Ryan O’Neal Arrested And Accused of Assaulting His Son
Oscar-nominated actor Ryan O’Neal was arrested for investigation of assaulting his adult son at the actor’s Malibu home over the weekend, officials said.
Deputies and paramedics were called to O’Neal’s Malibu residence at 12:30 a.m. Saturday “regarding a battery that had occurred,” said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Benedict.
“Deputies determined … Griffin O’Neal, his son, had been assaulted by his father,” Benedict said.
The elder O’Neal, 65, was arrested and accused of assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm. He was released on a $50,000 bond.
It was unclear what started the dispute, but O’Neal’s manager, Neil Hassman, claimed the actor was defending himself after his son began “wildly swinging a fireplace poker.” Griffin O’Neal’s pregnant girlfriend was slightly injured in the incident, and was treated at a hospital and released, Hassman said. He maintained that her injuries were caused by the younger O’Neal.
“It is unfortunate that what should have been an internal family disagreement was escalated to the point that Ryan felt he had to defend himself from Griffin’s aggressive, extremely menacing physical behavior,” Hassman said in a statement to “The Insider.”
Griffin O’Neal could not be reached for comment; there was no listing for his phone number.
The twice-divorced Ryan O’Neal went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in “Love Story.” He also appeared in films including “Paper Moon,” “Barry Lyndon,” “Green Ice” and “Zero Effect.”
O’Neal had two children with his first wife, Joanna Moore: actor Griffin O’Neal and actress Tatum O’Neal, his co-star in the 1973 movie “Paper Moon,” for which she won an Oscar for best supporting actress. He was romantically involved with Farrah Fawcett for years; they never married but had one son, Redmond.
Griffin O’Neal, 42, was given an 18-day jail sentence for not performing 400 hours of community service ordered by the judge who found him guilty of reckless boating in the 1986 accident that killed Gian-Carlo Coppola, the son of director Francis Ford Coppola.
Griffin O’Neal also pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge in 1989 and was sentenced to probation. In 1992, he pleaded no contest to charges he shot at his estranged girlfriend’s unoccupied car. At the time, he agreed to spend a year in a live-in drug rehabilitation program and serve five years on probation.
