Ray Liotta honoured with posthumous star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ray Liotta has been remembered as an “actor of rare calibre” as he was posthumously honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Goodfellas actor was praised for his “unparalleled capacity for vulnerability” and “charm and mischievousness” at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Friday.

Liotta died in his sleep last May at the age of 67 while filming on location in the Dominican Republic.

With more than 60 feature films to his credit, the actor excelled at diverse and challenging roles in both comedy and drama.

He found fame playing ex-con Ray Sinclair in the 1986 black comedy Something Wild, going on to star as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field Of Dreams (1989), before his role in Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic.

Fans braved the Los Angeles rain to attend Friday’s ceremony, which was attended by friends, colleagues and members of Liotta’s family, including his fiance Jacy Nittolo.

The actor’s daughter, Karsen Liotta, said she was “so touched” to be accepting the award on her father’s behalf, telling audiences “if you have a Ray in your life, you’re lucky”.

“I’m so touched to be accepting this honour on behalf of my dad,” she said.

“I couldn’t be more proud of him. He was a one-of-a-kind actor, and the best friend, brother and father anyone could ask for. I lucked out with you.

“If you have a Ray in your life, you’re lucky. Thank you for your work, and the imprint you left on me and all of those who love you.

“Everyone deserves a Ray in their life.”

Liotta’s character of Henry Hill in Goodfellas, alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, remains the role he is most associated with.

At the ceremony, Ms Liotta also read out a letter from Oscar-winning director Scorsese, which praised her father as “one of the greats”.

“On Goodfellas we were working improvisationally, most of the time in the core group that consisted of people I’ve known and worked with for years, and Ray jumped right in,” the letter read.

“He never missed a beat. He fit in perfectly and he was able to roll with the punches, figuratively and literally.

“I always expected to work with Ray again, at least once more. Now we’re honouring his memory.

“He was truly one of the greats – if anyone is deserving of a new star on the Walk of Fame, it’s Ray.”

In more recent years, Liotta appeared in films including Marriage Story and No Sudden Move, as well as starring alongside Taron Egerton in Apple TV series Black Bird.

One of his last on-screen appearances came in quirky comedy Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, the release of which coincided with Liotta’s Walk of Fame ceremony.

Both Banks and Egerton gave remarks at the ceremony, with the British star saying that working with Liotta had produced some of the finest acting of his own career.

The Rocketman star admitted that he had been “a bit scared” of Liotta when they first met, and hailed his “compelling screen presence”.

“The other thing that made him so extraordinary to watch was his unparalleled capacity for vulnerability,” he said.

“When I watch those scenes (in Black Bird), I know they are the best acting of my career. That’s because of Ray.”

Following Liotta’s death last year, tributes flooded in from across the entertainment industry and were led by Scorsese and his Goodfellas co-star De Niro.

Dedicated in the category of Motion Pictures, the actor’s star is the 2,749th on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It is located at 6201 Hollywood Blvd in front of Eastown.