Poor Ray Liotta passed in his sleep while shooting a film in the Dominican Republic. Just like that, out of the blue. I’m very sorry. Condolences to friends, family, colleagues.
Right now everyone is talking about Liotta’s landmark (or certainly commendable) performances in Goodfellas, Something Wild, Field of Dreams, Dominick and Eugene, Cop Land, Killing Them Softly, Marriage Story and The Many Saints of Newark.
I feel the same way, but I’ll bet nobody right now is mentioning one of my all-time favorite Liottas — Captain T.C. Doyle in Simon Wincer‘s Operation Dumbo Drop (’95). It might be the only family-friendly Disney film I’ve ever half-liked. Not a great film, but a likeable, well-made effort that holds back on the cutes.
And for my money Liotta really scores because he plays Doyle completely straight, and then occasionally angry to great comic effect. Dumbo Drop certainly didn’t deserve a 31% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Danny Glover, Denis Leary, etc. Did I take part in the press junket? Yes. Have I seen it a second time over the last 25 years? No, but I could. I think I will.
What I don’t understand about Liotta’s dying at a youngish age is this: insurance companies on films require physicals for all principal talent above the line (including directors). It remains to be seen what he died from, but if it’s heart-related, shouldn’t that have been caught in time at a regular physical?