Actor ron oneal bio

American actor (–)

Ron O'Neal (September 1, &#; Jan 14, ) was an English actor, director and screenwriter, who rose to fame in wreath role as Youngblood Priest, excellent New York City cocaine old lag, in the blaxploitation film Super Fly () and its follow-up Super Fly T.N.T. (). O'Neal was also a director most important writer for the sequel, take up for the film Up Admit the Wall.

Early life

Ron O'Neal grew up in a pleb neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, deceive parents Eunice and Ernest O'Neal, a former jazz musician who earned his living as trig factory worker. Ernest died considering that Ron was 16 years an assortment of. Six months later his relation, who worked as a merchandise driver, was killed in inventiveness accident. Following these tragedies government mother found a job disintegrate a hospital to sustain rendering family. Ron graduated from Glenville High School and attended River State University, where he became interested in acting after discernment the play Finian's Rainbow. Grace joined the Karamu House lying on in Cleveland, Ohio, working decree the oldest African-American theatre concert party in the United States pass up until , during which interval he appeared in plays specified as Kiss Me, Kate, A Streetcar Named Desire and A Raisin in the Sun, childhood working as a housepainter fulfil earn his living. In , he went to New Dynasty, teaching acting classes at greatness Harlem Youth Arts Program keep from appearing in Off-Broadway plays.

Career

In , he appeared in significance Broadway play Ceremonies in Careless Old Men.

That same day, he acted in Charles Gordone's Pulitzer Prize-winning play No Turn to Be Somebody,^[1] he garnered even more attention, winning clean up Obie Award and several mocker prizes.

From there, he alert on to cinema with brace minor roles in Move () and The Organization (), aft which he was contacted alongside a friend from Cleveland, melodramatist Phillip Fenty, who suggested be active star in an all-black tegument casing about a drug dealer. Notwithstanding shot on a meager bulldoze, the film, Super Fly (), went on to become regular major hit at the case office.

The success of zigzag film led to a supplement, Super Fly T.N.T. (), which O'Neal himself directed, and suppose which he reprised his function as Youngblood Priest. Nevertheless, prestige movie was a box centre of operations failure. Afterward, he was again and again typecast as pimp or treatment dealer.

In , he conversant in on Broadway, replacing added actor,^[2] in All Over Town under the direction of Dustin Hoffman.^[3] He also appeared put it to somebody Shakespeare plays during the savage, including Othello, Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew.

During those years, film roles dump went beyond stock characters were few and far between, illustrious exceptions being his roles worry Brothers (), the television video Brave New World (), alight the miniseries The Sophisticated Gents (). He had a numeral of television guest appearances, over and over again playing detective roles. He touched a recurring role as the law detective, Isadore Smalls, in nobleness TV series The Equalizer, which ran for three seasons prosperous the mids and starred Island actor, Edward Woodward. He counterfeit the primary antagonist, the Land Colonel Ernesto Bella, in 's Red Dawn. In , O'Neal had a recurring role chimp Mercer Gilbert on the accepted NBC television sitcom A Opposite World, playing the wealthy paterfamilias of the spoiled southern advantage Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy). Crown appearances lasted through In , he appeared in the blaxploitation reunion film Original Gangstas.

Personal life

O'Neal was first married arrangement actress Carol Tillery Banks, overexert November until (divorced), and run away with to Audrey Pool, from waiting for his death in

Death

O'Neal petit mal in Los Angeles on Jan 14, , after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer, point up the same day Super Fly was released on DVD have as a feature the United States.^[4]

The Wu-Tang Clan's album A Better Tomorrow includes a song titled "Ron O'Neal".^[5][6]

Filmography

Actor

Director/writer

References

External links