It was just recently that we were looking back to a tribute news show that we did on the death of Charlie’s Angels icon: Farrah Fawcett; and now her partner who had an on-and-off 30-year relationship with her: Ryan O’Neal died at the age of 82. He had been diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and with prostate cancer in 2012. He died from “congestive heart failure” after suffering from “cardiomyopathy,” a type of heart disease, for years.
Ryan’s relationship with Farrah ended with her death at age 62 on June 25, 2009, and Ryan died Friday 12/8/2023.
“As a human being, my father was as generous as they come,” his son Patrick wrote. “And the funniest person in any room. And the most handsome clearly, but also the most charming. Lethal combo. He loved to make people laugh. It’s pretty much his goal. Didn’t matter the situation, if there was a joke to be found, he nailed it. He really wanted us laughing. And we did all laugh. Every time. We had fun. Fun in the sun.” Patrick went on to say: “My dad was 82 and lived a kick ass life,” Patrick wrote. “I hope the first thing he brags about in Heaven is how he sparred 2 rounds with Joe Frazier in 1966, on national TV, with Muhammad Ali doing the commentary, and went toe to toe with Smokin’ Joe. YouTube has it and trust me, it’s so awesome. Ryan by a majority decision.” He didn’t give details of the cause of death but said: “My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us,” Ryan never bragged. But he has bragging rights in Heaven. Especially when it comes to Farrah. Everyone had the poster, he had the real McCoy. And now they meet again. Farrah and Ryan. He has missed her terribly. What an embrace that must be. Together again.
“I’ll miss you dad. I love you. We love you.”
No one told a story better than Ryan O’Neal.
4/20/41 ~ 12/8/2023
For many years Ryan O’Neal was one of the most sought-after stars of his generation, he appeared opposite other major talents (Barbra Streisand, Ali MacGraw, his Oscar-winning daughter Tatum O’Neal) and worked for some of Hollywood’s greatest directors (Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Attenborough, Stanley Kubrick, Walter Hill).
Earlier in his career the sandy-haired Ryan O’Neal made the ladies swoon for five seasons when he starred as Rodney Harrington on more than 500 episodes on the hit Peyton Place, the 1964-69 serialized ABC melodrama spawned by the Lana Turner movie.
Ryan really shot up to superstardom in In Arthur Hiller’s Love Story (1970), where he played a college kid from a wealthy family. He sacrifices his riches as he falls for Ali MacGraw’s lovely Jenny, a wisecracking, working-class girl, only to watch her agonizingly succumb to a rare blood disease. It was adapted from the sensational-selling novel by Yale professor Erich Segal (who also wrote the screenplay) and released in theaters mere months after the book entered stores, Love Story — made for less than $2 million — grossed $106.4 million at the box office: 
But my favorite movie of his is when he starred with Barbra Streisand in What’s Up, Doc? (1972) directed by Peter Bogdanovich, in the screwball farce What’s Up, Doc?, a homage to the fabled Cary Grant-Katharine Hepburn 1938 comedy Bringing Up Baby. It was an classic comedy-romance, with Barbra chasing after Ryan to win him over, and just as Cary Grant did – Ryan was trying to avoid Barbra, as he thought she was nuts, but at the end they finally came together!
I also loved when Ryan partnered with his 9-year-old daughter, Tatum O’Neal, in Peter Bogdanovich’s wonderful Depression-era tale, Paper Moon (1973) in which he portrayed a good-natured con artist in the Midwest in the 1930s. Tatum starred as his youthful partner in crime and went on to make history as the youngest winner of a competitive Oscar, taking home the best supporting actress prize. The story goes: Real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal team up as slick con-artists Moses Pray and Addie Loggins in 1930s Kansas. When “Moze” is unexpectedly saddled with getting the 9-year-old Addie to relatives in Missouri after the death of her mother, his attempt to dupe her out of her money backfires, and he’s forced to take her on as a partner. Swindling their way through farm country, the pair is nearly done in by a burlesque dancer (Madeline Kahn) and an angry bootlegger: 
Another great movie that I enjoyed was when Ryan teamed up again with Barbra Streisand in The Main Event (1979) where he played a boxer who was trained and owned by Barbra’s character in the movie.
Patrick Ryan O’Neal was born on April 20, 1941, in Los Angeles, the older son of novelist-screenwriter Charles “Blackie” O’Neal (The Three Wishes of Jamie McRuin) and actress Patricia Callaghan. He competed in Golden Gloves events in L.A. in 1956 and 1957 and compiled a boxing record of 18-4 with 13 knockouts. In the late 1950s, O’Neal and his family moved to Munich, and he became infatuated with the syndicated TV series Tales of the Vikings, which shot in Europe and was produced by Kirk Douglas’ company. According to a 1975 newspaper account, he wrote to another producer, George Cahan, on the show: “I am six feet tall, and with a false beard I will look as much like a Viking as any actor on the set … I may be the Gary Cooper of tomorrow.”
His relationship with Farrah began after they were introduced by her then-husband, actor Lee Majors, in 1979. (Majors was headed to a film shoot in Canada and wanted O’Neal to take her to dinner one night because he was worried Fawcett would get lonely.) They lived together for years in Malibu; had a son, Redmond, who went on to battle drug addiction (he and his father were arrested at home for drug possession in 2008); and starred together in the 1989 ABC dramatic telefilm Small Sacrifices and as co-anchors on the 1991 CBS sitcom Good Sports. They broke up for a spell after Fawcett caught him in bed with a younger actress but reunited after O’Neal was diagnosed with leukemia. In 2012, he published a memoir, Both of Us: My Life With Farrah, and three years later, he was back with MacGraw for a national tour in Love Letters.
O’Neal and Tatum, who has also battled drug abuse during her life, did not get along either, and their attempt at reconciliation was documented in the 2011 OWN reality series Ryan & Tatum: The O’Neals, which lasted eight episodes.
Below is the full story that we did on Farrah Fawcett, when Ryan was on the same movie set as Farrah, when he was there to support her as her boyfriend. Farrah and Ryan were both nice enough to take a time out to pose with photos with me!
Rest in Peace Ryan & Farrah, and I pray that you are both back together again up in heaven!
I like to take you back in time 38 years to 1985, for a look back to the fabulous Farrah Fawcett! It was then that I was able to meet Farrah in person while she was filming on a movie set, which you can see in the below photo. Also on the movie set I met her boyfriend at the time: Ryan O’Neal- I am on the right of the below photo with Ryan in the middle:
who was together with Farrah from 1979–1997, and then again from 2001–2009. Also there was Ken Osmond: (I am on the right of the photo below with Ken):
who is best known for his role as Eddie Haskel on the iconic hit TV series: “Leave it to Beaver”. At the time Ken was a Police Officer, working on the Motorcycle Patrol. I will always cherish this moment I had with Farrah: 
This Emmy Award winning movie that Farrah was working on was: Between Two Women (1986 film) with the plot being: When shy school teacher Val (Farrah Fawcett) and Harry (Michael Nouri), the son of an aged opera singer, get married, Val quickly discovers that Harry’s mother, Barbara (Colleen Dewhurst), is not very happy with their union. In fact, Barbara tries to separate the couple. But, when Barbara suffers a debilitating stroke, Val’s compassion and empathy mend the rift between two women, giving Barbara the will to survive. But will Barbara learn to love her daughter-in-law? In this movie Farrah’s Co-Star was the actor Michael Nouri, who also posed with me in the below photo: 
Farrah was born on February 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, TX, and it’s been 23 years since she passed away from anal cancer. Originally diagnosed with the disease in 2006, she was declared cancer-free the following year. However, the cancer returned a few months later and had metastasized to her liver. She died at 2:28 a.m. PDT on June 25, 2009, at age 62 at Saint John’s Health Center emergency room in Santa Monica, California with Ryan O’Neal and Alana Stewart by her side. Her death was almost exactly 12 hours before pop star Michael Jackson died at 2:26 p.m. the same day. I still remember being on my computer as these 2 news stories flashed on my computer, putting me into shock. There was a lottery for tickets that I won, to be able to attend Michael Jackson’s funeral service/show at the Staple’s Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Farrah was a model, actress, TV star, and one of the original “Charlie’s Angels,” whose good looks and signature flowing hairstyle influenced a generation of women, and bewitched a generation of men, beginning with a celebrated pinup poster. She first became famous when a poster of her in a red bathing suit, leonine mane flying, sold more than twice as many copies as posters of Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable combined. No poster like it has achieved anywhere near its popularity since, and, arriving before the Internet era, in which the most widely disseminated images are now digital, it may have been the last of its kind. She was a four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee!
Farrah won praise for her serious acting later in her career, typically as a victimized woman. But she remained best known for the hit 1970s television show “Charlie’s Angels,” in which she played Jill Munroe, one of three beautiful women employed as private detectives by an unseen male boss who (in the voice of John Forsythe) issued directives and patronizing praise over a speaker phone. Her pinup fame had led the producers to cast her. Farrah and her fellow angels, played by Jaclyn Smith:
and Kate Jackson: 
evildoers to justice, often while posing in decoy roles that put them in skimpy outfits or provocative situations. “Charlie’s Angels,” created and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg for ABC, was a phenomenon, finishing the 1976-77 season as the No. 5 network show, the highest-rated television debut in history at that time.
#throughback Thursdays #TBT #farrahfawcett
