Ryan O'Neal Biography

RYAN O'NEAL

Date of Birth: April 20, 1941

Born in Los Angeles to a screenwriter father and an actress mother, Ryan O'Neal was destined to become involved in show business. A Golden Gloves boxer in his mid-teens, he landed a job as a stuntman on the German-filmed series Tales of the Vikings in 1959. His first acting job came shortly after, on an episode of the CBS-TV sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Guest appearances on Leave it to Beaver, Bachelor Father and Two Faces West followed. In 1962, O'Neal was a regular on the British-produced series Empire. The same year, he made his feature film debut in This Rugged Land (1962) opposite Richard Egan and Charles Bronson. When Empire was cancelled, O'Neal immediately landed another regular TV role, this time on the primetime soap Peyton Place (1964 - 1969). In 1963, O'Neal married actress Joanna Moore. When they divorced three years later, Moore gained custody of their two children, Tatum and Griffin. O'Neal went on to marry actress Leigh Taylor-Young in 1967, and they had a son, Patrick, but the couple later divorced in 1973.

A starring role in Love Story (1970) propelled O'Neal to movie stardom. The film was a box office success, raking in over US $100 million, and O'Neal received an Academy Award nomination as well as a Golden Globe nomination. His next big hit was the comedy What's Up Doc (1972), co-starring Barbra Streisand, but his performance in Paper Moon (1973), for which he received his second Golden Globe nomination, is considered by many to be his most memorable. His co-star in the film was his nine-year-old daughter Tatum, who went on to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role.

Ryan won custody of the little girl and her brother after Tatum had an ulcer at the age of seven, a result of living with a mother who abused substances and often neglected her children. Unfortunately, Ryan's parenting skills also came under question when he not only took Tatum to many Hollywood parties and nightclubs while she was still a child, but in 1980, when she didn't get along with his latest live-in girlfriend - actress Farrah Fawcett - Tatum, who was then 16, claims she was asked by her father to move out.

Ryan has had few hits since then, and Good Sports, his sitcom with Fawcett in 1991, lasted less than one season. He and Fawcett have a son, Redmond, but the relationship was a tumultuous one and they underwent a public and messy separation in 1997. Ryan was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in 2000, but with treatment, the disease went into remission in 2002 and he has since appeared in People I Know (2003) and Malibu's Most Wanted (2003).

He currently plays Max Keenan on the popular TV crime series Bones.

Filmography:

Knight of Cups (2015)
Slumber Party Slaughter (2012)
People I Know (2003)
Malibu's Most Wanted (2003)
Gentleman B. (2000)
The List (2000)
Coming Soon (1999)
Zero Effect (1998)
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)
Hacks (1997)
Faithful (1996)
Chances Are (1989)
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)
Fever Pitch (1985)
Irreconcilable Differences (1984)
Partners (1982)
Green Ice (1981)
So Fine (1981)
The Main Event (1979)
Oliver's Story (1978)
The Driver (1978)
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Nickelodeon (1976)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973)
Paper Moon (1973)
What's Up, Doc? (1972)
Wild Rovers (1971)
Love Story (1970)
The Games (1970)
The Big Bounce (1969)
This Rugged Land (1962)