Ray Liotta, who created intense, memorable characters in “Goodfellas,” “Field of Dreams” and other films as well as on television, died in his sleep Wednesday night or early Thursday in the Dominican Republic. He was 67.
His publicist, Jennifer Allen, said that he was filming a movie, “Dangerous Waters,” and died in his hotel room. She said the cause was not yet known.
Liotta was known primarily for having played Joey Perrini on soap opera “Another World” when he landed a role in the 1986 comic crime story “Something Wild.” His friend Melanie Griffith leaned on the film’s director, Jonathan Demme, to consider him, and he got the role of her character’s menacing husband, an ex-con.
He won acclaim as baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson, the spectral figure who appears on the ballfield built by Kevin Costner’s character in “Field of Dreams” (1989).
One role defined Liotta’s career more than any other: gangster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed 1990 film “Goodfellas.” That sprawling film was based on the real-life story of Hill, and Liotta said it challenged him like no job before.
“In this film, I had to show jealousy, rage, happiness, anger — everything was there,” he told The Associated Press in 1990. “You want to take that challenge as an actor. It was pretty intense.”
A wide range of roles followed, including “Hannibal” (2001), “Narc” (2002) and “Killing Them Softly” (2012). Last year Liotta appeared in the “Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark.” He played his share of comic parts, too, including in “Muppets” movies and “Operation Dumbo Drop” (1995).
Liotta, according to his biography on imdb.com, was born Dec. 18, 1954, in Newark, New Jersey. At 6 months old he was adopted by Alfred and Mary Liotta, who together operated an auto parts business. He grew up in Union, New Jersey.
In 2005, he won an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor in a drama for an appearance on “ER.”
Liotta, who lived in Los Angeles, is survived by a daughter, Karsen Liotta, from his marriage to actor Michelle Grace, which ended in divorce; a sister, Linda Liotta Matthews; and his fiancee, Jacy Nittolo.
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