Ryan O'Neal

One of the biggest screen actors of the 1970s, Ryan O'Neal had his first big career break when he played Rodney Harrington on the popular primetime soap, "Peyton Place" (ABC, 1964-69), O'Neal broke through with an Oscar-nominated turn in the classic tearjerker, "Love Story" (1970). From there, he starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the screwball comedy "What's Up, Doc?" (1972) and was cast by Stanley Kubrick in "Barry Lyndon" (1975). But it was his turn opposite his daughter, a young Tatum O'Neal, in Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon" (1973) that solidified his stardom. He also starred in such movies as "Nickelodeon" (1976), "A Bridge Too Far" (1977) and "The Main Event" (1979), and in the 1980s he would star in "Irreconcilable Differences" (1984) and "Tough Guys Don't Dance" (1987). Following that time period, he took a step back from acting to deal with some health and family issues. O'Neal survived cancer in 2006, and stood by longtime love Farrah Fawcett's side during her battle with the disease until her death in 2009.