My least favorite aspect of publishing is having to say goodbye to old friends by writing obituaries, but the superb celebratory line from Robert Redford'sThe Great Gatsby rings true that says "Let us learn to celebrate our friendships with our friends while they are alive. Not when they are dead."
Ray stepped back into eternity today at the young age of 67, and is probably best known for this role in Martin Scorsese's seminal iconic gangster movie, Good Fellas as Henry Hill. In the photo below we see Ray Liotta with Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci.
Goodfellas is considered to be one of the seminal mob movies, and in the movie we see Ray Liotta's character rocking a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date in the Christmas scene with his wife, played by Lorraine Bracco (who played Tony Soprano's shrink).
The backstory is that it was a vintage Rolex DATE model that was given by legendary Director, Francis Ford Coppola to his very talented daughter, Sofia Coppola.
After having read the Hodinkee story, I was naturally curious as it lacked any photos of Sofia Coppola wearing her Rolex DATE, but the great news is I found pictures of her rocking her Rolex DATE as we see in the photos above and below.
Below is a trailer of "On The Rocks" which I recently watched and thought it was excellent:
In the photo seen below from W Magazine taken by Ted Dayton back in 1990 we again see Sofia Coppola wearing her Rolex DATE which was the same year she costarred in The Godfather Part III.
Below is the trailer of Godfather III: CODA. I haven't seen the movie yet, but from what I understand, it has a different beginning and end...The movie is formally titled "Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone and it is available on Blu-ray and digitally...
I must mention I am a huge fan of the Godfather Trilogy and have watched all three movies countless times. I saw the Godfather Part III on Christmas day in 1990 in San Francisco at the Regency Movie Theater on Van Ness Avenue and thought it was every bit as great as the first two movies!!! My love for the movie was contrary to popular consensus as people criticized Sofia Coppola's role in the movie, but I thought her acting was absolutely magnificent!
Andy Garcia
Godfather III
Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor
I think the Coppola's should come out with a Godfather: Part 4 in the future, which should feature Andy Garcia, who was also completely amazing!!!!
Andy Garcia was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1990 for his role in The Godfather: Part III. Andy Garcia is pictured below rocking his Rolex Explorer II Orange Hand [Reference 1655].
Photo above appears courtesy of Cigar Officianado
The fascinating thing about Andy Garcia's vintage Rolex Explorer II (Reference 1655) 'Orange Hand' is that he somehow added a black GMT-Bezel to it which I have not only never seen before, but didn't realize was even possible, but damn it looks good!
It is fascinating to note that all four of the major Godfather actors in the Godfather Trilogy have worn Rolex watches to keep the time of their life, so not only Andy Garcia, but also Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as we see below.
Robert De Niro
Godfather II
Academy Award Winner for Best Actor
Robert De Niro starred in Godfather Part II and won the 1975 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal as young Don Vito Corleone.
Robert De Niro has been wearing Rolex watches for 5 decades now as we see him back in 1978 wearing a Rolex Submariner in Deer Hunter.
We see Robert De Niro below is a recent photo with Jason Stratham and De Niro is again wearing a vintage Rolex Submariner. I realize I am daisy-chaining a bit now, but hey, it's RolexMagazine.com after all.
Photo of Marlon Brando appear courtesy of Mary Ellen Mark
Al Pacino
Godfather I, II & III
Academy Award Winner for Best Actor
Al Pacino starred in all 3 Godfather movies and has worn many different Rolex watches for many decades both on and off screen. Al Pacino is pictured below with Marlon Brando on the set of Godfather I.
Al Pacino wore his Rolex Submariner when he accepted his Academy Award Oscar for Best Actor in 1993 for his role in The Scent of A Woman as we seen in this discovery made by Nick Gould.
Sofia Coppola
Academy Award Winner for Best Actor
In this last photo we again see Sofia Coppola behind the camera where she spends most of her time today as a director.
Sofia Coppola's new movie titled 'On The Rocks' which can be seen on Apple TV + stars Bill Murray is her third movie she directed with him. Her first movie with Bill Murray was the 2003 romantic comedy named "Lost in Translation" which Sofia wrote and directed and as we see below Bill Murray wore a stainless steel Rolex Datejust in that movie. Lost in Translation was nominated in 2004 for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Sofia Coppola was also nominated for Best Director...
Robert De Niro has stared in many famous movies and some of my personal favorites include:
The Godfather Part 2 (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Raging Bull (1980)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Brazil (1985)
The Mission (1986)
Angel Heart (1987)
The Untouchables (1987)
Good Fellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Casino (1995)
Wag The Dog (1997)
Jackie Brown (1997)
Analyze This (1999)
Meet the Parents (2000)
American Hustle (2013)
Robert De Niro is pictured below at age 7 in a photo the looks like it could have been taken yesterday. It is amazing if you think about it, to think this little boy would go on to become one of the most talented and celebrated actors of his time.
The Deer Hunter
1978
Robert De Niro wore a Stainless Steel Rolex Submariner in the Deer Hunter, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1978...
The original Deer Hunter trailer is below, and at 2:50 into the trailer Robert De Niro's Rolex Submariner is visible.
Robert De Niro
1981 Academy Award Winner for Best Actor
15 Minutes
2001
It has been said Robert De Niro wore a Rolex Daytona in the 2001 movie named "15 Minutes.", but after careful evaluation I don't think it is a Rolex. It sure looks like a vintage Daytona, but I don't think it is. If you look closely, you can see the watch is lacking chronograph pusher buttons. Usually, I wouldn't include a photo like this in a Rolex story, but I also specialize in busting all false Rolex myths, so I thought I would separate the fact from the fiction on this one.
Showtime
2002
Robert De Niro costared in the movie Showtime with Eddie Murphy, and in the photos below we see him wearing what appears to be a vintage stainless Rolex Oyster in this movie.
Robert De Niro is pictured below with William Shatner
Eddie Murphy on the left with Rene Russo in the background with Robert De Niro on the right
I could not help but notice that Eddie and Robert are kind of pointing at each other like in the photo below the movie poster.
Killer Elite
2011
As we saw in the first photos of Robert de Diro in this story, he wore a Rolex Submariner 41 years ago in 1976, in the movie named The Deer Hunter. In the 2011 movie named Killer Elite, Robert de Niro also wore a vintage stainless steel Rolex Submariner (no date) as seen below. Ironically, this appears to be the same model he wore in The Deer Hunter. I doubt its the same watch, but definitely worth noting is looks like the same Rolex Submariner Reference 5512 or 5513.
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
