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Ryan O'Neal Vanity Fair Interview

O'Neal Reflects on Life With Farrah

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posted: 1 DAY AGO
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filed under: Obits, TV News
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Farrah Fawcett
Vanity Fair
Speaking out publicly for the first time since the passing of his longtime partner Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O'Neal tells Vanity Fair contributing editor Leslie Bennetts that he wishes he could "do it over," changing how he treated the late actress.
"I would have been much kinder, more understanding, more mature. I'd lose some of the savagery. I don't know how she got cancer; maybe some of it was me," O'Neal says in the revealing Vanity Fair interview (on newsstands Aug. 5).
Of his often tumultuous relationship with Fawcett, O'Neal says that during their worst split Farrah "was going through some kind of change. I didn't have a change of life; I was always a jerk." He then says that "they're hard work, these divas," referring to Farrah's sex symbol status. "I was sick of it, and I was unappreciated."
Still, the two managed to reconnect in 2001 when O'Neal was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. "I talked to her every day. We pulled apart, but we never popped loose," O'Neal said of the couple's time away from each other.
During Fawcett's final days, O'Neal claims that she asked him to stop taking his medication so that they could die together. When Fawcett asked Ryan if she was going to live, O'Neal says he told her "Sure, baby -- and if you don't, I'll go with you." Fawcett then said to him: "Stop the Gleevec."
Much of the tension between the couple stemmed from personality clashes as well as their son, Redmond. O'Neal claims they "started fighting about Redmond by the time he was three."
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A Look at Farrah Fawcett

    After a long battle with cancer, Farrah Fawcett has died at the age of 62. Her longtime partner Ryan O'Neal was by her side when she passed away.

    Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images

    The 'Charlie's Angel' star was diagnosed back in 2006. She filmed a documentary about her struggle with the disease called 'Farrah's Story.'

    Barry King, WireImage

    Fawcett has said of her cancer battle: "It's much easier to go through something and deal with it without being under a microscope. It was stressful. I was terrified of getting the chemo. It's not pleasant. And the radiation is not pleasant."

    Getty Images

    Farrah Fawcett poses with Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. Many her of friends will be speaking out about the actress in 'Farrah's Story,' a video diary of the actress' fight against anal cancer that has spread to her liver.

    Jeff Kravitz, FilmMagic

    Fawcett is best known for playing Jill Munroe in the series 'Charlie's Angels' back in the 1970s. Her undeniable sex appeal helped make the show a gigantic hit and established the actress as the top pin-up model for millions of men (and adolescent boys).

    Everett Collection

    It quickly became clear who the top Angel was on the show when it premiered in 1976, though Jaclyn Smith, left, and Kate Jackson were no slouches themselves. Fawcett left the show after only one season, but came back sporadically in later years. She was replaced by the also saucy Cheryl Ladd. The show ran until 1981.

    Sony

    Fawcett has always had an idea as to why the show was such a success with viewers. "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting," she has said about ratings. "When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra."

    Everett Collection

    Here, Farrah can be seen in action during a scene from the 'Fallen Angels' episode of 'Charlie's Angels' during the show's first season.

    Everett Collection

    The Texas native began doing shampoo commercials and TV guest spots in the early 1970s and eventually caught the eye of producers who cast the unknown beauty in 'Angels.' Her tousled and feathered hair style was "The Rachel" of its time and has been copied by generations.

    Hulton Archive / Getty Images

    She showed her acting chops -- and garnered one of three Emmy nominations -- for her portrayal as a battered wife in the acclaimed 1984 TV movie 'The Burning Bed.'

    Michael Tighe, Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Still, Griffin O'Neal -- Ryan's son with another woman -- claims that O'Neal's motives may not be as heartfelt as he makes them out to be. Griffin told Bennetts that Ryan's "only goal was to make sure he would be in the will. It was so disgustingly transparent as soon as he found out she was terminal. I consider him a vulture presiding over a carcass."
When told of Griffin's comments, Ryan shoots down the claims he's in it for the money. "I hate him! He knows I have money. I made a tremendous amount of money on real estate, more than I deserve," O'Neal says.
Another interesting tale from the Vanity Fair article stems from Fawcett's funeral, where O'Neal claims he mistakenly hit on his own daughter, Tatum. "I had just put the casket in the hearse and was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me. I said to her, 'You have a drink on you? You have a car?' She said, 'Daddy, it's me-Tatum!' I was just trying to be funny with a strange Swedish woman, and it's my daughter. It's so sick."
Tatum herself acknowledges the incident, saying "that's our relationship in a nutshell..... You make of it what you will ... he was always a ladies' man, a bon vivant."
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2009-08-03 09:33:38
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