really a prolific and versatile actor who appeared in plenty of comedic and non-cop drama roles as well as being a go-to wise guy for much of his career.

Raymond Allen Liotta was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 18, 1954. He was left at an orphanage as a baby and adopted at six months by Mary and Alfred Liotta. Both of his parents had an interest in politics and unsuccessfully ran for local office.

Liotta attended the University of Miami and graduated with a theatre degree in 1978. He performed in musicals such as Cabaret, Oklahoma and Sound of Music while a student there. He got his start on a New York soap opera Another World but left in 1981 after three years on the show to pursue a film career in Los Angeles.

The actor’s breakout film role came in 1986 with Something Wild, which earned him an early-career Golden Globe nomination. The next years would be huge for Liotta to as Field of Dreams and Goodfellas would be released back to back in 1989 and 1990.

Liotta has been a prolific actor since his early career, with hardly any breaks in his film appearances to speak of. To name a few, he got to play Frank Sinatra in HBO TV film The Rat Pack, collaborated twice with James Mangold for memorable roles in Cop Land and Identity, and even lent his voice to episodes of animated series like Spongebog Squarepants and video games such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

He was married to actress and producer Michelle Grace, from 1997 until 2004. They have one daughter, Karsen Liotta, from the marriage. Liotta had been engaged to girlfriend Jacy Nittolo since Christmas Day, 2020, and she was reported to be accompanying him on the Dominican Republic set.