A homeless man who beat up legendary comedian Rick Moranis in New York City in late 2020 pleaded guilty to assault on Tuesday.
Marquis Ventura, 37, was promised a two-year sentence in state prison after pleading guilty to second-degree assault and six other charges relating to four other victims: attempted second-degree assault, petty theft and four Charges of third-degree assault, according to the Manhattan Attorney’s Office.
Ventura initially denied the allegations, but changed his plea to guilty in the Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The verdict is set for August 23.
The man is also accused of indiscriminately assaulting other strangers in 2020, including the owner of a liquor store in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood, before stealing a bottle of champagne.
Ventura, who has been arrested more than 13 times, is a suspect in several other unprovoked attacks on people in New York City.
Marquis Ventura, who blasted legendary comedian Rick Moranis in New York City in 2020, pleaded guilty to assault on Tuesday
Marquis Ventura, 37, has been promised a two-year sentence in state prison after pleading guilty to second-degree assault and six other charges relating to four other victims
Ventura pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree attempted assault, petty larceny and quadruple 3rd-degree assault, according to the Manhattan Attorney’s Office
Ventura initially denied the allegations, but changed his plea to guilty in the Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday
Ventura allegedly struck actor Rick Moranis in an unprovoked attack in late 2020 that was caught on surveillance video
Ventura admitted to hitting actor Rick Moranis on October 1, 2020 in an unprovoked assault that was caught on surveillance video.
The chilling footage shows Moranis, then 67, walking 5 feet 6 inches south in Central Park West near West 70th Street at about 7:30 a.m.
Suddenly, an unknown man walking past the star hits him in the head and throws Moranis to the ground.
Ventura was arrested by a transit cop at the 96th Street and Broadway subway stations. Of Ventura’s 13 arrests, five involve felonies.
While the unprovoked attack was caught on video, other nearby surveillance cameras also managed to capture images of the suspect.
Rick Moranis, 69, was walking on New York City’s Upper West Side around 7:30 a.m. Thursday when he was attacked. Surveillance footage shows a stranger walking past him, abruptly hitting Moranis on the head and throwing him to the ground (left and right)
Ventura was arrested by a transit cop at the 96th Street and Broadway subway stations. He has a history of 13 arrests – including five for felonies
While the unprovoked attack was caught on video, other nearby surveillance cameras also managed to capture images of the suspect
The attack left Moranis with pain in his head, back and right hip.
The ex-con was also accused of indiscriminately assaulting other strangers last year, including the owner of a liquor store in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood, before stealing a bottle of champagne.
Last year, Judge Diane Kiesel said Ventura denied two attempts to get him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he was mentally fit to stand trial, the New York Post reported.
Moranis, who was born in Toronto, Canada, secured his big break when he appeared in the 1983 film Strange Brew.
He then appeared in a number of commercially successful films including Ghostbusters (1984), Spaceballs (1987) and two films (1989), Ghostbusters II and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
Moranis, who was born in Toronto, Canada, secured his big break when he appeared in the 1983 film Strange Brew. Pictured: Moranis at an undisclosed location, May 1994
Rick Moranis and his man-eating plant in the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors
Rick Moranis and Marcia Strassman in the 1989 Disney film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis in the 1984 sci-fi comedy Ghostbusters
The original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was so successful that Moranis returned for the 1992 sequel Honey, I Blew Up The Kid.
He completed the trilogy in 1997 with the direct-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, which was his last on-camera role before his hiatus.
Moranis has largely stayed out of the limelight since then, speaking for only a handful of animation projects, including the 2003 film Brother Bear and the television series The Animated Adventures Of Bob & Doug McKenzie.
He said he made the decision to step down to focus on being a single father to his children, Rachel and Mitchell, after losing his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, to breast cancer in February 1991.
He told USA Today, “As a single parent, I found it just too difficult raising my kids and doing the travel that comes with filmmaking.
“So I took a little break. And the little hiatus turned into a longer hiatus, and then I realized I really didn’t miss her.