Ray Liotta - Biography

Last Editor: loveisabbi				Ray Liotta Biography -   Name : Ray Liotta Date of Birth : 18 December 1955 Place of Birth : Newark, New Jersey, USA Height : 6' Nationality : American Profession : Actor

Ray Liotta Trivia -

During his time on "Another World" (1964), he dated co-stars Vicky Dawson and Susan Keith. Last name is pronounced Lee-oh-ta. One of the roles he played while at the University of Miami was as one of the Von Trapp children (Kurt) in the 1974 production of "The Sound of Music." Also appearing in that production was Gail Edwards. Attended Union High School in Union, New Jersey. Was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame during the 1992-1993 school year. Adopted when 6 months old. Best friend: Josh Taylor (_"Days of Our Lives" (1966)_ , "The Hogan Family" (1988)). Dated Heidi von Beltz (who had been paralyzed in a stunt crash) for a year. Worked in a cemetery while he was at college. Father of Karsen Liotta In Blow (2001), Liotta plays father to George Jung (Johnny Depp), who reportedly was responsible for 85% of all cocaine distributed in the US in the late 70s/early 80s. Therefore, there is an 85% chance that Liotta's son in Blow (2001) is distributing cocaine to Liotta, playing Henry Hill in Goodfellas (1990). British rock band Linoleum recorded a song called 'Ray Liotta' (on their 1997 album 'Dissent'). Played baseball player "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams (1989). Wife, Michelle Grace is the ex-wife of baseball player Mark Grace. He gained about 20 pounds and wore small lifts to appear even more imposing and bear-like while playing Henry Oak in Narc (2002). In contrast to his intense, often evil characters, he is by all accounts a nice, well-adjusted family-man off screen. Is an avid supporter of English Premiership football team Tottenham Hotspur and has been in the crowd for a few matches at White Hart Lane, sometimes giving me pre-match interviews on the touchline. Director Antoine Fuqua wanted to cast Liotta in his crime epic Tru Blu with Denzel Washington and Benicio Del Toro, of which the project is now defunct. Has appeared in a film for Jonathan Demme (Something Wild), and his nephew Ted (Blow). He also appeared in Hannibal, the sequel to Demme's film The Silence of the Lambs. So while he has appeared in a Demme film and a Lecter film, he has never done both at the same time. Italian-American. Has the same birthday as Brad Pitt, Katie Holmes, Casper Van Dien and 'Steven Speilberg' . When he was 6 months old, he was adopted from a Newark, New Jersey, orphanage by Alfred and Mary Liotta, the owners of a chain of automotive-supply stores. One of his earliest memories is of helping his parents pick out Linda, his sister, at an orphanage when he was 3 years old. Was Tim Burton's first choice to play the Joker in Batman (1989), but turned it down to do Goodfellas (1990) instead.

Ray Liotta Detailed Biography -

Actor Ray Liotta's intense demeanor and fondness for edgy roles has seemingly prevented him from becoming an A-list Hollywood leading man, but it also helped him become one of the most interesting and respected character players in the business. Ray Liotta was born in Newark, NJ, on December 18, 1955, and, at the age of six months, was adopted by Alfred and Mary Liotta. (His adopted sister Linda joined the family three years later.) As a teenager, Ray Liotta was a gifted athlete and played basketball and soccer in high school when not busy working in his father's auto supply shop. After graduation, he left home to attend the University of Miami, where he developed an interest in acting and eventually majored in Drama. Ray Liotta appeared in a number of student productions during his college days, including a surprising number of musicals, including Cabaret and The Sound of Music. Within a year of graduating, Ray Liotta scored a regular role on the soap opera Another World, where he played Joey Perrini from 1978 to 1981; he was also a regular on several short-lived prime-time TV series, including Crazy Times (with David Caruso and Amy Madigan) and Casablanca (featuring David Soul in the role Humphrey Bogart made famous). Ray Liotta's first film role came in the 1983 Pia Zadora vehicle The Lonely Lady, but his real breakthrough came in 1986, when Jonathan Demme cast him as the psychotic Ray Sinclair in the comedy-drama Something Wild. Ray Liotta's well-received performance won him a number of job offers playing over-the-top villains, but, determined not to be typecast, Liotta turned them down, instead appearing in Dominick and Eugene and Field of Dreams (in which he played the legendary "Shoeless" Joe Jackson). Ray Liotta's determination to wait for the right role paid off in 1990, when he was cast as mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's masterful crime drama GoodFellas. However, while the success of GoodFellas raised Ray Liotta's profile considerably, he held on to his determination to wait for the right part. While Ray Liotta still found himself playing tough and/or scary guys in the likes of Unlawful Entry and No Escape, in Corrina, Corrina he proved he could play a romantic lead, and he dipped his toes into family fare for Operation Dumbo Drop and Muppets From Space. After a productive 2001, in which Ray Liotta appeared in the major hits Blow, Hannibal, and Heartbreakers, the actor formed his own production company in order to give him a greater diversity of roles and more interesting material; the first feature produced by Ray Liotta was the critically acclaimed Narc, in which he played an obsessed police detective.