GoodFellas tough guy Ray Liotta is found dead at 67 in Caribbean hotel

GOODFELLAS star Ray Liotta died in his sleep yesterday at 67.

The American actor had been shooting the film Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic.

Liotta found fame playing violent ex-con Ray Sinclair in the 1986 black comedy Something Wild, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, and starred as Shoeless Joe Jackson in the 1989 film Field Of Dreams.

But he is best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorcese’s epic 1990 film GoodFellas, which also starred Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino.

The film, which often tops critics’ lists as one of the best ever made, was based on the memoir of a real mafioso, Nicholas Pileggi, and Liotta’s portrayal of a small-time hoodlum who rises through the ranks before testifying against his fellow gangsters to save his skin was the high-water mark of Liotta’s career.

However, he found himself back in demand recently, appearing in the Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints Of Newark last year.

His upcoming project Dangerous Waters is about a sailing holiday spiralling out of control when a teenage daughter uncovers her mother’s new boyfriend’s dark past.

Liotta was found dead in bed at a hotel in the historic Zona Colonial district of the Caribbean island’s capital, Santo Domingo.

The cause of death is not known, but there is understood to be no suspicion of foul play.

Stars paid tribute last night, with De Niro saying: ‘He is way too way young to have left us. May he Rest in Peace.’

Lorraine Bracco, who played Liotta’s on-screen wife in GoodFellas, said she was ‘utterly shattered’.

Avengers: Endgame star Josh Brolin posted, ‘I always looked up to you’, while comedian and actor Seth Rogan remembered a ‘true legend of immense skill and grace’.

James Mangold, who directed the 2003 film Identity, in which Liotta starred, tweeted: ‘Beyond the tough guy exterior and the tightly wound emotions of his signature characters, he was a sweet, playful and passionate collaborator and brilliant actor. RIP.’ Liotta was born in New Jersey and abandoned at an orphanage.

He once said: ‘At first, I didn’t understand how a parent could give up a child. So I had that kind of energy of just being like, that’s f ***** up. And then when I finally met my birth mom in my forties. By then, I wasn’t as angry about it. It’s just another journey.’

Adopted at six months by a town clerk and a car-parts shop owner, he insisted he never contemplated act1998 ing while growing up in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating he moved to New York and worked as a barman until 1980, when he was cast in the soap opera Another World.

He resisted the many psychopathic roles he was offered following the success of Something Wild, and instead starred in the acclaimed drama Dominick And Eugene, about the relationship between twins.

During the Nineties he starred in Unlawful Entry, Cop Land and Corrina alongside Whoopi Goldberg, and portrayed Frank Sinatra in the TV movie The Rat Pack. In 2016 he spoke of regrets he had in the way he handled his career, including turning down the chance to audition for Tim Burton’s Batman movie, saying: ‘I wish I’d handled my career differently but, you know, hindsight…

‘When I did my first movie, Tim Burton was getting ready to do Batman and he was interested in me because he wanted it to be edgy and real. I thought, “Batman? That’s a stupid idea”, even though he had just done one of my favourite movies of all time, Beetlejuice.

‘So yes, I regret not auditioning for that.’

He had a varied career, even starring in several music videos, including one for David Guetta’s song Lovers On The Sun.

In 2004, Liotta made his Broadway debut in dramatic comedy Match.

In recent years he appeared in Marriage Story and No Sudden Move and stars alongside Taron Egerton in the upcoming Apple TV series Black Bird.

He recently finished filming The Cocaine Bear, a film based on a true story directed by Elizabeth Banks.

He leaves behind Karsen, 23, his daughter with ex-wife Michelle Grace, and his fiancee Jacy Nittolo, 46, who was understood to be in the Dominican Republic with him.

‘Way too young to have left us’