Why late Hollywood star Ray Liotta sometimes visited Peoria

PEORIA — Ray Liotta had one of the most iconic opening lines to a movie ever when, in "Goodfellas," he said, "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."

Liotta died in his sleep at age 67 on May 26, remembered for his acclaimed Hollywood career.

Around central Illinois, though, some might also remember him as an occasional Peorian. Liotta made multiple visits over the years with family to Peoria and other towns in the area.

He was married at the time to the former Michelle Messer, a Richwoods High School graduate.

She met Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace while he was playing Class-A ball for the Peoria Chiefs and married him. They were divorced not long afterward.

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Michelle Grace then went on to a career as an actress and film producer, meeting and marrying Liotta in 1997. She worked on several of his films. They had a daughter together, Karsen, and later divorced in 2004.

By all accounts, they remained friends until his death.

Liotta's greatest role was as Henry Hill in "Goodfellas," a 1990 flick that landed six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. He also played Shoeless Joe Jackson opposite Kevin Costner in the 1989 classic "Field of Dreams."

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Liotta was filming a new movie in the Dominican Republic when he died.

Liotta was adopted at 6 months from an orphanage by a township clerk and an auto parts store owner. He grew up in New Jersey playing sports, including baseball. 

During his senior year of high school, a drama teacher asked him whether he wanted to be in a play. He’d go on to study acting at the University of Miami, and after graduation, he got his first break on the soap opera “Another World.”

"Goodfellas" sparked Liotta's career, and a string of memorable tough-guy roles followed, including in "Cop Land" with Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone; "Killing Them Softly" with Brad Pitt; and the TV series "Shades of Blue" with Jennifer Lopez. In 1998, he played Frank Sinatra in HBO's "The Rat Pack." 

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Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. Reach him at 309-686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.