Ray Liotta’s cause of death is revealed as acute heart failure
Ray Liotta’s cause of death has been revealed, one year after his death.
The Goodfellas star died on May 26 at the age of 67 from acute heart failure and fluid in the lungs – medically known as pulmonary edema – while also suffering from atherosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries.
In documents obtained by TMZ, doctors categorized the manner of death as natural and non-violent respiratory failure, pulmonary edema and acute heart failure.
At the time, it was announced that he had died in his sleep at Casas del XVI in the Zona Colonial hotel in the Dominican Republic, where he was filming a new movie. He died weeks after filming began on Dangerous Waters.
A team of emergency services rushed to the building, but he could not be rescued and his body was transferred to the Santo Domingo Forensic Institute.
Tragic: Ray Liotta’s cause of death has been revealed, one year after his death (pictured in 2017)
Revealed: In documents obtained by TMZ, doctors categorized the manner of death as natural and non-violent respiratory failure, pulmonary edema and acute heart failure
Sweet: The esteemed actor is survived by his fiancée Jacy Nittolo (pictured), then 46, as well as his daughter Karsen, then 23, whom he had with ex-wife Michelle Grace
The esteemed actor is survived by his fiancée Jacy Nittolo, then 46, as well as his daughter Karsen, then 23, whom he had with ex-wife Michelle Grace.
The actor had been spotted in LA in March 2022, where onlookers said he looked “noticeably pale” and “needed help from the valet to put on his coat.”
The source added that he was “slow and steady on his feet” and that Nittolo had to help him by carrying his bags from the car to the hotel.
But he looked healthier in photos taken in early May as he strolled through Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles with his fiancee.
Lead role: He was best known for his incredible performance in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 gangster classic Goodfellas, where he played Henry Hill while Robert De Niro, 78, took on the role of Jimmy Conway
Liotta used to be a smoker, but in 2018 started appearing in ads for Chantix – a brand run by vaccine guru Pfizer – with one of the words: “I’ve been trying to quit smoking on my own for years. I couldn’t. I needed help.’
His sudden death shocked fans as he embarked on a huge career resurgence in recent years, with him starring alongside Taron Egerton in Black Bird in 2022.
He also starred in The Many Saints of Newark, Marriage Story and No Sudden Move in more recent years as his acting took off again.
But he was best known for his incredible performance in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 gangster classic Goodfellas, where he played Henry Hill while Robert De Niro, 78, took on the role of Jimmy Conway.
Ray’s co-stars and friends rushed to pay tribute, including Robert who wrote, “I was very saddened to hear of Ray’s passing.
He’s much too young to have left us’
Woman on Screen in Goodfellas Lorraine Bracco added, “I’m utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about Ray,” while Josh Brolin wrote, “My mate. My friend. How so fast? Why? I’m going to miss you. I’ll think about seeing you at Gold’s.
Prior to his death, the actor last spoke on Instagram, where he posted his new movie Cocaine Bear, which was released last year.
Heartbreak: Ray is pictured at the 22nd Annual Newport Beach Film Festival in 2021
He wrote, “Cocaine Bear follows an eccentric group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens who converge in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of the white powder and is going on a coke-fuelled frenzy in search of more stroke. – and blood.’
Liotta was a smoker until about 2018, when he began appearing in Pfizer’s Chantix ads, which he says helped him pack the cigarettes.
In one he says, “I often play the tough guy in movies. But I wasn’t strong enough to quit on my own—not until I tried Chantix.”
A company spokesperson previously said the actor wanted to “share his story to help others,” so he joined the cast for the commercials.
Sweet: Liotta was born in New Jersey in 1954, but was abandoned by his mother in an orphanage before being adopted six months later
Liotta was born in New Jersey in 1954, but was abandoned by his mother in an orphanage before being adopted six months later.
He went to live with a town clerk and auto parts store owner, who insisted that he never considered acting while growing up in Newark.
After graduation, he moved to New York City and worked as a bartender until he was cast in the 1980 soap opera Another World.
Liotta shot to fame playing ex-con Ray Sinclair in the 1986 black comedy Something Wild, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.
He next starred as Shoeless Joe Jackson in the 1989 film Field Of Dreams and is best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in Goodfellas opposite Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and directed by Martin Scorsese.
Tragic: Jacy Nittolo, a mother of four whom Ray got engaged to in December 2020, was said to be with the movie star while Dangerous Waters was filmed