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Ron O'Neal
Age: 66 (passed away Jan. 14th, 2004)
Height:
Birth Place: Utica, New York, USA
Born: Sep. 1st, 1937
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Ron O'Neal's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: Forever tagged as the super baaaaaaad "Super Fly," actor Ron O'Neal has spent his entire post 70s career trying to break the chains of a bad ass stereotype that made him his fortune. Of tough, humble beginnings, Ron was the son of a wannabe jazz musician who became a factory worker in order to support the family, growing up in Cleveland's black ghetto. He managed to attend Ohio State University for a single semester before developing an interest in theater and joining Cleveland's Karamu House, an interracial acting troupe, training there for nine years (1957-1966). He arrived in New York in 1967 and taught acting in Harlem to support himself, jointly appearing in summer stock and off-Broadway shows at the same time. He received critical notice in 1970 in Joseph Papp's Public Theatre production of "No Place to Be Somebody," in which he won the Obie, Drama Desk, Clarence Derwent and Theatre World awards for his dynamite performance. The timing couldn't have been more 'right on' for this dude with the tough, streetwise style and attitude to spare -- perfect for Hollywood what with the arrival of the "blaxploitation" films that were taking over at the time. Ron became an overnight star as the hip, funky anti-hero in the action-driven flick Super Fly (1972), playing one cool drug dealer who wants out of the business, taking out the entire syndicate one by one (or two by two as need be). He made his debut as a director the following year with the equally violent sequel, Super Fly T.N.T. (1973), which again starred himself. But the genre soon turned to uncool parody and within a couple of years, O'Neal was struggling badly, playing support roles and even less by the end of the decade. Although he managed to co-star in the TV series "Bring 'Em Back Alive" and "The Equalizer" in the 80s, it's been an uphill battle all the way for him to obliterate this stubborn image of the supercool Priest with his fu-manchu like beard and dazzling white suit. He has appeared as both hero and villain in a number of action low budgets since, including Mercenary Fighters (1987), Trained to Kill (1988) and Up Against the Wall (1991), which he also directed. In 1996, he joined other former 70s black action stars, including Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Richard Roundtree and Pam Grier, in a revival of the violent genre entitled Original Gangstas (1996). He passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2004.
TRIVIA:
- Flunking out of Ohio State University, his acting career was triggered after seeing "Finian's Rainbow" by chance at the Karamu House, a highly regarded nonprofessional company that had presented interracial casting since 1913. He won a chorus role in a musical and stayed with the company for six years.
- Was long time friends with R&B legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer 'Solomon Burke' (qv).
- Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2000.
- Was offered a role in the 1988 Keenon Ivory Wayans Film, "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" and in the 1990 "Superfly" remake "The Return of Superfly" but he turned down both roles.
- Had a superb singing voice and loved to sing opera.
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