American actor on screen and TV after first working as a movie stuntman. He gained attention as the sexy star of ABC’s “Peyton Place” from 1964-1969. O’Neal charmed audiences in such films as Erich Segal’s tear-jerker “Love Story,” 1970, with Ali McGraw (for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar) and “Paper Moon,” 1973, in which he co-starred with his 10-year-old daughter, Tatum (who won a special Oscar for her performance). He also appeared in a number of TV series. As he progressed into the $3 million a film class, O’Neal invested in real estate to expand his fortune to an estimated $20 million.
Ryan was the older son of a scriptwriter and an actress. His brother Kevin became a TV performer. The family traveled a great deal and as a kid, he lived in Mexico, the British West Indies, England and Germany. He recalls his youth as happy years, fun-loving, lazy, carefree, along with having an easy chip on his shoulder. He once spent 51 days in jail for assault and battery at a New York party, 1960. While in Germany, he began work as a stunt man and extra for seven months, after which he returned to Hollywood determined to be an actor. His big acting break was in a TV series, “Empire,” which premiered on 9/25/1962. It folded after 32 episodes but led to the outstandingly popular “Peyton Place.”
He was married to actress Joanna Moore from 1963-1967; their daughter Tatum was born in 11/1963 and their son Griffin was born in 10/1965. After O’Neal and Moore split in 1967, he was married to “Peyton Place” co-star Leigh Taylor-Young for five years; they had one son, Patrick. In the fall of 1979, Farrah Fawcett moved into his beach front Malibu home, competing with Tatum for his attention. He was noted for his quick temper, and their relationship was volatile at times. Nevertheless, they maintained their relationship for 17 years and had a son, Redmond, in January 1985. On 2/22/1997, they made a joint announcement that it was the end of their road together.
In early May 2001, he announced that he was battling chronic myelogenous leukemia, and he is doing very well. In 2006 the semi-retired actor helped to care for his ex-wife Farrah Fawcett as she battled cancer. Late in the year he returned as a working actor to appear in a popular TV series “Bones.”
On February 2, 2007, emergency officials were summoned to the actor’s home in Malibu, CA. He had allegedly assaulted his son Griffin with a gun. Neither O’Neal was seriously hurt but Ryan was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm. He was released on $50,000 bond; charges were dropped in May 2007.
Link to Wikipedia biography