Ryan O'Neal

Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal, Jr. (born April 20, 1941), better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American television and film actor. O'Neal trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place. The series was an instant hit and boosted O'Neal's career. He later found success in films, most notably Paper Moon (1973), Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), and Love Story (1970), for which he received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Actor. Since 2007, he has had a recurring role in the TV series Bones. O'Neal has been married twice and has four children. His eldest child, Tatum, is an Academy Award-winning actress. He was also in a long-term relationship with actress Farrah Fawcett from 1979 to 1997, and from 2001 until her death in 2009. --- O'Neal was born on April 20, 1941, in Los Angeles, California, the eldest son of actress Patricia (née O'Callaghan) and novelist/screenwriter Charles "Blackie" O'Neal. His brother Kevin is an actor and screenwriter. His maternal grandfather was Irish and his maternal grandmother was Russian. O'Neal attended University High School, and trained there to become a Golden Gloves boxer. During the late 1950s, Blackie O'Neal had a job writing on a television series called "Citizen Soldier" and moved the family to Munich, Germany, where O'Neal attended Munich American High School. O'Neal appeared in guest roles on series that included The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Bachelor Father, Leave It to Beaver, Westinghouse Playhouse, Perry Mason and Wagon Train. From 1962 to 1963, O'Neal was a regular on NBC's Empire, another modern day western. He played 21-year-old rancher's son Tal Garrett. O'Neal gained enormous popularity from 1964 to 1969 on the hit prime time ABC soap opera Peyton Place (with fellow newcomer Mia Farrow). O'Neal's film career took off beginning with his role in Love Story (1970), earning a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1973, he was #2 in the Annual Top Ten Box Office Stars, behind Clint Eastwood. He starred in a series of films for director Peter Bogdanovich, beginning with the screwball comedy What's Up, Doc? (with Barbra Streisand, 1972); following were Paper Moon (with daughter Tatum O'Neal in an Oscar-winning role, 1973); and Nickelodeon (1976, again with Tatum). Other films of the 1970s included Barry Lyndon (directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1975); A Bridge Too Far (1977); Oliver's Story (1978, a sequel to Love Story); and the car-chase film The Driver (directed by Walter Hill, also 1978). --- O'Neal was in a long-term relationship with actress Farrah Fawcett until her death in 2009. He was previously married to actresses Joanna Cook Moore and Leigh Taylor-Young; both marriages ended in divorce. He has four children: Tatum O'Neal and Griffin O'Neal (with Moore), Patrick O'Neal (with Taylor-Young) and Redmond James Fawcett O'Neal (born January 30, 1985, Los Angeles; with Fawcett). Ryan's youngest son, Redmond, continued his legal problems and was arrested for firearms and drug charges during a traffic stop in Santa Monica on August 2, 2011. For several years, Ryan was estranged from his elder three children, Patrick, Griffin, and Tatum. However, in 2011, Tatum reconciled her relationship with her father through a book and a television show. On August 4, Patrick O'Neal appeared with his father and Tatum for Redmond's court appearance for the firearms and drug charges arrest. Redmond pleaded not-guilty to the charges. O’Neal has eight grandchildren: three from Tatum’s marriage to tennis player John McEnroe, three from both of Griffin’s marriages, and two from Patrick’s marriage to actress Rebecca De Mornay.