- Born on September 1, 1937, the tall lean veteran stage and screen actor Ron O’Neal was famous for his portrayal of Youngblood Priest in the movie Superfly
- After he was several denied movie roles for not being black enough, the actor finally made his acting debut at the age of 29
- He died on January 14 2004 after battling pancreatic cancer for almost four years.
Following his big break in the Broadway production Ceremonies In Dark Old Men, Ron O’Neal a stage and screen veteran made himself known as a classically trained actor garnering attention for his role as Youngblood Priest in Superfly.
As the son of a jazz musician, O’Neal himself had a very good singing voice and loved to sing opera. His other films and TV credits include The Equalizer, When A Stranger Calls, A Force of One, and Murder She Wrote.
At the age of 66, the actor died of pancreatic cancer on January 14, 2004.
Ron O’Neal Grew Up in Cleveland’s Ghetto
The Super Fly actor was raised on the streets of Cleveland. He was born on September 1, 1937, to his parents, Eunice and Ernest O’Neal.
After he graduated from Glenville high school, he enrolled at Ohio State University but after an unsuccessful semester at the university, his interest in acting ignited. He later joined Karamu House, an African American theater company. He was trained with the interracial acting troupe between 1957 to 1966.
In 1967, Ron O’Neal moved to New York to pursue his professional career while attending acting classes in Harlem.
The Actor Battled Pancreatic Cancer for Four Years
According to reports, the veteran actor suffered from Pancreatic cancer from 2000 to 2004.
After battling pancreatic cancer for four years, the actor died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on January 14, 2004, at the age of 66.
A day after he passed, Wu-Tang Clan release a song in his honor. The group’s 2014 album A better Tomorrow had a song titled Ron O’Neal.
Ironically, he reportedly died a day after the movie, Super Fly made its debut on DVD.
Ron O’Neal Was Married Twice
1. Carol Tillery Banks (1973-1980)
The talented actor was first married to actress, Carol Tillery Banks in November 1973. The actress is known for her roles in When a Stranger Calls, Police Story, and Harris and Company.
The actors divorced in 1980 after seven years of marriage.
2. Audrey Pool O’Neal (1993-2004)
Ron married his second wife Audrey in 1993. she is said to be a lecturer in Mechanical Aerospace Engineering and a former senior manager with General Motors. She was named the director of the Women in Engineering program at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Audrey Pool earned her Ph.D. and Master’s degree from UCLA in Mechanical Engineering. She is currently an adjunct professor at Samueli School of Engineering.
O’Neal and Audrey were married for 10 years at the time the actor passed.
Other Shocking Facts about Ron O’Neal
1. The Cleveland Actor Was Also a Painter
In other to earn more money, the actor worked as a house painter. Ron once shared that if he was not rehearsing for a show and performing, he was painting houses.
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2. Ron O’Neal Taught Acting for Two Years
Aside from painting, he got an offer to teach acting at Haryou-Act in New York in 1964. He taught for about two years before he decided to focus on his acting career.
3. Ron O’Neal Revealed He Experienced Racism in the Early Years of His Career
While building his career the actor always experienced some kind of inverse racism at auditions. O’Neal was black but his skin was light. Also, he reportedly had straight hair falling down to his shoulders.
At that time, the theater was reportedly opening up to blacks but not to him as he was constantly told he was not black enough.
4. O’Neal Got His First Job at the Age of 29
After Ron O’Neal saw Karamu Theater’s Finian’s Rainbow, he became interested in pursuing a career in acting. After joining the non-professional company, he got a musical role and even stayed with the company for eight years. He played all sorts of roles although he wasn’t paid and he wasn’t charged for training.
At the age of 29, he landed his first job in Clyde Turner’s The Best of Broadway singing in a small all-Black revue. He was propelled into the spotlight after he made his debut in the 1969 play No Place to Be Somebody. His performance in the play earned him the Obie Drama Desk, Clarence Derwent, and National Theatre awards.
His major breakthrough came when he was contacted by a Cleveland screenwriter, Philip Fenty to play the role of a cocaine dealer in the low-budget movie Super Fly. Following the successful release of the movie, O’Neal wrote and directed the movie sequel Super Fly T.N.T( 1973).
Unfortunately, the sequel was not well received at the box office and the actor’s acting career became threatened. Thereafter, he only got roles that were offered to him that were not appalling to him so he left the movie scene and returned to Broadway.
In 1975, he appeared in Murray Schisgal’s play All Over Town and also Shakespeare’s plays Othello, Macbeth, and Taming of the Shrew.
He acted alongside some big names like Chuck Norris, Fred Williamson, and Jim Brown in his later career. Some of the movies and TV shows he starred in include the following:
5. His Father Died When He Was Just 16
His father worked as a factory worker to support the family. Ernest O’Neal was a jazz musician in the 1920s. He reportedly played in the pit orchestra of Blackbirds of 1929 with artists like Jelly Roll Morton. However, he later decided to give up his music career to work in the factory to earn more money ta take care of his family. The actor once revealed his father’s job in the factory was strenuous.
Sadly, the actor lost his father when he was just 16 and his mother had to take up the responsibility of fending for her family. Barely six mothers after his father passed, his brother who was working as a truck driver was killed in an accident.
Ron discovered his father was a musician after he died at the age of 49.
Following the deaths in the family, his mother had to get a job to sustain the family. She later secured a job in the hospital.