Raymond "Ray" Sharkey, Jr. (November 14, 1952 – June 11, 1993) was an American actor best known for his role as Sonny Steelgrave in the television series Wiseguy

Wiseguy

Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...

.

Early life and career

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Sharkey's father, Ray Sr., a professional drummer, abandoned the family when Sharkey was just five years old. He was raised by his mother, Cecelia, with assistance from her parents in Brooklyn's rough Red Hook

Red Hook, Brooklyn

Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6. It is also the location where the transatlantic liner, the , docks in New York City.- History :...

 neighborhood. After seeing the Broadway production of Hair

Hair (musical)

Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...

at 17, Sharkey decided to become an actor and started studying acting at the H.B. Studio in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. In 1974, he made his film debut in The Lords of Flatbush

The Lords of Flatbush

The Lords of Flatbush is a 1974 American drama film about a street gang in leather jackets from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York....

. Sharkey would go on to appear in more than forty motion pictures and dozens of guest appearances on various television series.

In 1981, he won a Golden Globe Award

Golden Globe Award

The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...

 for his performance in The Idolmaker

The Idolmaker

The Idolmaker is a 1980 American musical drama starring Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Tovah Feldshuh and Joe Pantoliano.The film is based on the life of rock promoter and manager Bob Marcucci, who discovered and promoted several rock 'n' roll stars including Frankie Avalon and Fabian....

. The following year, he was nominated for another Golden Globe for his role in The Ordeal of Bill Carney. In 1987, Sharkey landed the role of Sonny Steelgrave in the series Wiseguy

Wiseguy

Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...

.

Personal life

In 1981, Sharkey had a brief relationship with Italian actress Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti

Ornella Muti is an Italian actress. She was born in Rome as Francesca Romana Rivelli, to a Neapolitan father and Russian mother. Her maternal grandparents immigrated from Leningrad , Russia, to Estonia...

 while filming the 1982 drama, Love and Money. The same year, he married actress Rebecca Wood. The union would end in 1986, reportedly due to Sharkey's drug abuse. In 1988, he married actress Carole Graham. That marriage would produce one daughter, Cecelia Bonnie Sharkey, in 1989. Again, the union ended in divorce in 1992. In 1991, Sharkey began a seven month relationship with model and actress, Elena Monica.

Later years

Sharkey struggled with an addiction to cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

 and heroin throughout his career. He was involved in four drug-related car wrecks, two requiring microsurgery on his eyes.

On July 30, 1992, while filming a guest spot on the television series, The Hat Squad, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 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

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 to Sharkey. Police searched his hotel room and found an additional supply of drugs. He was jailed and later released on bail. Sharkey's role on The Hat Squad was recast.

Sharkey reportedly contracted the AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 virus through intravenous drug use and was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987. Despite his diagnosis, he remained in denial about his HIV positive status. Sharkey convinced himself he harbored a strain of HIV that would never endanger himself or anyone else. He told no one of his condition, and reportedly did not disclose the fact that he was HIV positive to women with whom he was in intimate relationships.

Death

In 1992, Sharkey's former girlfriend Elena Monica, sued him for $52,000,000 for knowingly infecting her with the AIDS virus. Sharkey, still denying he had the virus despite rapidly deteriorating health, declined to challenge the suit. By default judgment, Monica won the suit, but received no money from Sharkey's estate because the actor had very little money.

On June 11, 1993, Sharkey died of AIDS at Lutheran Medical Center

Lutheran Medical Center

The Lutheran Medical Center is an academic teaching hospital in Brooklyn, New York City.-Overview:Lutheran Medical Center was founded in 1883 by Sister Elisabeth Fedde, a Norwegian Lutheran deaconess nurse...

 in Brooklyn, New York. He is interred in Saint Charles Cemetery

Saint Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale

Saint Charles Cemetery located at 2015 Wellwood Ave Farmingdale, New York 11735 is aRoman Catholic cemetery managed by the Diocese of Brooklyn. It is more formally known as St. Charles/Resurrection Cemeteries.Among those interred here are:...

 in Farmingdale

Farmingdale, New York

The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...

, Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	The Lords of Flatbush The Lords of Flatbush The Lords of Flatbush is a 1974 American drama film about a street gang in leather jackets from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York....	Student
1975	The Jeffersons The Jeffersons The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...	Robert Phelps	Episode: "Tennis Anyone?"
1976	Trackdown	Flash
1977	The Streets of San Francisco The Streets of San Francisco The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...	Benny Lester	Episode: "Time Out"
1978	Paradise Alley	Legs
1980	Willie & Phil Willie & Phil Willie & Phil is a 1980 film directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Margot Kidder and Michael Ontkean.-Plot:The film is set in the 1970s and amidst the counterculture chic of the '70s...	Phil D'Amico
1980	The Idolmaker The Idolmaker The Idolmaker is a 1980 American musical drama starring Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Tovah Feldshuh and Joe Pantoliano.The film is based on the life of rock promoter and manager Bob Marcucci, who discovered and promoted several rock 'n' roll stars including Frankie Avalon and Fabian....	Vincent "Vinnie" Vacarri
1980	Heart Beat	Ira
1982	Love and Money Love and Money (film) Love and Money is a 1982 drama film directed by James Toback and starring Ray Sharkey.-Cast:* Ray Sharkey - Byron Levin* Ornella Muti - Catherine Stockheinz* Klaus Kinski - Frederic Stockheinz* Armand Assante - Lorenzo Prado* King Vidor - Walter Klein...	Byron Levin
1984	Body Rock Body Rock Body Rock is a 1984 film directed by Marcelo Epstein about a young man "from the streets" with a talent for break-dancing. It stars Lorenzo Lamas in the lead role of 'Chilly'. The film featured music by Laura Branigan....	Terrence
1985	Miami Vice Miami Vice Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...	Bobby Profile	Episode: "Tale of the Goat"
1985	The Equalizer The Equalizer The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...	Geoffery Dryden	Episode: "Desperately"
1986	Wise Guys Wise Guys (film) Wise Guys is a 1986 feature film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo. A comedy revolving around two small-time mobsters from Newark, New Jersey, it also features Harvey Keitel, Lou Albano, Dan Hedaya, and Frank Vincent....	Marco
1986	No Mercy No Mercy (film) No Mercy is a 1986 film starring Richard Gere and Kim Basinger about a cop who accepts an offer to kill a Cajun gangster.-Plot:Eddie Jilette is a Chicago cop on the vengeance trail as he follows his partner's killers to New Orleans to settle his own personal score...	Angles Ryan
1986 to 1987	Crime Story Crime Story (TV series) Crime Story is an NBC TV drama created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. The executive producer was Michael Mann, who had left Miami Vice to oversee Crime Story and direct the film Manhunter. The show premiered with a two hour pilot — a movie which had been exhibited theatrically —...	U.S. Atty. Harry Breitel	5 episodes
1987–1989	Wiseguy Wiseguy Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...	Sonny Steelgrave	10 episodes
1989	Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is an American black comedy film released in 1989. Co-written and directed by Paul Bartel, Scenes re-unites Bartel with his Eating Raoul co-stars Mary Woronov and Robert Beltran...	Frank
1989	The Hitchhiker	Eric Coleman	Episode: "In Living Color"
1989	Wired Wired (film) Wired is a 1989 film biography of John Belushi directed by Larry Peerce, adapted from the book Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi . It starred Michael Chiklis as Belushi. Wired was both a critical and a commercial failure...	Angel Velasquez
1990	Act of Piracy Act of Piracy Act of Piracy is a 1990 American thriller film directed by John Cardos and starring Gary Busey, Belinda Bauer and Ray Sharkey. While enjoying an exotic cruise to Australia, a family yacht is taken over by terrorists...	Jack Wilcox
1992	Zebrahead Zebrahead (film) Zebrahead is a 1992 drama film, directed by Anthony Drazan and starring Michael Rapaport and N'Bushe Wright. Set in Detroit, Michigan, the film is about an interracial romance between a white man and a black woman and the resulting tensions among the characters...	Richard	Alternative title: The Colour of Love
1992	Dead On: Relentless II Dead On: Relentless II Dead On: Relentless II is a 1992 action thriller directed by Michael Schroeder. The tagline for the movie was: The first killer was unpredictable. This one is unstoppable. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is the second installment in the Relentless series.-Plot:L.A...	Kyle Valsone
1992	Jake and the Fatman Jake and the Fatman Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series...	Michael "Mickey" Daytona Da Silva	Episode: "Beautiful Dreamer"
1992	In the Line of Duty: Street War In the Line of Duty: Street War In the Line of Duty: Street War is an action film which was released in 1992. It is about a New York City Housing Authority policeman whose partner is killed and he seeks revenge for the killing.-Cast:*Peter Boyle ... Det. Dan Reilly...	Det. Victor Tomasino	Television movie
1992	The Ray Bradbury Theater The Ray Bradbury Theater The Ray Bradbury Theater is an anthology series that ran for two seasons on HBO, three episodes per season from 1985 to 1986, and four additional seasons on USA Network from 1988 to 1992. It was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel...	The Father	Episode: "By the Numbers"
1993	Cop and a Half	Vinnie Fountain

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1981	Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...	Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy	The Idolmaker	Won
1982	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV	The Ordeal of Bill Carney	Nominated
1988	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Founder's Award	Wiseguy	Won

External links