RAY LIOTTA rose to prominence for his roles in Goodfellas, Blow, and Marriage Story.
The late Emmy Award winner's death was a shock to both his fans and Hollywood colleagues.
Who was Ray Liotta?
Born on December 18, 1954, most of Ray Liotta's early life was centered in Newark, New Jersey.
In 1978, he graduated with a degree in acting from the University of Miami and moved to New York City afterward.
While living in New York, Liotta landed one of his first acting gigs on the soap opera, Another World.
After appearing in the daytime program from 1978 to 1981, he moved to Los Angeles, California in favor of a motion picture career.
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His mainstream breakthrough came courtesy of the 1986 action-comedy Something Wild.
For his role in the film, Liotta was nominated for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture at the following year's Golden Globes.
One of his most noteworthy big-screen gigs was in Martin Scorsese's crime movie Goodfellas.
He portrayed real-life New York mobster and crime figure, Henry Hill.
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The 90s masterpiece featured the likes of Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Lorraine Bracco.
It's widely considered one of the greatest films of all time and received six Academy Award nominations and one win after its release.
Liotta's later roles included Texas Rising, Shades of Blue, Marriage Story, Hannibal, and The Place Beyond The Pines.
In 2021, he starred alongside Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, and Michael Gandolfini in the Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints Of Newark.
That same year, he also acted in Steven Soderbergh's No Sudden Move with Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, and Julia Fox.
What was Ray Liotta's cause of death?
On May 26, 2022, 67-year-old Ray Liotta died in his sleep from pulmonary edema, respiratory insufficiency, acute heart failure, and atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque in and on the artery walls.
At the time, Ray was away in the Dominican Republic filming for the thriller movie Dangerous Waters.
He is survived by his only child; daughter and actress Karsen Liotta.
As news of the late actor's death spread, his colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to him.
In honor of Ray's memory, Martin Scorsese stated: "I’m absolutely shocked and devastated by the sudden, unexpected death of Ray Liotta.
"He was so uniquely gifted, so adventurous, so courageous as an actor.
"Playing Henry Hill in ‘Good Fellas’ was a tall order, because the character had so many different facets, so many complicated layers, and Ray was in almost every scene of a long, tough shoot.
"He absolutely amazed me, and I’ll always be proud of the work we did together on that picture.
"My heart goes out to his loved ones, and it aches for his loss, way too early."
Ray's Field of Dreams co-star Kevin Costner said: "While he leaves an incredible legacy, he’ll always be 'Shoeless Joe Jackson' in my heart.
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"What happened that moment in the film was real. God gave us that stunt. Now God has Ray."
"He is way too young to have left us. May he Rest in Peace," commented past co-star Robert De Niro.
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