Ray Barboni

"You can do better than him, right?" "Not these days, not unless you speak Spanish."

- Ernesto Palmer and Ray Barboni's bodyguard concerning Barboni

Ray Barboni, better known as Ray Bones, is a cocky former Miami loan shark who worked for Jimmy Cap until he was arrested. After Ray stole a coat from Vesuvio's belonging to fellow loan shark Chili Palmer, Chili broke into Ray's home and punched him, taking back the coat. In retaliation, Ray infiltrated the barbershop where Chili and Tommy Carlo worked from and Chili fired a bullet which skimmed over Ray's forehead. Upon finding out Jimmy Cap wasn’t willing to go to war with Chili's boss Momo over a coat, an enraged Bones had Momo shot, thus giving ownership of everything belonging to Momo, including Chili, to Cap within the next six years. Afterwards, Ray found out that a drycleaner, Leo Devoe, owed them money and sent Chili to find him. Tracking Devoe from Miami to Las Vegas, Chili found out that he had faked his own death and was living the dream in casinos in Vegas. Although he managed to recover the money owed, Chili kept it while attempting to switch from being a loan shark to becoming a movie producer in Hollywood. But, Ray was also able to find Leo through his wife Fay whom he assaulted, and threatened Chili in his hotel room in Los Angeles. Chili had just been set up by Bo Catlett of Wingate Motors who gave him a key to a locker at the airport supposedly containing owed money but guarded by D.E.A. agents, but, having known it was a setup from the start, gave the key to Ray, telling him Leo's owed money was actually there. Bones was cocky enough to fall for the trick, and was subsequently arrested during his attempt to retrieve the cash.

Bones appeared in Chili's first movie, Get Leo, in the form of the main antagonist Ray Carlo, the film being based on the events taking place during the search for Leo. .

Personality and traits
Ray Barboni has an overconfidence in himself which results in him acting selfishly and cockily around both those who pose a threat to him and around his inferiors. He considers himself above everybody else, and would never fail to show this with complaints and demands. Unlike his rival Chili Palmer, Ray substitutes talking and negotiations for violence. When he needs information, his main tactic is to beat his informant, and when he wants something such as money, he threatens the source of said money with his gun.

Behind the scenes

 * Ray Barboni first appeared as a secondary antagonist in the 1990 novel Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard.
 * Dennis Farina portrayed Ray Bones in the 1995 film adaption of Get Shorty. His role in the film was slightly larger and his character was more comedic.
 * In the 2017-18 Epix TV series adaption of Get Shorty, Bones did not appear.

Appearances

 * Get Shorty (novel)