For Rick Dugdale, being able to bring veteran Hollywood actor Ray Liotta to his hometown of Enderby “was a wonderful experience.”
Dugdale is the president of Enderby Entertainment, producers of the flick Blackway, shot in 2014, which starred Liotta as the title character, a cop-turned-crime-lord. The movie also featured Sir Anthony Hopkins and Julia Stiles.
Liotta died Thursday, May 26, in his sleep at age 67 while filming a movie in the Dominican Republic.
“Ray was one of a kind,” said Dugdale on Friday, May 27. “I can say he always spoke fondly of the area and asked when we were going to shoot there again. He’ll be missed.”
Liotta is best known for his role as Henry Hill in the classic film Goodfellas, for portraying (Shoeless) Joe Jackson in the baseball blockbuster Field of Dreams and countless other roles.
“We were working on doing another film together but sadly that did not come together before his passing,” said Dugdale.
Todd Petersen of Enderby, whose younger brothers were classmates of Dugdale’s in school, was an extra in Blackway. He had the opportunity to chat with Liotta on-set.
“He was very accommodating, very nice,” said Petersen. “Very easy to chat with. We talked a bit about different things, but it was clear he loved our area.”
Blackway had its world premier at the Starlight Drive-In Theatre in Enderby on June 2, 2016, and debuted a week later in Vernon at the Towne Theatre.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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