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Although Goodfellas is based on real-life people and events, it made a couple of changes to their stories to fit the tone of the movie, and Henry and Karen Hill’s relationship is one of those that went through some adjustments. Martin Scorsese is best known for his gangster movies, and out of all of his works (from this genre and others), Goodfellas continues to be widely regarded as his best movie. Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas tells the story of mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his days as a teenager running errands for Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his crew to his full involvement with them as one of their associates.
Henry’s criminal activities ended up impacting all areas of his life, especially his marriage. Henry married Karen (Lorraine Bracco) and had two daughters, but their relationship went through many rough patches, mostly after Henry went to jail. In real life, Henry Hill did marry Karen Friedman and they had a daughter and a son, but their story was slightly different from the one shown in Goodfellas – and here’s what the movie got right and wrong about Henry and Karen Hill.
How Henry & Karen Hill Actually Met
Henry and Karen Hill met in 1965, when Paul Vario (Paul Cicero in Goodfellas) convinced Henry to accompany his son on a double date at the restaurant of one of his associates. Karen shared that the date was a disaster, and Henry stood her up on their following date. However, they began going on dates at the Copacabana, and Karen was impressed with Henry’s lifestyle and that of his associates. Henry and Karen got married that same year, but their marriage had a rough start, as they lived with Karen’s parents, which caused a lot of friction between all of them. In Goodfellas, Henry and Karen’s story started slightly differently, with Henry accompanying Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) on a double date and Karen confronting Henry after he stood her up, after which they started dating.
Karen Hill’s Incident With His Neighbor
According to Henry and Karen’s daughter, Gina, in the book On the Run: A Mafia Childhood (via Today), Karen witnessed Henry’s dangerous side after an incident with her neighbor. While Henry and Karen were still dating, a guy from Karen’s neighborhood who she had known her own life, named Ted, took her for a ride in his car and made a pass at her. Karen told him to stop and as he didn’t, she slapped him, which angered Ted, who then threw her out of the car miles away from her home. Karen then called Henry and he picked her up and took her home, but Henry, instead of going into the house with Karen, went across the street as he saw Ted in the driveway. Henry grabbed Ted by the hair and pistol-whipped him, and gave Karen the gun so she would hide it. This scene was included in Goodfellas, and it’s just as Gina Hill described it, with Bracco’s Karen also finding Henry’s aggressive-protective side “sexy”.
Henry Hill’s Infidelities
Unsurprisingly, and just like in Goodfellas, the real Henry Hill had girlfriends while married to Karen. A girlfriend revealed in Wiseguy (via CheatSheet) is Robin Cooperman (Sandy in Goodfellas), who was already Henry’s mistress by the time he was arrested for drug dealing. Robin helped Henry with his cocaine business once he was out of jail, and Henry kept her around even though he knew she was trouble. However, Robin demanded attention and affection more and more, which Henry wasn’t comfortable with, so much so that he said that “the day I got pinched almost came as a relief”. One day, when Henry stopped by to pick up the drugs, Robin wanted a conversation about why they weren’t seeing each other enough, which led to an argument in which she started “slamming things”. In Goodfellas, Henry had two girlfriends, Janice and Sandy, the latter based on Robin, and she was shown helping Henry with the drugs but also consuming them.
What Happened To Henry & Karen Hill After Goodfellas?
Just like in Goodfellas, Henry Hill ended up cooperating with the FBI and became an informant. In 1980, Henry, Karen, and their children entered the U.S. Marshals’ Witness Protection Program, changed their names, and moved around to different locations, and Henry’s testimonies led to 50 convictions, including those of Paul Vario and Jimmy “The Gent” Burke (played in Goodfellas by Robert De Niro). However, in 1981, Henry got married to another woman while still married to Karen, and in 1990, Karen filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2002. Before that, however, in 1987, Henry was convicted of drug trafficking in a federal court in Seattle and was expelled from the witness protection program.
Henry was arrested again in 2004 and sentenced to 180 days imprisonment the following year, then in 2009, he was sentenced to two years of probation, and later that year, he was arrested again. In the 2000s, he gave various interviews and appeared in different documentaries, published a cookbook, and even worked as a chef at an Italian Restaurant, and he passed away in 2012 due to complications related to heart disease. As for Karen, she continues to use an alias to protect her identity, and she has stayed as far from the spotlight as possible.
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