What can you say about a 67-year-old Oscar-nominated actor
who gets busted along with his son? That he is beautiful and brilliant? That he
loves Mozart and Bach, the Beatles, and me? Well, no, not really. More like
“Mr. O’Neal, hiding drugs in your house is bad, and getting your son involved
even worse. But getting caught, basically, a dead-end.”
Ryan O'Neal and his son were arrested on felony drug charges
Wednesday morning, after authorities said they found drugs at the actor's Malibu home during a
routine check associated with Redmond O'Neal's probation.
Redmond, 23, son of Ryan O’Neal with actress Farrah Fawcett,
pleaded guilty in June to driving under the influence and possession of heroin
and methamphetamine, but was released on condition that he would immediately
start a drug treatment program and was sentenced to three years' probation.
Apparently the promise of staying clean was not kept, as
policemen reportedly found what is believed to be methamphetamine, in both
Ryan’s and his father’s bedroom.
In a statement for the Daily News, spokesman Steve Whitmore said:
“Authorities found Redmond
in possession of narcotics and later discovered the father, Ryan O'Neal, was
also in possession of narcotics.”
The two were released from arrest on $10,000 bail each,
authorities said, but are due to appear in court on November 13.
This is only the latest in a series of trips to the police
department for the members of the O’Neal family, as Ryan’s daughter, Tatum
O’Neal, 44, the youngest actress to win an Oscar for her role in the 1973 movie
"Paper Moon,” was arrested on New York's lower East Side buying crack and
powder cocaine from a homeless man. At first, the former child-star, clamed to
be researching for a role, but later admitted and pleaded guilty on possessions
charges and now says she is clean.
Another incident involving the now infamous family took
place at their Malibu
home, after a party that celebrated Fawcett's cancer remission. Ryan O’Neal was
arrested, but not charged, for assault with a deadly weapon and negligent
discharge of a firearm, after a fight with son Griffin O'Neal. The father of
the family claimed he was trying to protect son Redmond
from half-brother Griffin by firing a warning
shot after Griffin lunged at Redmond with a fireplace poker. He also
claimed in a statement that his son "hit his own pregnant girlfriend in
the head."
As if the rap sheet wasn’t long enough already, the same Griffin involved in the
fireplace poker incident, is also known to have addiction issues and was found
guilty of reckless boating in the 1986 accident that killed the son of
"Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola, Gian-Carlo Coppola, as he
was trying to drive his boat while using drugs.