Ron O'Neal

Ron O'Neal (September 1, 1937 – January 14, 2004) was an American actor, director and screenwriter, who rose to fame in his role as Youngblood Priest, a New York City cocaine dealer, in the blaxploitation film Super Fly and its sequel Super Fly T.N.T. (1973). O'Neal was also a director and writer for the sequel, and for the film Up Against the Wall.

Early life Ron O'Neal grew up in a working-class neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, to parents Eunice and Ernest O'Neal, a former jazz musician who earned his living as a factory worker. Ernest died when Ron was 16 years old. Six months later his brother, who worked as a truck driver, was killed in an accident. Following these tragedies his mother found a job in a hospital to sustain the family. Ron graduated from Glenville High School and attended Ohio State University, where he became interested in acting after seeing the play Finian's Rainbow. He joined the Karamu House company in Cleveland, Ohio, working with the oldest African-American theatre company in the United States from 1957 until 1964, during which period he appeared in plays such as Kiss Me, Kate, A Streetcar Named Desire and A Raisin in the Sun, while working as a housepainter to earn his living. In 1964, he went to New York, teaching acting classes at the Harlem Youth Arts Program and appearing in Off-Broadway plays.

Career In 1969, he appeared in the Broadway play Ceremonies in Dark Old Men.

That same year, he acted in Charles Gordone's Pulitzer Prize-winning play No Place to Be Somebody, he garnered even more attention, co-winning an Obie Award with Nathan George, along with several other prizes.

From there, he moved on to cinema with two minor roles in Move (1970) and The Organization (1971), after which he was contacted by a friend from Cleveland, screenwriter Phillip Fenty, who suggested he star in an all-black film about a drug dealer. Although shot on a meager budget, the film, Super Fly (1972), went on to become a major hit at the box office.

The success of that film led to a sequel, Super Fly T.N.T. (1973), which O'Neal himself directed, and in which he reprised his role as Youngblood Priest. Nevertheless, the movie was a box office failure. Afterward, he was frequently typecast as a pimp or drug dealer.

In 1975, he acted in on Broadway, replacing another actor, in All Over Town under the direction of Dustin Hoffman. He also appeared in Shakespeare plays during the 1970s, including Othello, Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew.

During those years, film roles that went beyond stock characters were few and far between, notable exceptions being his roles in Brothers (1977), the television movie Brave New World (1980), and the miniseries The Sophisticated Gents (1981). He had a number of television guest appearances, frequently playing detective roles. He played a recurring role as police detective, Isadore Smalls, in the TV series The Equalizer, which ran for three seasons in the mid-1980s and starred British actor, Edward Woodward. He played the primary antagonist, the Cuban Colonel Ernesto Bella, in 1984's Red Dawn. In 1988, O'Neal had a recurring role as Mercer Gilbert on the popular NBC television sitcom A Different World, playing the wealthy father of the spoiled southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy). His appearances lasted through 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the blaxploitation reunion film Original Gangstas.

Personal life O'Neal was first married to actress Carol Tillery Banks, from November 1973 until 1980 (divorced), and then to Audrey Pool, from 1993 until his death in 2004.

On November 17, 1984, O'Neal was stabbed at a restaurant in West Hollywood, California, following an argument.

Death O'Neal died in Los Angeles on January 14, 2004, after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer, on the same day Super Fly was released on DVD in the United States.

The Wu-Tang Clan's 2014 album A Better Tomorrow includes a song titled "Ron O'Neal".

Filmography

Film

1970: Move – Peter 1971: The Organization – Joe Peralez 1972: Super Fly – "Youngblood" Priest 1973: Super Fly T.N.T. – "Youngblood" Priest (also Writer/Director) 1975: The Master Gunfighter – Paulo 1977: Brothers – Walter Nance 1979: The Hitter – Otis 1979: A Force of One – Rollins 1979: When a Stranger Calls – Lieutenant Charlie Garber 1980: The Final Countdown – Commander Dan Thurman 1981: St. Helens – Otis Kaylor 1984: Red Dawn – Colonel Ernesto Bella 1988: Mercenary Fighters – Cliff Taylor 1988: Hero and the Terror – The Mayor 1988: Zombie Death House – Tom Boyle 1989: Hyper Space – Samuel "Tubbs" Tubarian 1989: Trained to Kill – George "Cotton" Shorter 1991: Up Against the Wall – George Wilkes (also Writer) 1994: Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter – Detective 1996: Original Gangstas – Bubba 2001: The Rage Within – Captain Lang 2002: On the Edge – Frank Harris (final film role)

Television + Year Title Role Notes 1979 Freedom Road Francis Cardoza TV movie 1980 Brave New World Mustapha Mond TV movie 1980 Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones Colonel Robles TV movie 1981 The Sophisticated Gents Clarence "Claire" Henderson TV miniseries 1982–1983 Bring 'Em Back Alive H.H., His Royal Highness, The Sultan of Johore 17 episodes 1985 Knight Rider Charles Zurich Episode: "Sky Knight" 1985-1986 Hill Street Blues Stan Williams/Pete 3 episodes 1986 The Equalizer Lt. Isadore Smalls 1986 As Summers Die Daniel Backus TV movie 1987 Frank's Place Ozell Dryer Episode: "Frank Joins the Club" 1987 Beauty and the Beast Isaac Stubbs Episode: "Once Upon a Time in the City of New York" 1988 Murder, She Wrote Sgt. Joe Santiago Episode: "J.B.. as in Jailbird" 1988 Mathnet Sgt. Bill Dietrich 2 episodes 1988 Werewolf Delaney Episode: "To Dream of Wolves: Part 2" 1989 1st & Ten Mr. Byron Episode: "Mind Games" 1990-1992 A Different World Mercer Gilbert 4 episodes 1993 The Sinbad Show Superfly Episode: "David's Van" 1997 Sparks Arthur Fairchild Episode: "Roots III" 1997 Living Single Clinton James 2 episodes 1999 The Wayans Bros. Sergeant Scully Episode: "Saving Private Marlon"