Ryan O'Neal (1941) is an American actor who was one of Hollywood's most successful stars during the 1970s. He is best known to the general public for his role as Rodney Harrington in the soap opera Peyton Place (1964-1969). He received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role in Love Story (1970). Ryan O'Neal was further seen in the crime comedy Paper Moon (1973) alongside his daughter Tatum O'Neal, Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975) and the sequel Oliver's Story (1978).
![Ryan O'Neal in Peyton Place (1964)]()
Vintage collectors card, no. 33. Ryan O'Neal in the TV series Peyton Place (1964-1969).
![Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (1970)]()
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 196. Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970).
![Ryan O'Neal]()
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 434.
Charles Samuel Eldridge Patrick Ryan O'Neal III was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1941. He was the eldest son of Irish-American Hollywood film screenwriter Charles O'Neal and actress Patricia Callaghan. The family moved frequently, and Ryan grew up in Mexico, England and Germany.
In West Los Angeles, O'Neal attended University High School and trained as an amateur boxer. He attended Munich American High School in Munich, where his parents worked on the American television series Tales of the Vikings (1959). The seventeen-year-old was hired as an extra and stuntman for the series. Back in the United States, O'Neal made his debut in the popular series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
The pretty boy also played in such series as The Untouchables, The Virginian and Perry Mason. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place. It was an instant hit and boosted O'Neal's career. O'Neal's first lead in a feature came with The Big Bounce (Alex March, 1969), based on an Elmore Leonard novel.
In 1970, he played an Olympic athlete in the British sports drama The Games (Michael Winner, 1970). The film had been co-written by Erich Segal, who recommended O'Neal for the lead alongside Ali MacGraw in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970) based on Segal's novel and script. Love Story turned out to be a box office phenomenon. For his role as Oliver, O'Neal received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Actor.
O'Neal starred in a number of films by director Peter Bogdanovich, such as the screwball comedy What's Up, Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, 1972) with Barbra Streisand. It was another big hit and O'Neal was the second most profitable movie star in 1972. Other successes were Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973) with his then ten-year-old daughter Tatum O'Neal, the historical film Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975), and Nickelodeon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1976) with Burt Reynolds. The latter film flopped at the box office.
![Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (1970)]()
Belgian postcard by Raider Bounty / Joepie. Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970).
![Ryan O'Neal in Oliver's Story (1978)]()
Big East-German card by VEB Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 7/82. Ryan O'Neal in Oliver's Story (John Korty, 1978).
Ryan O'Neal played US General Gavin in the all-star war film A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977) about the Battle of Arnhem. The film was shot from May to August 1976 at locations in the Netherlands. O'Neal was excellent in the thriller The Driver (Walter Hill, 1978) with Isabelle Adjani and Bruce Dern. The film was not a commercial hit but gained a cult reputation through the years.
O'Neal played a boxer in a romantic comedy, The Main Event (Howard Zieff, 1979), reuniting him with Barbra Streisand. He received a fee of $1 million plus a percentage of the profits. The Main Event was a sizeable hit at the box office. In the early 1980s, however, O'Neal's career faltered. Partners (James Burrows, 1982) was a farce written by Francis Veber in which O'Neal played a straight cop who goes undercover as one half of a gay couple with John Hurt.
He then played a film director loosely based on Peter Bogdanovich in Irreconcilable Differences (Charles Shyer, 1984) with Shelley Long and Drew Barrymore. It was a minor box office success. However, the gambling drama Fever Pitch (Richard Brooks, 1985) was nominated in four categories at the 1985 Razzie Awards, and for which he was nominated at the 1989 Razzie Awards for 'Worst Actor of the Decade'. After a few more flops, he received no more cinema offers. Instead, he appeared in a series of television films with his partner Farrah Fawcett, such as in the dramatic TV film Small Sacrifices (David Greene, 1989). He had a good role in Faithful (Paul Mazursky, 1996) with Cher. From 2005 to 2017, he had a recurring role in the TV series Bones as Max Keenan, the father of the show's protagonist.
Since 1982, O'Neal had been in a relationship with Farrah Fawcett. They had a son, Redmond (1985). From his two previous marriages, O'Neal has three more children: with actress Joanna Cook Moore he has a daughter and a son, Tatum (1963) and Griffin (1964); with Leigh Taylor-Young he had a son, Patrick (1967), a sports commentator. In 1997, Fawcett and O'Neal separated. In 2001, O'Neal was diagnosed with CML, a form of leukaemia and Fawcett and O'Neal became close again. On 22 June 2009, O'Neal announced that he now wanted to marry Fawcett, who was also seriously ill, but just three days later, Farrah Fawcett died of cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 62.
The relationships with his three eldest children were tense. In 2011, Tatum O'Neal reconciled with her father with a book and a TV show, 'Ryan and Tatum: the O'Neals'. In August of that year, O'Neal, Tatum, and Patrick attended Redmond's court appearance on firearms and drug charges. Redmond struggled with drug addiction for most of his adult life. Ryan O'Neal has five grandchildren: Kevin McEnroe, born in 1986, Sean McEnroe, born in 1987 and Emily McEnroe, born in 1991, whose mother is Tatum O'Neal. Patrick O'Neal is the father of Sophia De Mornay-O'Neal, born in 1997 and Veronica De Mornay-O'Neal, born in 2001. In 2016, Ryan O'Neal reunited with Love Story co-star Ali MacGraw in a staging of A.R. Gurney's play 'Love Letter'. In 2021, O'Neal and MacGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a virtual double ceremony.
![Ryan O'Neal]()
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin. Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970).
![Ryan O'Neal]()
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 593.
Source: Wikipedia (English, French, German and Dutch) and IMDb.
Vintage collectors card, no. 33. Ryan O'Neal in the TV series Peyton Place (1964-1969).
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 196. Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970).
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 434.
A box office phenomenon
Charles Samuel Eldridge Patrick Ryan O'Neal III was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1941. He was the eldest son of Irish-American Hollywood film screenwriter Charles O'Neal and actress Patricia Callaghan. The family moved frequently, and Ryan grew up in Mexico, England and Germany.
In West Los Angeles, O'Neal attended University High School and trained as an amateur boxer. He attended Munich American High School in Munich, where his parents worked on the American television series Tales of the Vikings (1959). The seventeen-year-old was hired as an extra and stuntman for the series. Back in the United States, O'Neal made his debut in the popular series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
The pretty boy also played in such series as The Untouchables, The Virginian and Perry Mason. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place. It was an instant hit and boosted O'Neal's career. O'Neal's first lead in a feature came with The Big Bounce (Alex March, 1969), based on an Elmore Leonard novel.
In 1970, he played an Olympic athlete in the British sports drama The Games (Michael Winner, 1970). The film had been co-written by Erich Segal, who recommended O'Neal for the lead alongside Ali MacGraw in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970) based on Segal's novel and script. Love Story turned out to be a box office phenomenon. For his role as Oliver, O'Neal received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Actor.
O'Neal starred in a number of films by director Peter Bogdanovich, such as the screwball comedy What's Up, Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, 1972) with Barbra Streisand. It was another big hit and O'Neal was the second most profitable movie star in 1972. Other successes were Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973) with his then ten-year-old daughter Tatum O'Neal, the historical film Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975), and Nickelodeon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1976) with Burt Reynolds. The latter film flopped at the box office.
Belgian postcard by Raider Bounty / Joepie. Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970).
Big East-German card by VEB Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 7/82. Ryan O'Neal in Oliver's Story (John Korty, 1978).
Worst Actor of the Decade
Ryan O'Neal played US General Gavin in the all-star war film A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977) about the Battle of Arnhem. The film was shot from May to August 1976 at locations in the Netherlands. O'Neal was excellent in the thriller The Driver (Walter Hill, 1978) with Isabelle Adjani and Bruce Dern. The film was not a commercial hit but gained a cult reputation through the years.
O'Neal played a boxer in a romantic comedy, The Main Event (Howard Zieff, 1979), reuniting him with Barbra Streisand. He received a fee of $1 million plus a percentage of the profits. The Main Event was a sizeable hit at the box office. In the early 1980s, however, O'Neal's career faltered. Partners (James Burrows, 1982) was a farce written by Francis Veber in which O'Neal played a straight cop who goes undercover as one half of a gay couple with John Hurt.
He then played a film director loosely based on Peter Bogdanovich in Irreconcilable Differences (Charles Shyer, 1984) with Shelley Long and Drew Barrymore. It was a minor box office success. However, the gambling drama Fever Pitch (Richard Brooks, 1985) was nominated in four categories at the 1985 Razzie Awards, and for which he was nominated at the 1989 Razzie Awards for 'Worst Actor of the Decade'. After a few more flops, he received no more cinema offers. Instead, he appeared in a series of television films with his partner Farrah Fawcett, such as in the dramatic TV film Small Sacrifices (David Greene, 1989). He had a good role in Faithful (Paul Mazursky, 1996) with Cher. From 2005 to 2017, he had a recurring role in the TV series Bones as Max Keenan, the father of the show's protagonist.
Since 1982, O'Neal had been in a relationship with Farrah Fawcett. They had a son, Redmond (1985). From his two previous marriages, O'Neal has three more children: with actress Joanna Cook Moore he has a daughter and a son, Tatum (1963) and Griffin (1964); with Leigh Taylor-Young he had a son, Patrick (1967), a sports commentator. In 1997, Fawcett and O'Neal separated. In 2001, O'Neal was diagnosed with CML, a form of leukaemia and Fawcett and O'Neal became close again. On 22 June 2009, O'Neal announced that he now wanted to marry Fawcett, who was also seriously ill, but just three days later, Farrah Fawcett died of cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 62.
The relationships with his three eldest children were tense. In 2011, Tatum O'Neal reconciled with her father with a book and a TV show, 'Ryan and Tatum: the O'Neals'. In August of that year, O'Neal, Tatum, and Patrick attended Redmond's court appearance on firearms and drug charges. Redmond struggled with drug addiction for most of his adult life. Ryan O'Neal has five grandchildren: Kevin McEnroe, born in 1986, Sean McEnroe, born in 1987 and Emily McEnroe, born in 1991, whose mother is Tatum O'Neal. Patrick O'Neal is the father of Sophia De Mornay-O'Neal, born in 1997 and Veronica De Mornay-O'Neal, born in 2001. In 2016, Ryan O'Neal reunited with Love Story co-star Ali MacGraw in a staging of A.R. Gurney's play 'Love Letter'. In 2021, O'Neal and MacGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a virtual double ceremony.
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin. Ryan O'Neal in Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970).
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 593.
Source: Wikipedia (English, French, German and Dutch) and IMDb.