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Raymond Allen Liotta 1954 - 2022

Raymond Allen Liotta was born on December 18, 1954 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey United States to Alfred Raymond Liotta and Mary Elizabeth Liotta, and had a sister Linda Beth Liotta. He married Michelle Ann Liotta on February 15, 1997 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California and they later divorced in 2004 in Los Angeles. They had a child Karsen Marie Liotta. Raymond's partner was Jacy Allison Nittolo on December 25, 2020 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and they were together until Raymond's death on May 26, 2022 in Dominican Republic.

Raymond Allen Liotta

December 18, 1954

Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States

May 26, 2022

Dominican Republic

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Raymond Allen Liotta Raymond Liotta (1954 - 2022)

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Raymond Allen Liotta's History: 1954 - 2022

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Introduction

Raymond Allen Liotta is an American actor known for his captivating performances and intense portrayals on both the big screen and television. Born on December 18, 1954, in Newark, New Jersey, Liotta's talent and versatility have earned him a reputation as one of the most compelling actors of his generation. Abandoned at an orphanage shortly after birth, Ray was adopted when he was 6 months old. His adoptive parents were "township clerk Mary and auto-parts store owner Alfred Liotta" according to Wikipedia. Both (unsuccessfully) later ran for local offices. Liotta's acting career spans several decades and encompasses a wide range of roles that have showcased his ability to delve into complex characters with depth and authenticity. He first gained significant recognition for his breakout role as the menacing Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's crime drama "Goodfellas" (1990), a performance that solidified his place in Hollywood. Throughout his career, Liotta has tackled diverse roles, effortlessly transitioning from intense dramas to compelling thrillers and even comedic roles, displaying his versatility as an actor. Whether playing morally ambiguous characters, conflicted law enforcement officers, or troubled individuals navigating their inner demons, Liotta's performances are marked by an undeniable intensity and rawness. Beyond his notable film work, Liotta has also made notable contributions to television, showcasing his range as an actor in various series. His roles in critically acclaimed shows such as "ER" and "Shades of Blue" have further demonstrated his ability to captivate audiences on the small screen. Raymond Allen Liotta's commanding presence and magnetic performances have firmly established him as a talented and respected actor in the industry. His dedication to his craft, coupled with his ability to bring complex characters to life, has made him a beloved and enduring figure in film and television. With a career spanning decades, Liotta continues to captivate audiences with his powerful performances, leaving an indelible mark on the world of acting. Read Vanity Fair's tribute to him Ray Liotta, Star of Goodfellas, Dead at 67
12/18

1954

Birthday

December 18, 1954

Birthdate

Newark, Essex County, New Jersey United States

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Mr. Liotta, according to his biography on imdb.com, was born on Dec. 18, 1954, in Newark. At 6 months old he was adopted by Alfred and Mary Liotta, who together operated an auto parts business. He grew up in Union, N.J. Ray was raised with a sister, Linda, who was also adopted. Although his adoptive father was Italian, Ray hired a private detective during the 2000s and found that he was mainly Scottish. He also found out that he had one biological sister, one biological half-brother, and five biological half-sisters.
Nationality & Locations

He was a US citizen born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He spent most of his life residing in New Jersey and Los Angeles, California.
Early Life & Education

Ray attended Union High School in Union, New Jersey and was in the class of 1973. While pursuing his education, Liotta discovered his passion for acting and began participating in school theater productions, which sparked his interest in the performing arts. After completing high school, he further honed his acting skills by attending the University of Miami in Florida, where he studied drama. He graduated from the University of Miami with a BFA in 1978.
Baptism

mm/dd/yyyy

Baptism date
New Jersey United States
Place of worship
Religious Beliefs

Raised Catholic - first communion and confirmed.
Military Service

None
Professional Career

Raymond Allen Liotta's career has spanned several decades and encompasses a wide range of roles in film, television, and theater. With his intense presence and ability to portray complex characters, Liotta has left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. Liotta's breakthrough role came in 1990 when he portrayed the captivating and morally ambiguous character of Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's crime drama "Goodfellas." This iconic performance established him as a formidable actor and showcased his talent for portraying intense and conflicted individuals. Following the success of "Goodfellas," Liotta continued to take on a variety of challenging roles across different genres. He demonstrated his versatility in films such as "Field of Dreams" (1989), "Unlawful Entry" (1992), "Cop Land" (1997), and "Narc" (2002), among others. Liotta's ability to embody characters ranging from troubled cops to complex villains solidified his reputation as a versatile and skilled actor. In addition to his work in film, Liotta has made notable contributions to television. He has appeared in various television series, showcasing his range and ability to adapt to different roles. His performances in shows like "ER," "Texas Rising," and "Shades of Blue" have further demonstrated his talent and added depth to his career. Liotta has also showcased his acting prowess on the stage, participating in theatrical productions. His performances in plays such as "A View from the Bridge" and "Match" displayed his ability to captivate audiences in live performances. Throughout his career, Raymond Allen Liotta has worked with esteemed directors and fellow actors, earning critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base. His intense presence, ability to tap into complex emotions, and willingness to take on diverse roles have made him a respected and sought-after actor.
Personal Life & Family

He was married to actress Michelle Grace, with whom he has a daughter named Karsen. They were married from 1997 to 2004. Ray was known to be a sports enthusiast, particularly for baseball, and has participated in charity events and celebrity sports games. While Liotta was predominantly recognized for his intense and sometimes villainous on-screen personas, he had a reputation for being friendly and approachable off-screen. He has often been described as a down-to-earth and affable individual by those who have had the opportunity to interact with him. At the time of his death, he was engaged to Jacy Nittolo.
05/26

2022

Death

May 26, 2022

Death date

Died in sleep - heart and respiratory system issues

Cause of death

Dominican Republic
Death location

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Obituary

Ray Liotta, of ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Field of Dreams,’ Dies at 67 He was known for his intensity, especially in crime dramas, but he was also adept at comedy. “You want to do as many different genres as you can,” he once said. Neil Genzlinger By Neil Genzlinger May 26, 2022 Ray Liotta, who created intense, memorable characters in “Goodfellas,” “Field of Dreams” and other films as well as on television, died in his sleep on 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. Mr. Liotta was known primarily for having played Joey Perrini on the soap opera “Another World,” a character he once called “the nicest guy in the world,” when he landed an entirely different kind of 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. “Mr. Liotta, a newcomer, nearly walks off with his sections of the film,” Vincent Canby wrote in his review in The New York Times — and suddenly he was in demand for such parts. “I had offers for every crazy guy around,” Mr. Liotta told The Los Angeles Times in 1990. Mr. Liotta drew praise for his portrayal of the gangster Henry Hill. But he resisted being “pigeonholed as Hollywood’s resident psychopath,” as one newspaper account put it. His next film after “Something Wild” was “Dominick and Eugene” (1988), in which he played a man whose twin brother (played by Tom Hulce) is mentally impaired as a result of a childhood accident. “The two leading actors do a superb job of bringing these characters to life,” Janet Maslin wrote in The New York Times. “Mr. Liotta, such a menacing villain in ‘Something Wild,’ makes Gino a touchingly devoted figure, a man willing to sacrifice almost anything for his brother’s welfare.” The next year he won acclaim as the baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson, the spectral figure who appears on the ball field built by Kevin Costner’s character in “Field of Dreams” and later brings along his teammates. Mr. Liotta showed a quieter type of intensity in embodying Jackson than he had in “Something Wild.” “Ray Liotta makes him ethereal and real at once,” Caryn James wrote of his portrayal in her Times review, “a relic of an earlier age much more than a ghost from the past.” Though Mr. Liotta played sports in high school, he admitted that he didn’t quite get the concept of “Field of Dreams” at first. “I read that script and said, ‘What, are you kidding me? A dead guy who comes back to play baseball?’” he told The Los Angeles Times in 1990. One role defined Mr. Liotta’s career more than any other: the gangster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed 1990 film “Goodfellas.” That sprawling film was based on the real-life story of Mr. Hill, and Mr. 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. “I had 80 costume changes, one day’s in the ’50s, the next day’s in the ’80s. Emotionally, it was all different things. One day I’m sweet. Then the next day I’m coked out of my mind. We’d span 20 years at one location.” Mr. Liotta said that acting alongside Robert De Niro and other Scorcese regulars was daunting. But he more than held his own in the film, which quickly came to be regarded as a classic. “Ray Liotta, best known for his role as Melanie Griffith’s explosive husband in ‘Something Wild,’ brings an oddly appropriate quality of innocence to Henry,” Mick LaSalle wrote in The San Francisco Chronicle. Mr. Liotta’s performance, he said, was “likely to make him a major star.” Mr. De Niro was among those paying tribute on Thursday. “I was very saddened to learn of Ray’s passing,” he said in a statement. “He is way too way young to have left us.” A wide range of roles followed “Goodfellas,” many of them in crime dramas like “Hannibal” (2001), “Narc” (2002) and “Killing Them Softly” (2012). Last year Mr. 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), but intensity was his defining feature. “Ray can be very still, almost like a cat,” Howard Deutch, who directed him in the 1992 comic drama “Article 99,” once said. “He’s very powerful in his stillness. You have the sense that he’s combustible.” Mr. Liotta, according to his biography on imdb.com, was born on Dec. 18, 1954, in Newark. At 6 months old he was adopted by Alfred and Mary Liotta, who together operated an auto parts business. He grew up in Union, N.J. Mr. Liotta often said he got his start in acting by accident. An argument with his basketball coach got him tossed off the team, the drama teacher asked if he needed something to do, and he found himself in a stage production of “Sunday in New York.” He studied acting at the University of Miami and, after graduating, settled in New York, where he quickly landed the part on “Another World.” “I loved the soap,” he said in a 1994 interview. “I had an opportunity to make dialogue that wasn’t good seem bearable. The acting challenge was greater than if I was doing Tennessee Williams.” In 1998 Mr. Liotta took on the assignment to portray Frank Sinatra in an HBO movie, “The Rat Pack.” It was a challenge he hesitated to accept. “At first it was like, ‘Do I look enough like Sinatra?’” he told The Chicago Sun-Times. “Finally, I had to say: ‘I’m from Jersey, I’ve got blue eyes, I’m close enough.’” His television résumé also included the mini-series “Texas Rising” in 2015 and the crime drama “Shades of Blue,” with Jennifer Lopez, which ran for three seasons beginning in 2016. In 2005 he won an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor in a drama for an appearance on “ER.” Mr. Liotta didn’t do much stage work, but he did appear on Broadway in 2004 in the Stephen Belber comedy “Match,” opposite Frank Langella and Jane Adams. The show, however, ran for only seven weeks. Mr. Liotta, who lived in Los Angeles, is survived by a daughter, Karsen Liotta, from his marriage to the actress Michelle Grace, which ended in divorce; a sister, Linda Liotta Matthews; and his fiancée, Jacy Nittolo. Though Mr. Liotta was most identified with roles of smoldering intensity, he said he always tried to avoid being typecast. “You want to do as many different genres as you can, and that’s what I’ve been doing,” he told Long Island Weekly in 2018. “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.”

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Raymond Allen Liotta lived 7 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 67.

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8 Memories, Stories & Photos about Raymond

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/27/2022

Ray Liotta.

Movie Star.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/27/2022

Ray Liotta.

Good Fellas star.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/27/2022

Lorraine Bracco and Ray Liotta.

From Good Fellas.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/27/2022

Ray Liotta.

Movie Star.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/27/2022

Ray Liotta.

Movie Star.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Kathy Pinna

32.9k+ favorites

05/26/2022

Ray Liotta

Photo shoot of Ray Liotta in 1988

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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AncientFaces

411 favorites

05/26/2022

Actor Ray Liotta passed away this morning in the Dominican Republic at the age of 67. He was on location while filming a new movie.

Ray was adopted at 6 months old by an Italian-American family in New Jersey. During the 2000's he hired a Private Investigator to trace his genetic roots to discover more about his biological family. In addition to finding unknown brothers and sisters(!), he found out that he was primarily of Scottish descent.

RIP Mr Liotta. Although Scottish in blood, you portrayed the perfect Italian. Join the AncientFaces community in honoring Ray

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05/26/2022

RIP.

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Daniel Pinna

10.5k+ favorites

05/26/2022

RIP Ray...your acting was spot on. While you might have been Scottish you played the perfect Italian!

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Kathy Pinna

32.9k+ favorites

05/26/2022

Ray Liotta, Star of Goodfellas, Dead at 67

The actor also recently starred in films like The Many Saints of Newark and Marriage Story.
BY YOHANA DESTA

At the time of his death, Liotta was busy acting in a handful of films and had recently wrapped production on a number of other projects, including the forthcoming Apple TV+ series Black Bird.

Liotta, a seasoned actor whose career spanned four decades, turned in a number of memorable supporting performances in the last few years alone. In Noah Baumbach’s Oscar-nominated drama Marriage Story, he played a vicious lawyer going toe to toe with Laura Dern. In The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel film to the beloved HBO series The Sopranos, he played a New Jersey mafioso.

However, Liotta’s most memorable role will always be that of Henry Hill, the charismatic wiseguy he portrayed in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 mob epic Goodfellas. In the film, based on a true story, Liotta stars as a charismatic Italian-American man rising through the ranks of his local mob, then descending into chaos as the FBI closes in on him. Goodfellas also starred Scorsese regulars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, whom Liotta easily held his own against. Though Goodfellas would be Liotta’s only project with the famed director, the critically acclaimed blockbuster put a young Liotta in league with the auteur’s favorite actors.

Lorraine Braco, who played Hill’s fiery wife Karen, paid tribute to the late actor on Thursday. “I am utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about my Ray,” she wrote, sharing a photo of herself with Liotta. “I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas. Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same…Ray Liotta.”

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Raymond Liotta's Family Tree & Friends

Raymond Liotta's Family Tree

Alfred Raymond Liotta Dec 6, 1917 - Dec 13, 2015

Mary Elizabeth Liotta May 18, 1922 - Apr 10, 2008

Raymond Allen Liotta Dec 18, 1954 - May 26, 2022

Partner

Sibling

Child

Linda Beth Liotta born Feb 4, 1949

Marriage

Michelle Ann Liotta

Raymond Allen Liotta

February 15, 1997

Marriage date

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States

Marriage location

Divorce

Cause of Separation

2004

Divorce date

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States

Divorce location

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Raymond Allen Liotta Dec 18, 1954 - May 26, 2022

Michelle Ann Liotta born Dec 4, 1968

Child

Karsen Marie Liotta born Dec 21, 1998

Partnership

Jacy Allison Nittolo

Raymond Allen Liotta

December 25, 2020

Start of partnership

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States

Start of partnership location

Raymond's Death

Cause of Separation

May 26, 2022

Raymond's death date

Dominican Republic

Separation location

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Raymond Allen Liotta Dec 18, 1954 - May 26, 2022

Jacy Allison Nittolo born Sep 25, 1974

Child

Friendships

Raymond's Friends

7 Followers & Sources

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Other Biographies

Other Raymond Liotta Biographies

Liotta, Raymond (Jun 11, 1919 - Dec 1976) Liotta, Raymond (Dec 26, 1915 - Jun 1984)

Liotta, Raymond (Feb 3, 1915 - Jul 11, 2001) Liotta, Raymond (Dec 3, 1923 - May 12, 1988)

Other Liotta Family Biographies

Liotta, Rosario (Sep 25, 1885 - Aug 1968) Liotta, Antonietta (Mar 18, 1891 - Jul 1979) Liotta, Domenica (May 6, 1896 - Apr 30, 1989) Liotta, Vincent (Jun 8, 1922 - Dec 2, 1996) Liotta, Joanne (Nov 29, 1945 - Jan 1992) Liotta, Joseph (Jan 22, 1952 - May 1990) Liotta, Mary (Aug 19, 1921 - May 1, 2005) Liotta, Joseph (Mar 11, 1916 - Jul 25, 1994) Liotta, Gloria (Sep 15, 1922 - Dec 16, 2001) Liotta, Eleanor (Mar 12, 1916 - Sep 20, 2010)

Liotta, Rose (Feb 18, 1890 - May 1973) Liotta, Carol (Nov 8, 1959 - Oct 29, 2010) Liotta, Thomas (Aug 17, 1913 - Apr 19, 1988) Liotta, Ninfa (Nov 22, 1879 - Jun 1971) Liotta, Michael (Aug 5, 1913 - Jan 19, 1994) Liotta, Anna (Apr 2, 1891 - Sep 1984) Liotta, Joseph (Feb 17, 1920 - Oct 1968) Liotta, Charles (Dec 20, 1886 - Jul 1974) Liotta, Anna (Jul 11, 1925 - Jan 25, 1995) Liotta, Vincenzo (Nov 10, 1888 - Apr 1959)

About the AncientFaces Community

Raymond Allen Liotta 1954 - 2022

Raymond Allen Liotta's History: 1954 - 2022

Introduction

Birthday

Ethnicity & Family History

Nationality & Locations

Early Life & Education

Baptism

Religious Beliefs

Military Service

Professional Career

Personal Life & Family

Death

Obituary

8 Memories, Stories & Photos about Raymond

Raymond Liotta's Family Tree & Friends

Raymond Liotta's Family Tree

Michelle Ann Liotta

Raymond Allen Liotta

Jacy Allison Nittolo

Raymond Allen Liotta

Raymond's Friends

Other Raymond Liotta Biographies

Other Liotta Family Biographies