Ray Sharkey
He was supposed to be straight rather than gay, and he was said to have had sex with hundreds if not thousands of women (and he married twice). But in his most memorable roles he always played either a bisexual or someone with a strong homoerotic vibe: Vinnie Vaccari in "The Idolmaker," Sonny Steelgrave in "Wiseguy," Frank in "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly hills." He just exuded pure sex, and seemed like he would fuck anything that moved.
A huge fuss was made over his first big starring appearance in "The Idolmaker," which led to a Golden Globe nomination but also a $460 a day heroin habit. He OD'ed on coke and/or heroin several times and got in a terrible car accident, and lost his leading man status. But even in supporting parts he was always the one you noticed, and he was the one who garnered the most critical attention for "Wiseguy" though he was the antagonist.
After he was diagnosed with HIV (which he claimed originated from intravenous drug use) in the late 80s, he remained in denial and slept with 100 women thereafter., according to his manager. A model successfully sued him for $52 million for infecting her, but when she won the suit against his estate after he died, there was no money to collect.
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | June 10, 2021 6:49 PM
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He's so cute. Too bad he's worm food now. What a cruel world..
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | June 15, 2020 1:40 AM
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His appearance at the doorway of Jacqueline Bisset's bedroom to seduce her was one of the sexiest scenes I've ever seen. He wears a scoop-necked tshirt, with a studded leather jacket over it, and incredibly tight jeans.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | June 15, 2020 2:10 AM
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R2 hmmm really? What film is that?
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | June 15, 2020 2:16 AM
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"Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills."
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | June 15, 2020 2:17 AM
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Former drug addict Boy George said Sharkey was the biggest drug dealer in Hollywood.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | June 15, 2020 3:03 AM
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He fucked that guy from Star Trek Voyager in that movie.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | June 10, 2021 5:01 PM
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Despicable man for having unprotected sexual encounters with women after he was diagnosed.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | June 10, 2021 5:06 PM
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[quote]Despicable man for having unprotected sexual encounters with women after he was diagnosed.
Why? Didn't he use Prep?
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | June 10, 2021 5:19 PM
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He hid his HIV for fear of losing roles. Me thinks he was more into men than women...the drug HIV story was just a cover. I am guessing he offered his ass for heroin.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | June 10, 2021 5:24 PM
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There's way more evidence of his extensive drug addiction than any sex with men. In fact, there's zero evidence of sex with men.
If he looked like Philip Seymour Hoffman no one would suspect him of being bi or gay.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | June 10, 2021 5:58 PM
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Then there's this:
On September 22, 2015, Sharkey's daughter, Cecelia Bonnie Sharkey, was charged with capital murder for the death of her boyfriend's mother, Patricia Metropoulous (Hickerson). In November 2017 she pleaded no contest, was declared insane at the time of the crime and was committed to Patton State Hospital.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | June 10, 2021 5:59 PM
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[quote] he was the one who garnered the most critical attention for "Wiseguy" though he was the antagonist.
Sharkey's portrayal of a mafia don was so charismatic it became a problem for the producers. They did an episode just for the purpose of reminding the audience what an evil man he was.
imdb trivia ---
Since Wiseguy was meant to be told in different story arcs, Sonny Steelgrave was always meant to be temporary. However, Sonny was proving to be far more popular than expected. Fearing backlash over his demise, this episode was written specifically to remind viewers just how cold and ruthless Sonny could be, in order to make his demise more palatable.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | June 10, 2021 6:06 PM
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Ray Sharkey not only dealt drugs, he was instrumental in trafficking them via “overnight film cans” of movies to be played for east coast execs. Tarmac to tarmac, LA to NYC.....(ALLEGEDLY).......it was kinda genius when you think about it
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | June 10, 2021 6:12 PM
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Excellent, charismatic actor. Wonderful in The Idolmaker. A shame his life ended so tragically.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | June 10, 2021 6:14 PM
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Horrible wig in Wiseguy. Thankfully Spacey played the next villain and he was quite good, too.
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | June 10, 2021 6:14 PM
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