Ryan O’Neal, the iconic actor of the acclaimed film Love Story and other Hollywood hits, died at the age of 82 on December 8. This was a major setback for the film industry worldwide and also for all those who knew him and had the pleasure of working with him. At that time, the cause of the interpreter’s death was not known, although different media pointed to the different health problems that he has suffered in recent years. Now, Page Six has had access to the actor’s death certificate, which reveals the cause of his death.
The actor’s transfer was announced by his son Patrick on his Instagram profile. “My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side, supporting him and loving him as he would love us,” said the 56-year-old sports journalist. No further details about the death were provided at the time, but O’Neal had some health problems in recent decades. In 2001, he was diagnosed with chronic leukemia, and in 2012, prostate cancer. Now, the actor’s death certificate sheds light on this mystery.
Page Six has revealed in the last few hours that everything indicates that the actor died from congestive heart failure, which comes after he suffered from cardiomyopathy for years. In fact, this same illness had also led him to be admitted to the Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Finally, he did not leave the medical center. After his death, the actor was buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park
Congestive heart failure is the inability of the heart to meet our body’s needs for blood. When the heart weakens, the blood begins to retreat and expel fluid through the capillary walls, which causes an accumulation of fluid in different organs. On the other hand, cardiomyopathy is understood as a group of various heart conditions that cause thickening, stiffness, and thinning of the muscle with body substances.
O’Neal began to carve out a space for himself in cinema in the sixties. First it was on the small screen with the nighttime soap opera Peyton Place, in which he appeared alongside Mia Farrow, to make a meteoric leap to the cinema with the acclaimed Love Story (1970) alongside Ali MacGraw, which earned seven Oscar nominations, including theirs as the leading actor. Two years later, he would star in the comedy What’s Up, Doc, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Many others would come later, such as Paper Moon or A Bridge Too Far.
Regarding his love life, he was married to the actresses Joanna Moore (1963-1967) and Leigh Taylor-Young (1967-1974) and in 1981 he began a courtship with the famous Farrah Fawcett, star of the series Charlie’s Angels (Los Angeles of Charlie), with whom she broke up in 1997. From that relationship, her son Redmond O’Neal, also an actor, was born. He also had three other children: Tatum, Patrick and Griffin. Without a doubt, he will be greatly missed by all who knew or admired him.
