Tatum O’Neal on Ryan O’Neal: ‘He meant the world to me’
Ryan O’Neal died Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, at 82. According to the Los Angeles Times, citing O’Neal’s son Patrick O’Neal, he died at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica.
According to the Associated Press, “No cause of death was given.” TMZ said the cause was “unclear.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, “He had been diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and with prostate cancer in 2012.”
The Associated Press reported that O’Neal’s Oscar-winning daughter, Tatum O’Neal, gave this statement to 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.”
The Associated Press reported that Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal’s co-star in “What’s Up, Doc?” and “The Main Event,” posted on Instagram: “So sad to hear the news of Ryan O’Neal’s passing. ... He was funny and charming, and he will be remembered.”
According to the AP, O’Neal was twice divorced and also “romantically involved” with Farrah Fawcett for nearly 30 years. Their son Redmond was born in 1985.
Fawcett died at 62 on Thursday, June 25, 2009 — the same day as Michael Jackson, and at Saint John’s Health Center, where Ryan O’Neal would later die. Fawcett died at 9:28 a.m. in the ICU, TMZ reported. Jackson would die hours later in Los Angeles. Fawcett had been diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006.
According to TMZ, Ryan O’Neal and Alana Stewart were at the bedside of Fawcett, as was her longtime friend Mila Murphy and Dr. Lawrence Piro.
Ryan O’Neal released this statement after Fawcett’s death, according to TMZ: “After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away. Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the funeral program listed Stewart and Piro as delivering eulogies, and Ryan O’Neal would read the 23rd Psalm. Oscar winning singer-songwriter Carol Bayer Sager attended. The Reporter cited mourners saying O’Neal tapped the hearse’s back door and said, “So long, babe.”
(October 2026)
