The entertainment world was saddened to learn of the death of Ryan O'Neal at age 82. One of the biggest stars of the 1970s, the California born stud never really got the respect or recognition he deserved. After earning his apprenticeship on '60s television, most notably on the prime-time soap opera "Peyton Place", a 29 year old O'Neal was ready to graduate to feature films. Did he ever. Arthur Hiller's "Love Story" was a phenomenon, that grossed $106 million in the U.S. and received seven Oscar nominations(including a Best Actor nod for Ryan). The next several years were spent headlining one hit after another- "Paper Moon" memorably paired him with his daughter Tatum, "Barry Lyndon" was directed by Stanley Kubrick, and Barbra Streisand wanted him twice("What's Up, Doc?, "The Main Event"). I highly recommend Walter Hill's "The Driver", a cult car flick that influenced action filmmakers for decades with an ice-cool O'Neal behind the wheel. The '80s and '90s were not as kind, as a new generation(and Farrah Fawcett) pushed an aging Ryan to the back pages of supermarket tabloids. We'll always have Moses Pray and Oliver Barrett.
Complete filmography- "The Big Bounce"(1969), "The Games"(1970), "Love Story"(1970), "Wild Rovers"(1971), "What's Up, Doc?"(1972), "The Thief Who Came to Dinner"(1973), "Paper Moon"(1973), "Barry Lyndon"(1975), "Nickelodeon"(1976), "A Bridge Too Far"(1977), "The Driver"(1978), "Oliver's Story"(1978), "The Main Event"(1979), "Circle of Two"(1981), "Green Ice"(1981), "So Fine"(1981), "Partners"(1982), "Irreconcilable Differences"(1984), "Fever Pitch"(1985), "Tough Guys Don't Dance"(1987), "Chances Are"(1989), "Man of the House"(1995), "Faithful"(1996), "Hacks"(1997), "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn"(1997), "Zero Effect"(1998), Coming Soon"(1999), "People I Know"(2002), "Gentleman B."(2003), "Malibu's Most Wanted"(2003), "Unity"(2015)- narrator, "Knight of Cups"(2016)
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