Raymond Sharkey Jr. (November 14, 1952 – June 11, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor. His most notable film role was Vincent Vacarri in the 1980 film The Idolmaker, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He is also known for his role as Sonny Steelgrave in the television series Wiseguy.
Early life
Sharkey was born in Brooklyn to Cecelia Formisano and Ray Sharkey, Sr. He was of Irish and Italian descent. Sharkey's father was a professional drummer who abandoned the family when Sharkey was five years old. Sharkey became interested in acting after seeing Jack Lemmon in the 1962 film Days of Wine and Roses. After attending New York City Community College for one year, he enrolled at the HB Studio to study acting. While attending the HB Studio, Sharkey performed in various Off-Broadway stage productions. In 1973, he and his friend, boxer/actor Chu Chu Malave, moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting careers.
Career
In 1974, he made his film debut in The Lords of Flatbush. Sharkey went on to appear in more than forty motion pictures and dozens of guest appearances on various television series.
An early standout performance in a character role came in Who'll Stop the Rain (1978), directed by Karel Reisz. The film's editor, John Bloom, said, "I do not believe there’s ever been a better pair of villains than Richard Masur and Ray Sharkey — funny and terrifying in equal measure." This echoed a contemporary review, which called them "psychopaths played to the hilt" and added, "They're a great team. Whether they are supposed to be so funny, even when they are shouting obscenities, only the director knows. But funny they are."
In 1980, Sharkey portrayed rock promoter Vinnie Vacarri in The Idolmaker. The role boosted Sharkey's career and earned him a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the film. One reviewer remarked, "The Steelgrave episodes were wonderful, partly because of Sharkey's performance as the tough-tender Sonny." Another stated, "Sharkey's portrayal of Steelgrave, with his murderous, mercurial charm, has been likened to James Cagney's Cody Jarrett in White Heat".
With that career boost, Sharkey then co-starred in the biographical film Wired. Based on the life of John Belushi, Sharkey portrayed a Puerto Rican angel who meets Belushi after his death in the morgue and "show[s] him the error of his ways." Sharkey's next role was in the 1989 black comedy film Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills.
In 1991, he starred in the ABC sitcom The Man in the Family. While Sharkey received good reviews for his performance, the show was panned by critics and canceled after one season. The following year, he appeared in a guest spot on Jake and the Fatman; and co-starred in the independent film Zebrahead, as well as the lead in the television movie In the Line of Duty: Street War. On July 30, 1992, while filming a guest spot on the television series, The Hat Squad, in Vancouver, he was arrested for drug possession. Canadian customs officials, making a routine inspection of incoming cargo at the airport, discovered small amounts of cocaine and heroin in a black envelope being sent from Los Angeles to Sharkey in Vancouver. Police searched his hotel room and found an additional supply of drugs. He was jailed and later released on bail. Sharkey was later fired from The Hat Squad. Sharkey's final role was in the 1993 comedy film Cop and a Half.
Personal life
In May 1981, Sharkey married model Rebecca Wood. The marriage ended in 1986 due to Sharkey's drug abuse.
Illness and death
Sharkey was diagnosed as HIV positive in the late 1980s. He reportedly contracted the virus through intravenous drug use. After his death, Sharkey's manager Herb Nanas admitted that they both decided to keep his diagnosis a secret, fearing it would hurt his career. Despite his diagnosis, Sharkey remained in denial about his HIV-positive status and, according to his manager, had sex with an estimated 100 women after he was diagnosed.
Sharkey began a relationship with model/actress Elena Monica, daughter of comedian Corbett Monica, in April 1991. She became ill and was hospitalized with aseptic meningitis in July 1991. During a routine check, she tested positive for HIV. Monica believed she contracted the virus from Sharkey, who continued to deny that he had infected her. Monica ended the relationship in October 1991 due to her suspicions. In July 1992, she learned that another woman also suspected that Sharkey had infected her with HIV as well. Later that same year, Monica filed a $52 million lawsuit against the actor for knowingly infecting her with HIV. When asked about his ex-girlfriend Elena Monica who accused him of infecting her with HIV, Sharkey said, "This disease is funny. One day you're negative and the next day you're positive. And people suffer. I don't think she suffered from me."
Sharkey died of complications from AIDS at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, on June 11, 1993, at age 40. He is interred in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York.
In June 1993, shortly after Sharkey's death, a Beverly Hills graphic designer who said she had an on-and-off relationship with Sharkey from 1985 to 1991 announced that she was suing Sharkey's estate. The woman, who was only identified as "Joyce", cared for Sharkey in his final months and said that she believed that she also had contracted HIV from Sharkey after she was diagnosed with the virus in April 1992.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ <!-- WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION -->
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1974
| The Lords of Flatbush
| Student
|
|-
| 1976
| Trackdown
| "Flash"
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1977
| Hot Tomorrows
| Louis
|
|-
| Stunts
| Paul Salerno
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1978
| Who'll Stop the Rain
| "Smitty"
| Alternative title: Dog Soldiers
|-
| Paradise Alley
| "Legs"
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1980
| Heart Beat
| Ira
|
|-
| Willie & Phil
| Phil D'Amico
|
|-
| The Idolmaker
| Vinnie Vacarri
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1982
| Love and Money
| Byron Levin
|
|-
| Some Kind of Hero
| Sergeant Vinnie DiAngelo
|
|-
| 1983
| Regina Roma
| Carry
| Alternative title: Regina
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1984
| Body Rock
| Terrence Mitchell
|
|-
| Du-beat-e-o
| Du-beat-e-o
| Alternative title: We're All Crazy Now
|-
| 1985
| Hellhole
| Silk
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Wise Guys
| Marco
|
|-
| No Mercy
| Angles Ryan
|
|-
| 1987
| P.I. Private Investigations
| Ryan
| Alternative title: Private Investigations
|-
| 1988
| Act of Piracy
| Jack Wilcox
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1989
| Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills
| Frank
|
|-
| Wired
| Angel Velasquez
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1990
| 27 Wagons Full of Cotton
| Silva
| Direct-to-video release
|-
| The Rain Killer
| Capra
|
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1992
| Caged Fear
| Warden Hayes
| Alternative title: Jail Force
|-
| Zebrahead
| Richard
| Alternative title: The Colour of Love
|-
| Dead On: Relentless II
| Kyle Valsone
| Direct-to-video release
|-
| Round Trip to Heaven
| 'Stoneface'
|
|-
| 1993
| Cop and a Half
| Vinnie 'Fountain'
|Final film role
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ <!-- WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION -->
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1974
| Kojak
| Detective Gallagher
| 4 episodes
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1975
| On the Rocks
| Opie
| Episode: "Champion"
|-
| All in the Family
| Man At Clinic
| Episode: "Chain Letter"
|-
| Barney Miller
| David Salas / Hold-Up Man
| 2 episodes
|-
| The Jeffersons
| Robert Phelps
| Episode: "Tennis Anyone?"
|-
| 1976
| Police Story
| Pete Samper
| Episode: "Payment Deferred"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1977
| The Streets of San Francisco
| Benny Lester
| Episode: "Time Out"
|-
| Best Friends
| Lionel 'Big O' Lapidus
| Television movie
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1981
| Saturday Night Live
| Himself (host) / Various roles
| Episode: "Ray Sharkey/Jack Bruce & Friends"
|-
| The Ordeal of Bill Carney
| Bill Carney
| Television movie
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| Miami Vice
| Bobby Profile
| Episode: "Tale of the Goat"
|-
| The Equalizer
| Geoffery Dryden
| Episode: "Desperately"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Faerie Tale Theatre
| Grand Vizier
| Episode: "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp"
|-
| Crime Story
| U.S. Attorney Harry Breitel
| Television movie
|-
| 1986-1987
| Crime Story
| U.S. Attorney Harry Breitel
| 5 episodes
|-
| 1987–1989
| Wiseguy
| Sonny Steelgrave
| 10 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1989
| The Neon Empire
| Junior Molov
| Television movie
|-
| The Revenge of Al Capone
| "Scarface"
| Television movie
|-
| The Hitchhiker
| Eric Coleman
| Episode: "In Living Color"
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1990
| American Playwrights Theater: The One-Acts
| Silva Vaccaro
| Episode: "27 Wagons Full of Cotton"
|-
| The Take
| Dennis
| Television movie
|-
| Good Cops, Bad Cops
| Captain Gerry Clemente
| Television movie
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1991
| The Man in the Family
| Sal Bavasso
| 7 episodes
|-
| Riders in the Sky
| 'Spongehead'
| Episode: "Saddle Pals"
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1992
| Jake and the Fatman
| Michael 'Mickey' Daytona Da Silva
| Episode: "Beautiful Dreamer"
|-
| Chrome Soldiers
| Gabe Ricci
| Television movie
|-
| In the Line of Duty: Street War
| Detective Victor Tomasino
| Television movie
|-
| The Ray Bradbury Theater
| The Father
| Episode: "By the Numbers"
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Title of work
! Result
|-
|1981
|rowspan="2"|Golden Globe Awards
|Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy
|The Idolmaker
|
|-
|1982
|Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV
|The Ordeal of Bill Carney
|
|-
|1988
|Viewers for Quality Television Awards
|Founder's Award
|Wiseguy
|
|}