Karen Friedman Hill

Karen Friedman Hill (born January 16, 1946)[1] is an American woman known for her involvement in the American Mafia through her husband Henry Hill, who was an associate of the Lucchese crime family. The events of their lives were chronicled in the 1990 film Goodfellas and several books.[2]

Karen Friedman Hill
Born
Karen B. Friedman

(1946-01-16) January 16, 1946
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)Henry Hill
(1965–1989; divorce finalized 2002)
Children2

Early life

She was born in New York City and raised on Long Island around the Five Towns, the daughter of Jewish parents. She has two sisters, Sandy and Adrienne.

In 1965, Karen Friedman met Henry Hill, her future husband, through Paul Vario, who insisted that Hill accompany him on a double date at Frank "Frankie the Wop" Manzo's restaurant, Villa Capra. According to Friedman, the date was disastrous, and Hill stood her up at the next dinner date. Afterward, the two began going on dates at the Copacabana and other nightclubs, where Friedman was introduced to Hill's outwardly impressive lifestyle. The two later got married in a large North Carolina wedding, attended by most of Henry Hill's gangster friends.[3] In 1994, Henry Hill, in his book Gangsters and Goodfellas, stated that Tommy DeSimone tried to rape Karen.[4]

Later life

Henry Hill was arrested in 1980 on a narcotics-trafficking charge,[5] and with a long sentence hanging over him, he agreed to become an informant.[6] As a result, Karen and their two children (Gregg and Gina)[7] entered the U.S. Marshals' Witness Protection Program with Henry in 1980, changed their names, and moved around several undisclosed locations including Seattle, Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio, Omaha, Nebraska, Butte, Montana, and Independence, Kentucky.[8]

She and Hill eventually parted ways, last living together in Rockville Centre. In 1990, Karen had filed for divorce after 23 years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in 2002. Due to Henry's numerous crimes while in witness protection, they were expelled from the program in the early 1990s.[9] After their divorce, Henry remarried and fathered another child.[10]

Karen Hill has remained out of the limelight since the family came out of the Witness Protection Program. Karen Hill continues to use an alias to protect her identity, as do her two children, Gregg and Gina. Her children released a book in 2004, titled On the Run: A Mafia Childhood, that tells their own version of their experience with the Mafia. In the book, Gregg and Gina discuss how their maternal grandparents and Karen's two younger sisters, Sandy and Adrianne, helped take care of them, when Karen and Henry were out dealing in crime.[11]

Henry died on June 12, 2012, at the age of 69, from heart failure in Los Angeles.[8]

Portrayal in media

Karen Friedman Hill was portrayed by Lorraine Bracco in the 1990 film Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese, with a script based on Nicholas Pileggi's 1985 book Wiseguy.[12] Bracco did not meet with Hill prior to filming.[13] She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Hill, but lost to Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost.

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References
  1. "Karen Hill public record". familysearch.org. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  2. "The Real Goodfellas".
  3. Pileggi, pp. 83-94
  4. Henry Hill (1994). Gangsters and Goodfellas.
  5. Hill, Henry (2007). Gangsters and Goodfellas. p. 61. ISBN 9781590771297.
  6. Pileggi, Nicholas (1986). Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family. Simon & Schuster. pp. 395–350. ISBN 0-671-44734-3. Gives most of the arrest story.
  7. Hill, Gregg and Gina (October 14, 2004). On the Run: A Mafia Childhood. Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-52770-X.
  8. "Henry Hill, Mobster and Movie Inspiration, Dies at 69". June 14, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  9. "Ex-mobster of 'Goodfellas' fame wanted in Calif". Yahoo!. March 19, 2009. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  10. "Henry Hill: 7 Things to Know About Infamous 'Goodfella'". abcnews.go.com. June 13, 2012.
  11. Hill, Gregg and Gina (2004). On the Run: a Mafia Childhood. Time Warner Book Group. ISBN 0-446-52770-X.
  12. Pileggi, Nicholas (1986). Wiseguy. ISBN 978-1439184219.
  13. "A Mafia Wife Makes Lorraine Bracco a Princess". The New York Times. September 27, 1990. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
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