RIP Ray Liotta

I believe he was engaged to be married.

Deepest condolences to her, his family, and friends.

Runwildboys said:

Why "Best Supporting Actor", for Goodfellas, when he was the star of the movie?

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Good question. You are right. In fact, Liotta has De Niro beat as far as screen time, probably 2-to-1.

This is just my opinion. I am not claiming it is right or wrong. It is formed from observing how award voters nominate movies and actors for a LONG time.

Opinion: When a movie has an ensemble cast that includes a big star (De Niro) with a notable role and a younger actor has the primary role, it hurts the young actor's chance of getting a nomination and/or winning an award if they do get nominated. Let's look at three award presenters:

Bafta Awards/Foreign films



De Niro gets the Actor In A Leading Role nomination.

New York Film Critics Circle Awards/Domestic films



De Niro got the nomination AND win for Best Actor.

Golden Globes/Different Voting Perspective from Oscars



Oscar Best Actor nominees Robert De Niro and Gerald Depardieu were deemed 'not as good' as Al Pacino (The Godfather, Part III) and Robin Williams, who the voters preferred MORE than De Niro in the same movie.


No Liotta nominations for Best Actor for these three notable awards.

Just saying. I bet Liotta would have been nominated for a Best Actor if Goodfellas didn't have De Niro. Easily. Likewise, I believe Liotta would have gotten a Best Supporting Actor if De Niro had been in the movie for a 1/4 of its run time.

Is it fair? Heck no, but it is what it is.

https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1990
https://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=actor in a leading role&f[0]=integer_year:1991
https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1991

..yep, this was a shocker. Poor guy. Probably came to poor health recently, I imagine. Will be missed for sure, class actor.

I'm sad to hear about the passing of a favorite actor of mine. RIP Mr. Liota.

This is a shock. The dude seemed totally badass and bulletproof. He did some amazing work in movies. He was the perfect bad guy.

Reverend Conehead said:

This is a shock. The dude seemed totally badass and bulletproof. He did some amazing work in movies. He was the perfect bad guy.

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Wild Hogs?

Runwildboys said:

Wild Hogs?

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Haven't seen it. I'll check it out. The ones I remember most are Unlawful Entry and Goodfellas.

Truly sad, of course I marveled at his acting and narration job in "Goodfellas" but there were a handful of other performances that were great IMO.
The last movie I saw was "Identity."

Reverend Conehead said:

Haven't seen it. I'll check it out. The ones I remember most are Unlawful Entry and Goodfellas.

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Don't waste your time, its pretty bad.

Once someone passed on keep it positive and pray for him or her ....the only ultimate judge is the creator

JohnnyTheFox said:

Don't waste your time, its pretty bad.

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Wild Hogs isn’t bad, any movie with Marisa Tomei is worth a watch

Tabascocat said:

Wild Hogs isn’t bad, any movie with Marisa Tomei is worth a watch

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I though a lot of it was pretty funny, even though I don't really like Martin Lawrence or John Travolta. William H. Macy was hilarious.

More remembrance of a fine actor.

Less morbid theorizing.

Thread re-opened.

Critic’s Appreciation: Ray Liotta Was More Than Another Magnetic Screen Wise Guy
By John Defore | The Hollywood Reporter
May 27, 2022

Ray Liotta was terrifying.

Sure, he played the occasional good guy over the course of his prolific but too-short career; and in the wake of his death late Wednesday night, former colleagues have testified to his off-screen warmth. But the dark energies that defined his persona were there from the start, in Jonathan Demme’s 1986 Something Wild. (He’d previously worked a few years on TV, then made his film debut in 1983’s forgotten Harold Robbins adaptation The Lonely Lady.)

There, playing a criminal determined to take his estranged wife (Melanie Griffith) back from the milquetoast guy (Jeff Daniels) she’s currently toying with, Liotta understood how to make false congeniality look just real enough to convince a gullible character (Daniels) while letting moviegoers see the menace beneath it. Pretending to be an old classmate who just wants to keep the fun of a high-school reunion going, Liotta’s Ray Sinclair muscles his way into the new lovers’ tryst and doesn’t let up until he shows the good guys they’re just as deceitful as he is. Stretched across a cheap motel bed with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, he looks briefly, genuinely happy.

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This sucks another likeable actor passes while idiot celebs I truly despise live on forever it seems. Seriously Rosie O'Donnell,Madonna,Kathy Griffen they offer nothing.