Ryan O’Neill has left us: Barry Lyndon and Love Story star was 82

He was one of the main faces of the cinema of the 70s. After several years of battling chronic leukemia and prostate cancer, American comedian Ryan O’Neill died this Friday, December 8 at the age of 82. variety. Stanley Kubrick’s unforgettable Barry Lyndon, Farrah Fawcett’s former companion, also starred in the moving love story opposite Allie McGraw.

No one told the story better than Ryan O’Neill.

In a touching Instagram post, her son Patrick O’Neill paid tribute to the actress: “Ryan was a very generous person who was always ready to help his loved ones for decades. These people are heartbroken today and will be for a long time. (…) This is very difficult for us. Ryan had such an impact and it will be difficult without him, it is and There will be a huge void in our lives.”

“My dad was 82 and had a great life. I hope the first thing he brags about in heaven is how he fought Joe Frazier for 2 rounds in 1966 on national TV, doing commentary for Muhammed Ali and getting into a fight. Smokin’ Joe. His YouTube Zea and believe me, it’s so amazing. (…) Ryan never used to brag. But he has a right to be proud in heaven. Especially when it comes to Farrah. (…) And now they’re together. Farrah and Ryan. Missed him terribly. What It should be a hug. Together again.”

One of the most beautiful love stories in cinema

Son of screenwriter and actor Patrick Ryan O’Neill, known as Ryan O’NeillA former boxing enthusiast, he started on television in 1960 and appeared in soap operas for nearly a decade. In 1969, he got his first role in the film Une si belle garce. But the following year, he suddenly gained fame when he played the male lead in the film. love story. The pairing he created with Ally McGraw became legendary, and the film, a tragic love story, became an instant cult (even Harvard students were required to watch it). The actor received an Oscar nomination for his performance.

Barry Lyndon’s triumph… but a slowing career

He then notably starred opposite William Holden in Two Men in the West, and then Barbra Streisand in Pack Your Suitcase, Doctor?. In 1973, Peter Bogdanovich allowed her to star opposite his daughter Tatum O’Neal in Cotton Candy. Two years later, Stanley Kubrick offered him the title role Barry Lyndon, where he plays a character who is spineless, weak-willed and pathetic all at once. His performance is so compelling that the public and studios seem to shun him ever since.

When Ryan O’Neill inspires a drive

Indeed, despite the triumph love story and the prestige of filming under Kubrick’s direction, Ryan O’Neill After that, he will never be able to establish himself. After starring in A Bridge Too Far, he plays a mute driver in Driver by Walter Hill opposite Isabelle Ajani. A character that inspired Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive. In 1978, he attempted to return to the success of his debut with The Story of Oliver, but in this sequel love story There is a resounding failure.

End of career in television and with Terrence Malick

Since the 1980s, critics have mostly avoided his feature films. However, in 1989 he returned to success thanks to the mini-series We Killed My Children, alongside his then-partner, Farrah Fawcett. She again featured in Method Zero in 1998 and Influences in 2002, where she co-starred with Al Pacino.

Since the 2000s, he has pursued his career mainly in television, in series such as Desperate Housewives, 90210 Beverly Hills – The New Generation and Bones, his last appearance on screen as Max Keenan (24 episodes, the last of which. , S12E7, dated 2017). Ryan O’Neill also appeared in front of Terrence Malick’s camera in a small role in Knight of Cups in 2015.