Friday, May 27, 2022

MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE INDUCTION - REMEMBERING RAY LIOTTA



Ray Liotta:
Everyone thinks I'm like my character in “Goodfellas”,
but in real life, I'm more like my character
in “Operation Dumbo Drop”.

From Wikipedia:
Raymond Allen Liotta (December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor and producer. He was known for playing Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Field of Dreams” (1989), Henry Hill in “Goodfellas” (1990), and Tommy Vercetti in the video game “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” (2002).

Liotta's other roles included Ray Sinclair in “Something Wild” (1986), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, as well as starring in “Unlawful Entry” (1992), “Cop Land” (1997), “Hannibal” (2001), “Blow” (2001), “John Q” (2002), “Identity” (2003), “Observe and Report” (2009), “Killing Them Softly” (2012), “The Place Beyond the Pines” (2012), “Marriage Story” (2019) and “The Many Saints of Newark” (2021), as well as the drama series ‘Shades of Blue’ (2016–2018).

From The Hollywood Reporter:
Ray Liotta, the intense actor from New Jersey best known for his turn as the hustler turned mob rat Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas”, has died. He was 67.

Publicist Jennifer Allen told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor died Wednesday night or early Thursday in his sleep in his hotel room while in the Dominican Republic making the movie “Dangerous Waters”. His fiancĂ©e, Jacy Nittolo, was with him. He had begun work on the film about a week ago.


Whenever Liotta did show up as himself in various TV shows, I’d mark it for future use in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, always thinking there was plenty of time to get around to inducting him as a member of the League of Themselves.  

Never thought that time would come up so quickly.  He was so young!  (Full disclosure – my opinion is skewed because I’m basically the same age.)

And so, here we are….

RAY LIOTTA

Here are the shows which not only qualified him for membership in the TVXOHOF, but which showed him as a multidimensional:


Just Shoot Me!
- Christmas? Christmas! (2001)
Maya meets a handsome celebrity who loves Christmas even more than her, to the point of obsession.  


(Ray Liotta's apartment is 1225 [the date of Christmas] which adds to his obsession of the holiday.)


- Liotta? Liotta! (2002)
Ray Liotta is back and he's obsessed with Maya. He even vows to give up show business for her, but can't adjust to normal life.

O'Bservation: How many stars can claim that their name is part of an episode title?

Ray Liotta:
I don't want to be a celebrity anymore.
I just want to do boring, ordinary boyfriend stuff.

Nina Van Horn:
You're a moron, Ray.
Ray Liotta:
This is great.
Just a couple of regular people calling each other morons.


Saturday Night Live
- Episode dated 18 January 2003



Hosted, with The Donnas as musical guest (2003)
O’Bservation: SNL has a televersion and even exists in the Comic Book Universe.

The View
- Episode dated 26 September 2006

O’Bservation: The televersion of ‘The View’ is a member of the TVXOHOF, so it’s one of only a few talk shows which are allowed to be included in an inductee’s tally.



Modern Family
- Playdates (2016)
Haley, Alex and Luke are surprised when Uncle Mitchell comes over to cash in on the birthday coupon they gave him for a belated present.  The Dunphy kids make a last-minute birthday surprise for Mitchell, and run into Ray Liotta. [IMDb]



Great News
- Early Retirement (2018)
Diana St. Tropez returns with good news for "The Breakdown" staff: Fenton Pelt has agreed to drop his lawsuit on the condition that Chuck Pierce deliver a humiliating on-air apology and resign from news forever. Chuck, defeated, agrees, until Portia reminds him why he got into journalism in the first place. With Chuck's final broadcast approaching, Katie convinces Carol to reunite for one last job, and they race against the clock to find the one person in New Jersey who could disprove Fenton Pelt's claims and save the show. [Great News Wiki]

And to qualify to be a multidimensional, Liotta made it into….

THE TOONIVERSE


Phineas and Ferb
- What a Croc! (2012)
Liotta was a friend of Francis Monogram at The Academy and he owed the Major a favor.  He filled in for Major Monogram in giving Perry the Platypus his mission.

Welcome to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, Ray.
I wish it was under better circumstances.
Good night and may God bless….


Ray Liotta:
Remember in "Hannibal" when Hannibal
made me eat my own brain?
This is worse.
Because it's not my brain this time, Maya.
It's my real heart.