In the wake of the death of veteran actor Ray Liotta, fans are mourning the loss of an icon who served up one of the most acclaimed performances to grace our screens.
Ray starred as Henry Hill, a short-tempered mob man who dreamt of being in a gang in Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-nominated crime drama, Goodfellas.
The legendary actor, who died at the age of 67, starred alongside iconic movie stars such as Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
From high-profile divorces, Oscar-winning children and quitting the big screen, let’s take a look at where the actors are now, 32 years since the movie’s release…
Ray Liotta
After landing the starring role as wannabe mobster Henry Hill, New Jersey native Ray Liotta continued to cultivate an impressive list of acting credits throughout is career.
He starred alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Johnny Depp in cocaine drama Blow, John Travolta in the movie Wild Hogs and portrayed singer Frank Sinatra in the 1998 TV movie The Rat Pack.
Ray’s private life saw its share of ups and downs after he married actress and producer Michelle Grace before divorcing a few years later.
The two share Ray’s only child, his daughter Karsen. In 2007 Ray found himself on the wrong side of the law when he hit two parked cars while driving an SUV in Los Angeles.
He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, with police saying at the time that “Officers conducted a test on Mr. Liotta and determined he was under the influence of something, we don’t know exactly what yet.
“Mr. Liotta was cooperative and was arrested without incident.”
Liotta died in his sleep on May 26, 2022, at the age of 67 while in the Dominican Republic filming Dangerous Waters.
At the time of his death, he was engaged to Jacy Nittolo.
Robert De Niro
Perhaps one of the most recognizable big-screen bad boys in Hollywood, Robert De Niro starred as James “Jimmy” Conway, a criminal mastermind who manages to pull off the biggest heist in mob history.
His acting credits are unrivalled and fans will remember the Manhattan-born star’s epic performances as young Vito Corleone in The Godfather and his portrayal of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver.
Despite playing steely-eyed mobsters and remorseless crime bosses, the actor showed off his versatility when he starred in a string of classic comedies including the Meet the Parents trilogy starring Ben Stiller.
The 78-year-old also received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.
In October 2003, De Niro was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
In 2018, De Niro was the victim of an attempted assassination after he was targeted by an explosive device.
The device was found at the Tribeca Grill in Manhattan, which also houses his production company. The actor is twice divorced and shares six children with his ex-wives.
Joe Pesci
Joe Pesci won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the short-tempered, violent mobster Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas.
Like Liotta, his career was launched by the movie and he would go on to star in a number of successful comedies, including the Christmas classic Home Alone in 1995 and My Cousin Vinny.
Pesci later reunited with Gdofellas director Scorsese and De Niro in Casino.
In 1999, Pesci announced his retirement from acting to pursue a musical career and to enjoy life away from the camera.
He returned to acting when he did a cameo in De Niro’s 2006 film The Good Shepherd. In 2010, he starred in the brothel drama Love Ranch alongside Helen Mirren.
Pesci has been married and divorced three times and shares one child with his first wife.
Lorraine Bracco
Lorraine Bracco’s role as Karen Hill, the strong-willed wife of mobster Henry Hill, earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Yet Bracco’s most memorable work was yet to come when she portrayed Dr. Jennifer Melfi, psychiatrist to Tony Soprano on HBO’s much-lauded mob drama The Sopranos, for which she received four Emmy Award nominations.
A food and wine enthusiast, Bracco is the owner of her own wine label, Bracco Wines.
She appeared as a guest judge cooking show Top Chef and also appeared on an episode of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, as a guest judge on the hit cooking show.
Her private life saw the star face a very public split from her long-term partner of 12-years, actor Harvey Keitel.
Bracco and Keitel fought a lengthy custody battle over their daughter Stella, resulting in Bracco’s depression and million dollars in legal fees.
Paul Sorvino
As Capo Paul Cicero, Paul Sorvino’s character in Goodfellas is responsible for initiating Henry Hill into the mob.
But he’s perhaps most remembered for thinly slicing garlic for the marinara sauce in a mouth-watering cooking scene.
The scene was so famous he went on to launch his own line of pasta sauce.
Speaking about his career, Sorvino told fans that he wanted people to see him outside of his mob roles, and recognize his passion for hobbies such as poetry and opera.
In an April 2014 interview, Sorvino said, “Most people think I’m either a gangster or a cop or something, but the reality is I’m a sculptor, a painter, a best-selling author, many, many things – a poet, an opera singer, but none of them is gangster, but, you know, obviously I sort of have a knack for playing these things.”
He added: “It would be nice to have my legacy more than that of just tough guy.”
Many also don’t know that the actor is the father of Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino.
Mira won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite.
Her other credits include Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and portraying Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean & Marilyn
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk