Ryan O'Neal

Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal (April 20, 1941 – December 8, 2023) was an American actor.

O'Neal was born in Los Angeles, on April 20, 1941, the eldest son of actress Patricia (née O'Callaghan) and novelist and screenwriter Charles O'Neal.

His father was of Irish and English descent, while his mother was of paternal Irish and maternal Jewish ancestry.

His brother, Kevin, was an actor and screenwriter.

O'Neal attended University High School in Los Angeles, and trained there to become a Golden Gloves boxer.

During the late 1950s, his father had a job writing on a television series called Citizen Soldier, and moved the family to Munich, where O'Neal attended Munich American High School.

In Germany, O'Neal was struggling at school, so his mother pulled some favors and got him a job as a stand-in on a show being shot in the area, Tales of the Vikings.

O'Neal worked on it as an extra and stuntman and became interested in acting.

O'Neal returned to the U.S. and tried to make it as an actor.

Born in Los Angeles, he trained as an amateur boxer before beginning a career in acting in 1960.

He made his first television appearance guest starring on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis episode "The Hunger Strike" in 1960.

He followed this with guest slots on The Untouchables, General Electric Theater, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Laramie, Two Faces West, Westinghouse Playhouse (several episodes), Bachelor Father, My Three Sons, Leave It to Beaver episode "Wally Goes Steady" in 1961, and The Virginian.

He was under contract to Universal but they let it lapse.

From 1962 to 1963, O'Neal was a regular on NBC's Empire, a modern-day western, where he played "Tal Garrett" in support of Richard Egan.

It ran for 33 episodes.

In 1963, the series was revived as Redigo, but O'Neal turned down the chance to reprise his role.

When the series ended, O'Neal went back to guest-starring on shows such as Perry Mason and Wagon Train.

In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place.

It was an instant hit and boosted O'Neal's career.

In 1964 he was cast as Rodney Harrington in the prime time serial drama Peyton Place.

O'Neal said he got the role because "the studio was looking for a young Doug McClure".

The series was a big success, making national names of its cast including O'Neal.

Several were offered movie roles, including Mia Farrow, Rosemary's Baby (1968), and Barbara Parkins, Valley of the Dolls (1967), and O'Neal was keen to do films.

During the series' run O'Neal appeared in a pilot for a proposed series, European Eye (1968).

He was also signed to ABC for a recording contract.

O'Neal's first lead in a feature came with The Big Bounce (1969), based on an Elmore Leonard novel.

In 1969, he appeared in a TV version of Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963).

He later found success in films, most notably in the romantic drama Love Story (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama; Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? (1972); Paper Moon (1973), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975), in which he portrayed the titular character; Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1977); and Walter Hill's The Driver (1978).

In 1970, O'Neal played an Olympic athlete in The Games.

The film had been co-written by Erich Segal, who recommended O'Neal for the lead in the romantic drama Love Story (1970), based on Segal's novel and script.

A number of actors had turned down the role including Beau Bridges and Jon Voight before it was offered to O'Neal.

His fee was $25,000; he said he had an offer that paid five times as much to appear in a Jerry Lewis film, but O'Neal knew that Love Story was the better prospect and selected that instead.

Paramount Pictures studio head, Robert Evans, who was married to the film's female lead, Ali MacGraw, said they tested 14 other actors but no one compared to O'Neal; he said the part was "a Cary Grant role – a handsome leading man with lots of emotion."

"I hope the young people like it", O'Neal said before the film came out.

"I don't want to go back to TV. I don't want to go back to those NAB conventions."

Love Story turned out to be a box office phenomenon, making O'Neal a star and earning him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, although O'Neal was bitter that he was never given a percentage of the profits, unlike co-star Ali MacGraw.

In between the film's production and release, O'Neal appeared in a TV movie written by Eric Ambler, Love Hate Love (1971), which received good ratings.

He also made a Western, Wild Rovers (1971) with William Holden for director Blake Edwards.

Wild Rovers, badly cut by MGM, was considerably less popular than Love Story.

From 2005 to 2017, he had a recurring role in the Fox television series Bones as Max, the father of the show's eponymous protagonist.