Ray Liotta’s cause of death revealed one year after star passed

A full year after he died, the reason behind the actor's passing has been revealed. Photo / AP

Ray Liotta’s cause of death has been revealed one year after the Goodfellas star died.

The 67-year-old actor was found dead at his hotel in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in May 2022. Now officials in the country have confirmed his cause of death was respiratory insufficiency, pulmonary edema and acute heart failure.

In documents obtained by TMZ, Liotta’s death was categorised as ”natural and non-violent” with officials noting the star was suffering from atherosclerosis - a thickening of the arteries which can lead to problems including heart attacks and strokes. Previous reports suggested he had died in his sleep.

Liotta had been in the Dominican Republic working on a movie called Dangerous Waters with Eric Dane, Odeya Rush and Saffron Burrows. His body was later flown back to his family in the US.

Ray Liotta in a scene from the series "Hanna". Photo / Amazon Prime Video via AP

The actor was honoured with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in February with the ceremony attended by Liotta’s fiancee Jacy Nittolo and his daughter Karsen Liotta, who accepted the award on her dad’s behalf and expressed her pride in all his achievements.

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

At the time of his death Lorraine Bracco, who played Karen Hill in Goodfellas posted on Twitter telling fans that she was “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.”

Elsewhere, Alessandro Nivola, who appeared with Liotta in The Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints of Newark wrote, “I feel so lucky to have squared off against this legend in one of his final roles. The scenes we did together were among the all time highlights of my acting career. He was dangerous, unpredictable, hilarious, and generous with his praise for other actors. Too soon.”

Liotta was a New Jersey native and was born in 1954. Having been adopted at age six months out of an orphanage by a township clerk and an auto parts owner, the star grew up playing sports, including baseball, during his senior year of high school, the drama teacher at the school asked him if he wanted to be in a play, which he agreed to. The interest stuck with the actor later going on to study acting at the University of Miami.

After graduation, he got his first big break on the soap opera Another World.