Ray Liotta, the passionate actor best known for his depiction of hustler-turned-mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 “GoodFellas”, has passed away.
The Emmy winner was 67 years old.
According to sources, Liotta died unexpectedly in his sleep in his hotel room in the Dominican Republic, where he was filming “Dangerous Waters,” on Thursday morning.
The New Jersey-born actor was memorable as the corrupt officer Matt Wozniak on the 2016-18 NBC police drama Shades of Blue.
He also portrayed the role of disgraced Chicago White Sox baseball athlete Shoeless Joe Jackson in Kevin Costner’s 1989 film Field of Dreams.
Liotta’s character as Ray Sinclair, the dangerous former inmate husband of Melanie Griffith’s character in Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild (1986), also earned him heaps of praises.
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For mob flick addicts, Liotta would be best remembered in the chilling “funny guy” part in Goodfellas wherein Joe Pesci’s character Tommy DeVito pranked him by taking insult from his joke.
The narrative Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) tells his friends is based on a mobster meeting Joe Pesci actually had (Warner Bros via YouTube).
Liotta also played the role of a heavy-handed biker gang leader in the 2007 comedy flick, “Wild Hogs” alongside Martin Lawrence, John Travolta and Tim Allen.
Crypto Community Reacts
Not only did Liotta’s death shock the entertainment industry, but it saddened the crypto community as well.
His famous chuckle will forever be remembered in the crypto community. He was well-known for his laser eyes memes making fun of altcoin promoters.
“R.I.P. Ray Liotta. May your laser eyes shine bright forever on Bitcoin Twitter,” Cory Klippsten tweeted on Friday.
Klippsten is the CEO of SwanBitcoin.com and author of the soon to be published book “Bitcoin: Your Bright Orange Future.”
He is also a partner at Bitcoiner Ventures and a consultant for Riot Blockchain, Unchained Capital, and Bitcoin Venture Fund.
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“I believe you’ll forever be a part of Bitcoin culture,” ChairForce_BTC commented on Twitter.
ChairForce is the founder of #LaserRayUntil100K, a retired officer in the US Air Force, and co-founder of The Meme Factory.
Dropping a Ray Liotta for the legend he was to the Bitcoin community RIP pic.twitter.com/YWlbuou9Sw
— ₿itcoin Stock Videos (@btc_stock) May 26, 2022
“Dropping a Ray Liotta for the legend he was to the Bitcoin community. RIP,” Bitcoin Stock Videos tweeted.
The King is dead. Long live the King. pic.twitter.com/63V0Pxj5qW
— GregZaj1 (@gregzaj1) May 26, 2022
“The King is dead. Long live the King,” GregZaj1 said.
Ray Liotta: Great Actor, Good Fella & Funny Guy
BBC News reports that filmmaker Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro led the tributes to Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta on Friday.
Scorsese, who directed both actors in the 1990 gangster crime thriller, described Liotta as “uniquely talented” and “brave.”
“I was very saddened to learn of Ray’s passing,” De Niro said.
Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro, Paul Sorvino and Joe Pesci on the set of ‘Goodfellas’ (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Lorraine Bracco, who portrayed Karen Friedman Hill in the film Goodfellas, was “devastated” to learn of her former co-star’s demise.
Liotta leaves behind his daughter with his ex-wife, Michelle Grace, and his fiancee.
Featured image from Imgflip, chart from TradingView.com