Ray Liotta, an actor, has died. According to his publicist, Jennifer Allen, Liotta died in his sleep while filming Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic. He was 67 years old at the time.
The actor is most remembered for his performance as Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas, in which he shaped the idea of a gangster film for years to come. The film was based on Nicholas Pileggi's non-fiction book Wise Guy. To prepare for the role, Liotta sat in his mother's car and listened to hours and hours of recording of Hill being questioned, according to WHYY's Fresh Air.
"And the most important thing I took away from it was how casual they were — how relaxed they were."
Following that, he was cast in Goodfellas after playing the spirit of baseball star Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams.
Lorraine Bracco, who co-starred with him in the film Goodfellas, paid tribute to him on Twitter "People will approach me from all over the world and tell me that their favorite film is Goodfellas. Then they always want to know what the most enjoyable aspect of making the film was. Ray Liotta, that's always been my response."
Despite the fact that Henry Hill was Liotta's most famous part, he continued to work in films such as Corrina, Corrina, Cop Land, and The Rat Pack throughout his life.
In 2002, he played Tommy Vercetti, a mobster who rises through the ranks of Vice City in the hit computer game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.