RIP Henry Hill - Goodfellas

4EverBonded

I love Ray Liotta; always watchable, a longtime favorite of mine. He was good in the movie.
But having said that, I cannot say nice things about the person, Henry Hill. He was a criminal and did awful things. I don't like making celebrities out of criminals. I understand the story can be compelling; I just don't enjoy people (not necessarily here on this forum, but the public) making too much of criminals or celebrities who have done truly awful things.

SirHenryLeeChaChing

4Ever, making celebs out of criminals is all about what a criminal is about- money. For that, blame the media and these big publishing houses, like anything if there's a buck to be made then books and movies about "La Cosa Nostra" will be published and made.

Myself, collecting mob lore and information is a hobby of mine. I've got huge files on 3 of the NY families and am working on others. The Philly mob I know a lot about because I grew up around a member. I don't glorify it, that's for sure, I think we'd all agree that this way of life is not the right way to live one. But in the old days long before we were born, when Italians faced a lot of prejudice from the establishment, some banded together and did what they had to do to feed their families and protect their community. Even the people who shunned that "life" went to their local mob guy when the authorities wouldn't act on a clear injustice.

Today, the "life" is a dead end job for losers.

Baltimore_007

@4EverBonded While it's always unfortunate when any one individal passes on, the actual Henry Hill was indeed a career criminal and all round nasty piece of work, so it's sometimes hard to offer symapthies to these kinds of people, the famous London gangsters The Krays (now deceased) would be another example, these guys did a lot of harm and suffering to others and sometimes no tears will be shed at these individuals passing, apart from their own family members and close associates etc

and as stated thereafter, these types can make a tidy sum fron their activities, some may not like it, but that's about the size of it, right or wrong. I'd rather maybe these types make their money that way than some of the awful leather faced 'singers' and their piece of crap 'music' these days and the money they bring in because of it, but I don't wish to say anymore on that issue

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:

OHMSS69 wrote:

SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:

One thing Henry Hill was not, by criminal standards, would be a "stand-up guy". He was a rat who turned in his associates to avoid being killed by them. To the government, of course, a different story.

The Mafia (and most criminal organizations ) are made up of "rats' nowadays. There is no honor among thieves anymore. Faced with mammoth prison sentences these bastards immediately turn witness. Gone are the days of Luciano, Capone, Costello. The 1920's-1960's.

So true, so very true. There is no more honor in the "honored society".

A few of my closest friends in school were transplanted Italians from South Philly, and one of my best ones was the son of a well connected man. He could have been "made" but he was at least for sure an associate and a neighborhood guy doing very well for himself. I remember one time I couldn't go over there because the father had the then boss of Philly, Angelo Bruno, and (wait for it O'Brady) Frank Sinatra among his dinner guests. I didn't find out about who was there until the next day. Normally I was always very welcomed there by his father and the whole family and spent so much time there that I was basically "Tom Hagen" being the blond haired, blue eyed German descended kid I was, but this night must have contained some sort of serious discussion for the father to insist that even his kids needed to make plans away from home until a certain time. Anyway, I knew a lot of the mob slang and attitude and actually met Mr. Bruno very briefly in passing. He appeared to be just how law enforcement has described him, a gentleman, friendly but very low key, and if you didn't know who and what he was like I didn't at the time, you'd just think he was an ordinary elderly Italian guy.

RICO and draconian jail sentences are among the things that made many of these guys start squealing, but there is much more to it than just that. All of it became "me" instead of "we".

:((

SirHenryLeeChaChing

I was waiting for that =))

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:

I was waiting for that =))

What a cruel world we live in when I can't see him in concert... :-<

4EverBonded

Oh you mean meeting Frank ...
A legend, for sure, Old Blue Eyes. (I still prefer Peter O'Toole's blue eyes, though)

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

4EverBonded wrote:

Oh you mean meeting Frank ...
A legend, for sure, Old Blue Eyes. (I still prefer Peter O'Toole's blue eyes, though)

The title of "legend" could never suffice. Men like Frank, Sean, and Clint defy all titles.