Ray Liotta

Raymond Allen Liotta (Italian: [liˈɔta]; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He first gained attention for his role in the film Something Wild (1986), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. He was best known for his portrayals of Shoeless Joe Jackson in the film Field of Dreams (1989) and Henry Hill in the film Goodfellas (1990). Liotta appeared in numerous other films, including Unlawful Entry (1992), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), John Q., Narc (both 2002), Identity (2003), Killing Them Softly, The Place Beyond the Pines (both 2012), and Marriage Story (2019).

Ray Liotta
Liotta in September 2014
Born	(1954-12-18)December 18, 1954 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	May 26, 2022(2022-05-26) (aged 67) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Resting place	Mount Pleasant Cemetery
Education	University of Miami (BFA)
Occupations	Actor film producer
Years active	1978–2022
Spouse	Michelle Grace ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2004)​
Children	1

Liotta won a Primetime Emmy Award for his guest role in the television series ER in 2005. He starred as Frank Sinatra in the television film The Rat Pack (1998) and Lorca in the miniseries Texas Rising (2015), both of which earned him Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and starred in the series Shades of Blue (2016–2018) and Black Bird (2022). The latter garnered him a posthumous Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role as Big Jim Keene at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. He had a prominent voice acting role as Tommy Vercetti in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002).

After his death in 2022, Liotta was posthumously recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 24, 2023. His films that were released posthumously include Cocaine Bear, Fool's Paradise, Dangerous Waters (all 2023), and 1992 (2024).

Early life and education

Liotta was born in Newark, New Jersey, on December 18, 1954.^[1] Having been abandoned at an orphanage, he was adopted at the age of six months by township clerk Mary (née Edgar) and auto parts store owner Alfred Liotta.^[2][3][4][5] His adoptive parents were Scottish and Italian Americans.^[6] Alfred was a personnel director and president of a local Democratic Party club.^[2] His adoptive parents each unsuccessfully ran for local political office; he recalled attending parades to hand out flyers for his father's run.^[7][8]

Liotta had a sister, Linda, who was also adopted. He said that he knew that he was adopted as a young child, and presented a show-and-tell report.^[7] He hired a private detective to locate his biological mother, named Ruth, in the 2000s, from whom he learned his family was of Scottish descent.^{[9][10][contradictory]} He had one biological sister, one biological half-brother also named Ray, and five biological half-sisters.^[7][11]

Liotta grew up in a Roman Catholic household in Union, New Jersey,^[12] although his family was not especially religious.^[13] They attended church and he received first communion and was confirmed, but the family did not pray much. He occasionally used prayer in his daily life, telling an interviewer, "... if I'm in a fix, I'll pray ... if I'm feeling uncomfortable about something, I'll say "Our Fathers" and "Hail Marys" to this day."^[13] In 1973, he graduated from Union High School,^[9] and was later named to the Union High School Hall of Fame.^[14]

Liotta attended the University of Miami, where he studied acting and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1978.^[15] He performed in plays and musicals, including Cabaret, Dames at Sea, Oklahoma, and The Sound of Music, at the University of Miami's Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.^[16]

Career

Liotta, Winona Ryder, and Michael Shannon at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of The Iceman

After graduating from the University of Miami, Liotta moved to New York City, where he was hired as a bartender at the Shubert Organization and landed an agent within six months.^[9] One of his earliest roles was as Joey Perrini on the soap opera Another World, on which he appeared from 1978 to 1981.^[17] He left the show and moved to Los Angeles. He made his film debut in 1983's The Lonely Lady. His first major acting role was Something Wild (1986),^[7][18] for which he received his first Golden Globe nomination, this nomination being for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.^[19] In 1989, Liotta played the ghost of baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson in the fantasy/drama film Field of Dreams.^[20]

In 1990, Liotta portrayed real-life mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's universally praised and commercially successful Academy Award winning film Goodfellas.^[9] In 1992, he starred as a psychopathic cop in the thriller Unlawful Entry. He appeared in a leading role in the 1994 science-fiction/action film No Escape. In 1995, he starred in the war comedy film Operation Dumbo Drop. In 1996, he starred in the sci-fi/thriller Unforgettable. Liotta earned critical praise for his turn in James Mangold's 1997 film Cop Land, and he received critical praise in 1998 for his performance as a compulsive gambler in Phoenix.^[21]

Liotta portrayed singer Frank Sinatra in the 1998 TV film The Rat Pack (for which he received a Screen Actors Guild award nomination). He starred as himself in the sitcom Just Shoot Me! in December 2001. In October 2002, he provided the voice of Tommy Vercetti for the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. He appeared in the television drama ER in 2004, playing Charlie Metcalf in the episode "Time of Death".

The ER role earned Liotta an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Liotta later spoofed himself and his Emmy win in Bee Movie). Liotta starred in the 2006 CBS television series Smith, which was pulled from the schedule after three episodes. In 2012, Liotta appeared as himself in a purely vocal role for the "What a Croc!" episode of the Disney Channel comedy series Phineas and Ferb.^[22]

Liotta played the Justice Department official Paul Krendler in the 2001 film Hannibal opposite Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore. Also in 2001, he played the father of drug dealer George Jung in the film Blow. In 2002, he appeared as Detective Lieutenant Henry Oak in the Joe Carnahan-directed film Narc, a role that led to an Independent Spirit Award nomination and a Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards nomination for Best Supporting Male.^[23][24]

He reunited with director James Mangold in 2003, alongside John Cusack and Alfred Molina, in the dark horror-thriller Identity. In 2005, he narrated Inside the Mafia for the National Geographic Channel. In 2006, he appeared in Smokin' Aces—reuniting with Narc director Carnahan, in which he portrayed an FBI agent named Donald Carruthers in one of the lead roles.^[25] In 2004, Liotta made his Broadway debut opposite Frank Langella in the Stephen Belber play Match.^[26][27][28] Ben Brantley of The New York Times described Liotta as "compelling" but "doesn't have much to work with for his Broadway debut."^[29] That same year he appeared in an advertisement for Heineken in the UK. The ads were eventually pulled by Ofcom "in breach of the advertising code for implying that stronger alcohol is better."^[30]

In 2007, Liotta appeared with John Travolta in the film Wild Hogs, and in Battle in Seattle as the city's mayor. In 2008, he starred in Hero Wanted as a detective alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. Also in 2008, he made a guest appearance on the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?". In the episode, he voices the leader of a gang called the Bubble Poppin' Boys, who try to kill an amnesiac SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny).^[31][32][33] In 2009 he appeared in Crossing Over, co-starring Harrison Ford. Liotta played Detective Harrison in the 2009 Jody Hill comedy Observe and Report as Seth Rogen's nemesis from the local police. In 2011, he starred in The Son of No One, opposite Channing Tatum and Al Pacino.^[34]

In the 2010s, Liotta appeared in Date Night with Steve Carell, in Charlie St. Cloud with Zac Efron, the independent drama Snowmen, and The River Sorrow, which stars Liotta as a detective alongside Christian Slater and Ving Rhames. He starred alongside Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini in the 2012 Andrew Dominik film Killing Them Softly^[35] and the 2012 Ariel Vromen film The Iceman features Liotta as the character of Roy DeMeo.^[36] He had a supporting role in Muppets Most Wanted (2014).^[37]

In 2014, he played a preacher in the faith-based film The Identical.^[16][38] His other 2014 projects include Kill the Messenger with Jeremy Renner, Stretch with Chris Pine, and a David Guetta video.^[38] He starred in the Western miniseries Texas Rising for The History Channel in 2015. For his performance he earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie nomination. From 2015 to 2016, he narrated the AMC docu-series The Making of the Mob.^[39] Liotta starred opposite Jennifer Lopez in Shades of Blue between 2016 and 2018.^[40][41] In 2018, he became a spokesperson for Pfizer's Chantix advertising campaign.^[42]

Liotta appeared as Charlie Barber's (Adam Driver) second divorce attorney, Jay Marotta in the 2019 Noah Baumbach film Marriage Story.^[43] The film received critical acclaim and earned six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Liotta received praise for his performance with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian declaring, "what a thrill to hear his syrupy-gravelly voice again". The Hollywood Reporter described Liotta as being in "fine, mischievous form".^[44] In 2021, he played twin brothers "Hollywood Dick" Moltisanti and Salvatore "Sally" Moltisanti in the film The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to the HBO crime drama series The Sopranos.^[45]

Liotta appeared in Cocaine Bear, a thriller film based on the true story of an American black bear that ingested a duffel bag full of cocaine in 1985. The movie, released in theaters in February 2023, is directed by Elizabeth Banks and traces the aftermath of a drug runner's cocaine disappearing in a plane crash and being devoured by a bear.^[17][46] The movie was dedicated to his memory.

Personal life

Liotta in 2012

Liotta married Michelle Grace, an actress and producer, in February 1997 after they met at a baseball game, where her former husband Mark Grace was playing for the Chicago Cubs.^[47] They had a daughter, Karsen, before divorcing amicably in 2004.^[2][9]

On an episode of Jay Leno's Garage, Liotta revealed that Nancy and Tina Sinatra once sent Liotta a fake horse's head in the mail. The joke was in response to Liotta's declining to play their father in a miniseries they were working on, only to see Liotta play him in the 1998 HBO television film The Rat Pack.^[48]

In February 2007, he was charged with driving under the influence after crashing his Cadillac Escalade into two parked vehicles in Pacific Palisades.^[49] He pleaded no contest.^[50]

From his experience shooting the Western Texas Rising, Liotta continued horseback riding and said in September 2014: "I was obsessed with riding horses [on the show]. I love it now. I've never had a hobby. It might be my new hobby."^[7]

In May 2017, Liotta, along with talk show host and actress Kelly Ripa, was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

In 2018, while discussing his role alongside Jennifer Lopez as a corrupt cop targeted by the FBI in the NBC crime drama Shades of Blue, Liotta told a reporter for Long Island Weekly:

You want to do as many different genres as you can and that's what I've been doing. I've done movies with the Muppets. I did Sinatra. I did good guys and bad guys. I did a movie with an elephant. I decided that I was here to try different parts and do different things. That's what it's really all about. That's what a career should be.^[51]

In 2022, after wrapping up filming of Cocaine Bear, Liotta made a speech and stated that he was known for being Italian, but he did a heritage tree and found that he mostly has Irish ancestry.^{[46][contradictory]}

Death

Liotta died in his sleep on May 26, 2022, at age 67, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, during the filming of Dangerous Waters.^[52][53] At the time of his death, he was engaged to Jacy Nittolo.^[54] An autopsy report released in 2023 concluded that Liotta's cause of death was respiratory failure, pulmonary edema, and heart failure, with atherosclerosis cited as an underlying issue.^[55]

Liotta was posthumously recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 24, 2023, with his daughter Karsen collecting the recognition on his behalf.^[56]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1983	The Lonely Lady	Joe Heron	Film debut	[57]
1986	Something Wild	Ray Sinclair		[58]
1987	Arena Brains	The Artist	Short film	[59]
1988	Dominick and Eugene	Eugene "Gino" Luciano		[60]
1989	Field of Dreams	Shoeless Joe Jackson		[54]
1990	Goodfellas	Henry Hill		[52]
1992	Article 99	Dr. Richard Sturgess		[61]
	Unlawful Entry	Officer Pete Davis		[62]
1994	No Escape	Captain J.T. Robbins		[63]
	Corrina, Corrina	Manny Singer		[64]
1995	Operation Dumbo Drop	Captain T.C. Doyle		[65]
1996	Unforgettable	Dr. David Krane		[66]
1997	Turbulence	Ryan Weaver		[67]
	Cop Land	Detective Gary "Figgsy" Figgis		[68]
1998	Phoenix	Detective Harry Collins	Also co-producer	[69]
1999	Muppets from Space	Gate Guard	Cameo	[70]
	Forever Mine	Mark Brice		[71]
2000	Pilgrim	Jack		[72]
	A Rumor of Angels	Nathan Neubauer		[73]
2001	Hannibal	Paul Krendler		[74]
	Heartbreakers	Dean Cummano / Vinny Staggliano		[75]
	Blow	Fred Jung		[76]
2002	John Q.	Chief Gus Monroe		[77]
	Narc	Lieutenant Henry Oak	Also producer	[78]
	Ticker	Secret Service agent	Short film	[79][80]
2003	Identity	Officer Rhodes		[81]
2004	The Last Shot	Jack Devine		[82]
	Control	Lee Ray Oliver	Direct-to-DVD	[83]
2005	Revolver	Dorothy Macha		[84]
	Slow Burn	Ford Cole	Also co-executive producer	[85][86]
2006	Even Money	Tom Carver		[87]
	Take the Lead		Executive producer	[88][89]
	Local Color	John Talia Sr.		[90]
	Comeback Season	Walter Pearce		[91]
	Smokin' Aces	FBI Agent Donald Carruthers		[92]
2007	Wild Hogs	Jack Blade		[93]
	In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale	Gallian		[94]
	Battle in Seattle	Mayor Jim Tobin		[95]
	Bee Movie	Himself (voice)		[96]
2008	Hero Wanted	Detective Terry Subcott	Direct-to-DVD	[97]
	Powder Blue	Jack Doheny		[98]
2009	Crossing Over	Cole Frankel		[99]
	Observe and Report	Detective Harrison		[100]
	The Line	Mark Shields	Also executive producer	[101]
	Youth in Revolt	Lance Wescott		[102]
2010	Crazy on the Outside	Gray		[103]
	Date Night	Joe Miletto	Uncredited	[104]
	Snowmen	Reggie Kirkfield	Also executive producer	[105]
	Chasing 3000	Adult Mickey		[106]
	Charlie St. Cloud	Florio Ferrente		[107]
2011	The Details	Peter Mazzoni		[108]
	The Son of No One	Capt. Mathers		[109]
	All Things Fall Apart	Dr. Brintall		[110]
	Street Kings 2: Motor City	Detective Marty Kingston	Direct-to-DVD	[111]
	The River Murders	Jack Verdon		[112]
	Field of Dreams 2: Lockout	Roger Goodell	Short film for Funny or Die	[113]
	The Entitled	Richard Nader		[114]
2012	Wanderlust	Himself	Cameo	[54]
	Killing Them Softly	Markie Trattman		[115]
	Breathless	Sheriff Cooley		[116]
	The Iceman	Roy DeMeo		[117]
	The Place Beyond the Pines	Peter Deluca		[118]
	Ticket Out	Jim		[119]
	Yellow	Afai		[120]
	Bad Karma	Molloy		[121]
	Dear Dracula	Count Dracula (voice)	Direct-to-DVD	[122]
2013	The Devil's in the Details	Dr. Bruce Michaels		[123]
	Pawn	Man in the Suit		[124]
	Suddenly	Todd Shaw		[125]
2014	Better Living Through Chemistry	Elizabeth's Husband		[126]
	Muppets Most Wanted	Big Papa		[127]
	The Identical	Reece Wade	Also executive producer	[128]
	Sin City: A Dame to Kill For	Joey		[129]
	Revenge of the Green Dragons	FBI Agent Michael Bloom		[130]
	Stretch	Himself	Cameo	[131]
	Kill the Messenger	John Cullen		[132]
2015	Blackway	Blackway		[133]
	Campus Code	Bartender		[134]
2016	Sticky Notes	Jack		[135]
	Flock of Dudes	Uncle Reed		[136]
2019	Marriage Story	Jay Marotta		[52]
2020	Hubie Halloween	Mr. Pete Landolfa		[137]
2021	No Sudden Move	Frank Capelli		[138]
	The Many Saints of Newark	Aldo "Hollywood Dick" Moltisanti / Salvatore "Sally" Moltisanti		[139]
2022	Every Last Secret	Mr. Ancilla		[140]
2023	Cocaine Bear	Syd White	Posthumous release	[52][17]
	Fool's Paradise	The Producer		[138]
	Dangerous Waters	The Captain		[138]
2024	1992	Lowell		[141]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1978–1981	Another World	Joey Perrini		[142]
1980	Hardhat and Legs	Family	Television film	[143]
1981	Crazy Times	Johnny "Wizard" Lazarra	Television film	[144]
1983	St. Elsewhere	Murray	Episode: "Rain"	[54]
	Casablanca	Sacha	5 episodes	[138]
1984	Mike Hammer	Tony Cable	Episode: "Kill Devil"	[145]
1985	Our Family Honor	Officer Ed Santini	10 episodes	[142]
1991	Women & Men 2	Meadows	Television film	[146]
1995	Frasier	Bob	Voice; Episode: "Frasier Grinch"	[138][147]
1998	The Rat Pack	Frank Sinatra	Television film	[142]
2001	Family Guy	Zack	Voice; Episode: "Brian Does Hollywood"	[54]
2001–2002	Just Shoot Me!	Himself	2 episodes	[54]
2002	Point of Origin	John Leonard Orr	Television film	[148]
2003	Saturday Night Live	Himself (host)	Episode: "Ray Liotta/The Donnas"	[149]
2004	ER	Charlie Metcalf	Episode: "Time of Death"	[142]
2006–2007	Smith	Bobby Stevens	7 episodes	[54]
2008	SpongeBob SquarePants	Bubble Poppin Boys Leader	Voice; Episode: "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?"	[54]
2010	Hannah Montana	Principal Luger	Episode: "Hannah Montana to the Principal's Office"	[54]
2011	The League	Mr. Hudabega	Episode: "Yobogoya!"	[150]
2012	Phineas and Ferb	Himself	Voice; Episode: "What A Croc!"	[147]
	NTSF:SD:SUV::	Jason	Episode: "Wasilla Hills Cop"	[151]
	Abominable Christmas	Abominable Dad	Voice; Television film	[147]
2014	The Money	George Archer	Pilot	[152]
2015	Texas Rising	Lorca	5 episodes	[138]
2015–2016	The Making of the Mob	Narrator	Voice; 16 episodes	[52]
2016–2018	Shades of Blue	Lt. Matt Wozniak	36 episodes	[142]
2016	Modern Family	Himself	Episode: "Playdates"	[138]
2017	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Paulie Fiuccillo	Episode: "Kimmy Pulls Off a Heist!"	[138]
	Young Sheldon	Vincent	Episode: "A Solar Calculator, a Game Ball, and a Cheerleader's Bosom"	[153]
2018	Great News	Himself	Episode: "Early Retirement"	[154]
	The Simpsons	Morty Szyslak	Voice; Episode: "King Leer"	[54]
2021	Hanna	Gordon Evans	6 episodes	[155]
2022	Black Bird	James "Big Jim" Keene	6 episodes; Posthumous release	[155]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2002	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Tommy Vercetti		[127]
2013	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	Billy Handsome	Character featured in the Mob of the Dead zombies map	[156]
2021	Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition	Tommy Vercetti	Archival recordings Remaster of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City only

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2004	Match	Mike	Plymouth Theatre, Broadway	[127]

Music videos

Year	Title	Album	Role	Ref(s)
2014	"Lovers on the Sun"	Listen by David Guetta	The Villain	[52]
2015	"Bloodstream"	× by Ed Sheeran and Rudimental		[157]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
1986	Golden Globe Award	Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Something Wild	Nominated
1986	Boston Society of Film Critics Award	Best Supporting Actor		Won
1986	National Society of Film Critics	Best Supporting Actor		3rd Place
1986	New York Film Critics Circle Award	Best Supporting Actor		3rd Place
1998	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie	The Rat Pack	Nominated
2002	Independent Spirit Award	Best Supporting Male	Narc	Nominated
2002	Phoenix Film Critics Society Award	Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
2003	G-Phoria Award	Best Live Action/Voice Male Performance	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Won
2003	Spike Video Game Award	Best Performance by a Human		Won
2005	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	ER: Time of Death	Won
2015	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie	Texas Rising	Nominated
2023	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Black Bird	Nominated