Ron O'Neal

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Ron O'Neal (born September 1, 1937 in Utica , New York , † January 14, 2004 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor .

Life

O'Neal attended after graduating from the Glenville High School , the Ohio State University , where, however, he quit college after only one semester. Instead, he turned to acting and joined the Karamu House theater in Cleveland , where he played between 1957 and 1966. He then moved to New York City , where he initially performed off-Broadway . He made his Broadway debut on December 30, 1969 . His performance in Charles Gordones with the Pulitzer Prize winning stage play No Place to Be Somebody brought him the Drama Desk Award and a Theater World Award a.

From 1970 he initially had minor roles in feature films. But then he played the lead role as a drug dealer in low budget - Blaxploitationfilm Superfly , which surprisingly was a great commercial success. In 1972 a sequel followed, in which he also directed, which, however, went to the flop. As he increasingly on roles as a drug dealer or pimp set was, he moved in 1975 to Broadway, where he directed by Dustin Hoffman in Murray Schisgal All Over Town occurred.

From the end of the 1970s he played supporting roles in films such as the Chuck Norris vehicle The Bulldozer , The Last Countdown and The Red Flood . Between 1982 and 1983 he played alongside Bruce Boxleitner in the television series Frank Buck - Adventure in Malaysia , which was discontinued after the first season. Between 1986 and 1987 he had a recurring guest role in The Equalizer , and he also appeared four times in the sitcom College Fever . He had one of his last major film roles in 1996 in the Blaxploitation revival Original Gangsters alongside Jim Brown , Fred Williamson , Richard Roundtree and Pam Grier .

In 2000 he was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor, from which he died in January 2004.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Web links

personal data
SURNAME O'Neal, Ron
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Utica , New York
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 2004
Place of death Los Angeles , California