'Goodfellas' actor Ray Liotta dies at 67

Liotta, the star of the 1990 blockbuster crime film "Goodfellas", died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, according to media reports.

He was in the Dominican Republic shooting the film "Dangerous Waters".
AP

He was in the Dominican Republic shooting the film "Dangerous Waters".

Actor Ray Liotta, who starred in Martin Scorsese's gangster classic "Goodfellas," has died in the Dominican Republic at the age of 67.

Liotta, whose blistering turn as real-life mobster Henry Hill in Scorsese's crime masterpiece won universal admiration, was shooting a new film in the country when he died, a spokesman for the Dominican Republic's General Direction of Cinema said on Thursday.

"We understand that he was accompanied by his wife and that the wife asks that you please respect her grief," the spokesman said.

Trade media in the US, including Deadline and Variety, also reported his death.

His most iconic role

Although he also did well earlier in his career, Liotta's breakout role came in 1990 when he was cast alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in what is widely considered one of the greatest films of the 20th century.

"Goodfellas" won one Oscar, and was nominated for five others, and scenes from the movie continue to resonate as cultural touchstones.

A year earlier, Liotta had played baseball star Shoeless Joe Jackson in "Field of Dreams," opposite Kevin Costner in a widely revered sports movie.

The film was nominated for three Oscars, including best picture.

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