Goodfellas chronicles the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), and his decisions not only hurt him but also his family, but what happened to his children and those of the rest of the main characters after the events of Goodfellas? Based on the book Wiseguy, by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas tells the true story of Henry Hill, from his days as a teenager running errands for Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his crew to his full involvement with them and his decision to cooperate with the FBI years later, leading to the fall of his former friends.
During his time in the mob, Henry became close to some of the most notable names in the gangster underworld at the time, such as Paul Cicero (Paul Vario in real life), Jimmy “The Gent” Conway (Jimmy Burke, played by Robert De Niro), and Tommy DeVito (Tommy DeSimone, played by Joe Pesci). Henry and the crew were so close that their families often got together to celebrate or simply share meals, and while Goodfellas is all about Henry’s criminal activities, his family was included as they, ultimately, suffered the consequences of his actions. So, what happened to Henry Hill’s children after Goodfellas, as well as to the children of Paulie and Jimmy?
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The Children Of Henry & Karen Hill
Goodfellas showed Henry Hill meeting and marrying Karen Friedman (Lorraine Bracco), who even though stayed away from Henry’s mob activities, ended up being dragged into them. In real life, Henry met Karen in 1965 through Paul Vario, who convinced Henry to accompany his son on a double date (unlike in Goodfellas, where it was Tommy who tried to get Henry to go with him on a double date). Karen recounted that Henry stood her up at the next dinner date, but they later started going on dates at the Copacabana. Henry and Karen got married some time later, and they had two children, Gregg and Gina.
In 1980, Henry agreed to become an informant, and he, Karen, and their children entered the U.S. Marshals’ Witness Protection Program that same year, changed their names, and moved around to several undisclosed locations. Karen filed for divorce in 1990 and it was finalized in 2002, and while Henry was expelled from the witness protection program in 1987, Karen and her kids kept on using an alias for their protection. Gregg and Gina released a book in 2004, titled On the Run: A Mafia Childhood, in which they shared their own version of their experience with the mafia. In it, Gregg and Gina revealed that their maternal grandparents and Karen’s younger sisters helped take care of them while their parents were out dealing in crime. Gregg and Gina also recalled that they got used to Henry “being away” as he went to jail many, many times, as well as their financial struggles while he was in prison. It’s unknown what Gregg and Gina do now as details of their life, as well as their mother’s, aren’t public.
The Children Of Jimmy “The Gent” Burke
Jimmy Burke’s son had an active role in his father’s criminal activities. Jimmy married his girlfriend, Mickey, in 1962, and on their wedding day, police found the remains of an ex-boyfriend of Mickey in over a dozen pieces, as she was being bothered by him. Jimmy and Mickey had three kids: Frank James Burke, Jesse James Burke, and Catherine Burke. Frank eventually got involved in the mob as well, and he was part of the Lufthansa heist crew, and his role in it was driving one of the backup vehicles, which Parnell “Stacks” Edwards had to dispose of after the heist. Frank tried to follow his father’s criminal steps and became a drug dealer, which led to his death. Frank James Burke was killed in 1987 by a drug dealer named Tito Ortiz while Frank “was trying to make his bones” (via UPI), according to Lt. Remo Franceschini, and he was “reputedly a budding member of the Gambino crime family”.
It’s unknown what happened to Jesse James Burke, but Jimmy’s daughter, Catherine, married Anthony Indelicato, also known as “Bruno” and “Whack-Whack”, a Caporegime with the Bonanno crime family. Anthony and Catherine met when the former was sent to prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, as Catherine was visiting an incarcerated friend (John Carneglia, from the Gambino family). Anthony and Catherine married in 1992 at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, and that’s all that’s known about her.
The Children Of Paul Vario
Unlike the families of Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke, not much is known about Paul Vario’s. What’s known is that he and his first wife, Vita, had three sons – Peter, Paul Jr., and Leonard –, and he later married a woman named Phyllis, but they didn’t have children. Leonard Vario died in 1973 at the age of 23 as a consequence of severe burns, but the cause of his injuries is unknown. According to The New York Times, Leonard was left at the emergency room door of Wyckoff Heights Hospital, with burns in over 90% of his body, but the two men who took him there left without explanation, and Leonard refused to say what happened to him. Leonard was described as the consiglieri of the Lucchese family, and moments before he was taken to the hospital, there was an explosion and fire six blocks away, which was listed as an act of arson.
How Goodfellas Portrayed Its Main Characters’ Children
Goodfellas didn’t pay much attention to the family lives of its characters, though some parts of Henry’s were shown, and it either changed or completely omitted their children. In Goodfellas, Henry and Karen had two daughters, and they are mostly seen with Karen while Henry is in prison. Goodfellas never mentions Jimmy’s son, not even during the planning of the Lufthansa heist, though some of the family pics briefly shown in the movie show that Jimmy had a family. Paulie’s sons weren’t included in Goodfellas either, and instead, his brother, Tuddy, was seen a couple of times.