American actor Ryan O’Neal died on Friday December 8 at the age of 82, his son announced. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say, but it is what it is. My father passed away peacefully today,” Patrick O’Neal explained on Instagram, without specifying the reason for his death. Ryan O’Neal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, a decade after he was first diagnosed with chronic leukemia.
Ryan O’Neal began by playing small roles and performing some stunts before receiving a starring role in the American soap opera Peyton Place (1964-1969), which also made Mia Farrow a star. Then he made a name for himself in 1970 thanks to Love Story, a romance where he played a Harvard law student who becomes infatuated with a young girl forced to work in the library to pay for her studies. The role earned him an Oscar nomination.
Subsequently, he was notably hired by Peter Bogdanovich for Paper Moon in 1973, where he formed a duo with his daughter Tatum O’Neal – who at 10 received the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role −, and by Stanley Kubrick for his Barry Lyndon in 1975, a social satire exploring the mores of the 18th century. He maintained a career as an actor on television until the age of 70, notably appearing in the series Bones and Desperate Housewives.
A tumultuous relationship with Farrah Fawcett
“So sad to hear the news of Ryan O’Neal’s death,” actress and singer Barbra Streisand, who starred with him in Let’s Pack, Doctor?, posted on Instagram. (What’s Up, Doc?) in 1972 and in the 1979 romantic comedy Tender Combat (The Main Event). “He was funny and charming, and he will be remembered,” she added.
The actor was also known for his tumultuous relationship with actress Farrah Fawcett (Drooles de dames), which spanned several decades. She died of cancer in 2009, the same day as Michael Jackson. After the death of the actress, he was at the center of a dispute concerning a portrait of Farrah Fawcett signed Andy Warhol, claimed by the University of Texas. After a legal battle, a California court recognized in 2013 that he was the owner.
The actor had previously had other run-ins with the law. In 2009, he was sentenced to an 18-month drug treatment program after police arrested him and his son Redmond and found methamphetamine at their Malibu home.