Actor Ryan O’Neal died December 9, 2023. He was best known for his work on the soap opera Peyton Place and films such as Paper Moon and What's Up, Doc? Beyond his career, he was also known for his temper, drug and alcohol usage, and tumultuous relationship with actress Farrah Fawcett.
Ryan spent his golden years repairing the damage he did in his youth. He worked to reestablish relationships with his four children and Farrah. His daughter Tatum O’Neal was so glad he did and the pair documented their new relationship on a reality television series.
"I feel great sorrow with my father's passing," Tatum told People magazine. "He meant the world to me. I loved him very much and know he loved me too. I'll miss him forever and I feel very lucky that we ended on such good terms."
Tatum’s brother, Patrick, was also happy to reconcile with his father. The sports broadcaster was the one to announce Ryan's death in an Instagram post. "My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us," Patrick wrote. "My father Ryan O'Neal has always been my hero. I looked up to him and he was always bigger than life."
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Ryan was a father of four children. He shared Tatum and son Griffin with his first wife, actress Joanna Moore. He shared Patrick with his second wife, actress Leigh Taylor‐Young. Farrah Fawcett and Ryan shared son Redmond.
In 2015, Griffin stated he had to walk away from his family for his own mental health. “The last time I saw my dad, he shot at me because I was trying to help his son [Redmond] get sober so I haven’t talked to him in nine years,” he stated. Ryan was arrested in 2007 for shooting at his son but the charges were ultimately dropped.
“My whole family has been absolutely destroyed to smithereens from drug addiction and alcoholism,” Griffin went on to explain. “The common denominator is drugs and alcohol and depression and it’s a never-ending cycle. I had to walk away from all of it. I’m done.”
Redmond appears to feel the same way. In 2018, he was arrested for allegedly robbing a convenience store. He spoke to Radar Online from behind bars. “It’s not the drugs that have been a problem, it’s the psychological trauma of my entire life — my whole life experiences have affected me the most,” he explained. “Fighting with my father, being kicked out and living on the streets, going to jail, being put in a psychiatric ward, being embarrassed all the time, just because of who my parents are. The pressure that came with that set off a time-bomb in my head. I never asked for any of this, I never wanted any attention.”
Ryan seemed to understand his failures in fatherhood. He told Vanity Fair in 2009: “I’m a hopeless father. I don’t know why. I don’t think I was supposed to be a father.”
He was able to reconcile with Farrah before her death. The couple began dating in 1979 and were on and off again until 1997 when Farrah walked in on Ryan in bed with Leslie Ann Stefanson. When Farrah was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, the couple got back together. Ryan was with her until her death in 2009.
“Leslie was gone, and Farrah came to me,” Ryan told Vanity Fair. “We started over again, and this time we built it in a way that had foundation and trust.”
