Ray Liotta Dies: ‘Another World,’ ‘ER’ & More Memorable TV Roles
Ray Liotta, known for his numerous film and TV roles, has died at the age of 67 in the Dominican Republic where he was shooting the movie Dangerous Waters. While many may recognize him for his work in Goodfellas and Field of Dreams, he has had some memorable roles on TV as well, including starring on the three-season NBC drama Shades of Blue.
“I definitely was looking to do a 13 episode kind of thing because that really is the rage right now and it really helps your film career and that, to me, is always what I wanted to do,” Liotta told us in 2016 ahead of its premiere. “Here when I started, if you’re doing a series, that’s it. You’re at the tail end. You’re not going to be doing movies. It was kind of like the last bastion.”
He continued, “even doing commercials. Now you do a commercial, it’s great. There’s so many actors doing them. I did one a couple years ago just because it sounded like the cool thing to do and now I’m seeing tons of people doing it. Not that I started it but there were a few that were doing it but I didn’t care. I had my reasons for wanting to do it and now everybody’s doing them. The same thing with these 13 episode series. It really helps your career in a lot of ways. It’s not the graveyard anymore.”
At the time he also spoke about how much he enjoyed acting. “I just still love at 60 years old playing make believe. I love it. If things bother me that I don’t think is going right or I haven’t done this for so long, I let people know and they listen,” he said.
Scroll down for a look at some of his memorable TV roles, from Another World to his Emmy-winning work on ER to the more recent Hanna.
Another World (1978-1981)
Liotta started his acting career with his role as Joey Perrini in 36 episodes of this soap, set in the fictional town of Bay City and focusing on the melodrama between families of different classes and philosophies.
Our Family Honor (1985)
In this one-season ABC series, Liotta played Officer Ed Santini, the partner of one of the members of two New York City families in competing family businesses, the NYPD and organized crime.
ER (2004)
Liotta guest starred as Charlie Metcalf in the Season 11 episode, “Time of Death.” The episode played in real time, showing the final 44 minutes of the alcoholic ex-con’s life. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his work.
Smith (2006-2007)
Liotta played Bobby Stevens, the leader of a group of professional thieves struggling to keep their work separate from the rest of their lives, in this CBS series that was canceled after three episodes.
Hannah Montana (2010)
Liotta guest starred as Principal Luger in the Season 4 episode, “Hannah Montana to the Principal’s Office,” when Miley ran into problems with school registration.
Shades of Blue (2016-2018)
Liotta played Matt Wozniak, a corrupt lieutenant close with Jennifer Lopez’s character, a single mother and NYPD detective forced to work for the FBI’s anti-corruption task force, in the three-season NBC drama series.
Hanna (2021)
In the third and final season of the Prime Video series, Liotta played Gordon Evans, the Chairman of UTRAX and its founders, the Pioneer Group. The series followed a girl who was part of the CIA program that turned children into super-soldiers.
