New photos have revealed the inside of the Dominican Republic hotel where legendary actor Ray Liotta spent his final hours before dying in his sleep at the age of 67 on Thursday.
Pictures give a glimpse inside of the luxurious five-star Casas del VXI resort on the island of Hispaniola, which the Dominican Republic shares with the neighbouring nation of Haiti.
The resort is a collection of individual houses and rooms in the capital of Santo Domingo, some of which date back to the 16th century – making them some of the oldest in the city’s historical quarter.
Rooms offer butler and concierge service as standard, and boast of enhanced security and privacy measures for guests. Beds start around $300 per night, but the standout feature are the individual houses which come equipped with private pools, patios and dining rooms – with prices only available on inquiry.
Liotta had been staying at Casas del VXI alongside fiancee Jacy Nittolo, 46, while filming a new movie Dangerous Waters – about a sailing-holiday gone awry when a daughter discovers the haunting past of her mother’s new boyfriend – when he passed away in his sleep.
Medics were called to the resort but were unable to save him, with his body now taken for a post-mortem. There is no indication yet of his cause of death, but also no suspicion of foul play.
It is thought Liotta had been suffering from poor health when he visited Los Angeles in March, where those who saw him checking into the Beverley Hills Hotel saying he was ‘slow and steady’ on his feet, ‘noticeably pale’ and required help to put on his jacket.
But he looked healthier in pictures taken at the start of this month as he strolled through Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles with his fiancee.
Liotta was known to be a smoker, but had started appearing in adverts for Chantix – a stop-smoking medication – telling viewers: ‘I tried to quit smoking for years on my own. I couldn’t do it. I needed help.’
Meanwhile tributes flooded in for the beloved film star – who also featured in Field of Dreams – with fellow actors and other celebrities paying their respects to him on Thursday afternoon:
- Robert De Niro said: ‘I was very saddened to learn of Ray’s passing. He is way too way young to have left us’
- David Chase said: ‘This is a massive, unexpected shock. I was glad he worked on The Many Saints of Newark’
- On-screen wife in Goodfellas Lorraine Bracco said: ‘I’m utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about Ray’
- Josh Brolin said: ‘My buddy. My friend. How so soon? Why? I’ll miss you. I will think about seeing you at Gold’s’
- Seth Rogan said: ‘I can’t believe Ray Liotta passed away. He was such a lovely, talented and hilarious person’
- Jamie Lee Curtis added: ‘His work as an actor showed his complexity as a human being. A gentle man. So sad’
His sudden death shocked fans as he was embarking on a huge resurgence in his career recent years, with him staring alongside Taron Egerton in Black Bird later this year.
He also featured 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 De Niro, 78, took on the role of Jimmy Conway.
Deadline reported the star passed away in his sleep and TMZ claimed there was no foul play suspected.
His publicist Jennifer Allen, from Viewpoint, said the actor died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was filming Dangerous Waters. Nittolo was on location at the time of his death.
A spokesman for the Dominican Republic’s General Direction of Cinema said: ‘We understand that he was accompanied by his wife and that the wife asks that you please respect her grief.’
A source who saw the actor in March told DailyMail.com how he looked frail and moved carefully.
They said: ‘Ray looked slow and unsteady on his feet. He was noticeably pale and needed help from the valet putting on his jacket. His fiancée was carrying all the bags to help him out.’
The actor most recently spoke on social media in an Instagram post three weeks ago where he plugged his new movie Cocaine Bear.
He wrote: ‘Cocaine Bear follows an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of the white powder and goes on a coke-fueled rampage seeking more blow — and blood.’
Liotta had been a smoker up until around 2018 where he started appearing in Pfizer’s Chantix adverts, which he said helped him pack in the cigarrettes.
In one he says: ‘In the movies, a lot of times I tend to play the tough guy. But I wasn’t tough enough to quit on my own – not until I tried Chantix.’
A spokesman for the firm previously said the actor had ‘wanted to share his story to help others’ so joined its cast for the commercials.
Liotta was born in New Jersey in 1954 but was abandoned by his mother at an orphanage before being adopted six months later.
He went to live with a town clerk and auto-parts shop owner, who insisted he never contemplated acting while growing up in Newark.
After graduating he moved to New York City and worked as a barman until he was cast in soap opera Another World in 1980.
Liotta found fame playing ex-con Ray Sinclair in 1986 black comedy Something Wild, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.
He went on to star 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.
Asked why he never worked with Scorsese – a director renown for working with the same cast – again, he said: ‘I don’t know, you’d have to ask him. But I’d love to.’
While making Goodfellas, tragedy struck when his adoptive mother died of cancer in his arms.
The actor got the news she had taken a turn for the worse in the middle of filming, but he still made sure to finish the scene.
‘My mom was sick with cancer during the filming of Goodfellas, and she passed away in the middle of it… It put things in perspective in a really deep way,’ he told the Today show last year, while discussing the highly-acclaimed film.
‘I was doing a scene Friday. They told me [she was dying]. My knees buckled, but you realize you’ve got to go back and finish the scene. And I did.’
After wrapping up for the day, he rushed to the hospital and made it just in time to say goodbye.
‘I went back [to the hospital] that night, and luckily I was there when she passed, literally in my arms. I’ve never really talked about that,’ he continued.
The actor appeared to shy away from his fame in the 1990s and kept a low profile but made a resurgence in more recent years.
Tributes flooded in for the beloved star on Friday afternoon, with Devon Sawa saying: ‘I try not to do the RIPs but Ray Liotta was truly one of my favorites to watch.
‘He just has this magnetic draw to his performances, which is part of the reason Goddfellas remains tied with Aliens as my favorite film(s) ever made. This one stung more than usual.’
De Niro said: ‘I was very saddened to learn of Ray’s passing. He is way too young to have left us. May he Rest in Peace.’
Chase, who worked with him on The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark said: ‘This is a massive, unexpected shock.
‘I have been an admirer of Ray’s work since I saw him in ‘Something Wild,’ a movie he wrenched by the tail. I was so glad he worked on The Many Saints of Newark.
‘I believed strongly in my heart that he could play that double role. He created two distinctly separate characters and each performance was phenomenal.
‘Ray was also a very warm and humorous person. A really superior actor. We all felt we lucked out having him on that movie.’
Goodfellas costar Lorraine Bracco, who was his wife in the movie, said: ‘I am utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about my Ray.
‘I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas. Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same…Ray Liotta.’
Josh Brolin said: ‘My buddy. My friend. How so soon? Why? I’ll miss you. I will think about seeing you at Gold’s often, talking about what to do next, how to find something together.
‘I always looked up to you — the work was always so good, but the man you were always stood out among the rest of them. Yes, I will miss you, pal. Until we meet again, wherever they say that is.’
Helena Christensen wrote: ‘Oh man what an immense actor he was ♥️.’ Joe Pantoliano said: ‘WHAT!!!! No! Omg! I was watering the lawn this morning and I was thinking about Ray he popped into my head. Oh No! RIP RAY RAY…’
Viola Davis said: ‘RIP Ray Liotta. Loved your work.’ Jamie Lee Curtis posted: ‘His work as an actor showed his complexity as a human being. A gentle man. So sad to hear.’
Rosanna Arquette wrote: ‘I’m really sad to hear that Ray Liotta has passed away. He was an friend back in the day and it’s very sad. We had a lot of laughs Rest In Peace My friend.’
Jeffrey Wright said: ‘Ray Liotta. Man. Just met dude for the first time last year. GREAT actor. Nice to have had a chance to say that to him. RIP.’
Mangold put: ‘Shocked and saddened to hear of Ray Liotta’s passing. Beyond the tough guy exterior and the tightly wound emotions of his signature characters, he was a sweet, playful and passionate collaborator and brilliant actor.’
The actor, who starred in more than 80 films, revealed more about his life in an interview with Esquire magazine in 2016.
He said: ‘I’m adopted so I don’t really know what I am. Who I consider my mother and father are Italian and Scottish.
‘I did find my birth mother and she said she was a mix of something, and when I asked about what my Dad was she wouldn’t even talk about it. It was like it never even happened.’
He added: ‘If I hadn’t have become an actor I’d have gone into construction. I always thought I would be doing construction.
‘Those were jobs I had during the summer. My Dad also had a chain of automotive stores.
‘I didn’t know until after I graduated college that he wanted me to take over the business.
‘When he saw that I was interested in something else, he said ‘well, I’m sick of doing this’ and moved in politics.
‘But I never knew that he wanted me to take over. It was in his mind, but I hated it. To this day I hate the smell of rubber.’
Liotta died in his sleep while filming on location in the Dominican Republic for an upcoming thriller called Dangerous Waters.
The feature film co-starred Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy actor Eric Dane, alongside Odeya Rush and Saffron Burrows. Their casting was announced just a few weeks back, at the beginning of May.
The film centers on an out of control sailing vacation that goes off the rails when a teenage girl discovers ‘the dark past of her mother’s new boyfriend,’ according to the synopsis.
Producers were said to have been pitching the project at this month’s Cannes Film Festival to potential buyers, Deadline reported.
Dangerous Waters was just one of many projects currently on the docket for Liotta
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