Ron O'Neal (September 1, 1937 â€" January 14, 2004) was an American
actor, director and screenwriter, who rose to fame in his role as
Youngblood Priest, a New York cocaine dealer, in the blaxploitation
film Super Fly (1972) 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.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.In 1969, he appeared in the Broadway
play Ceremonies in Dark Old Men. In 1969, appearing in Charles
Gordone's Pulitzer Prize-winning play No Place to Be Somebody, he
garnered even more attention, winning an Obie Award and 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 pimp or
drug dealer. In 1975, he returned to Broadway, starring in All Over
Town under the direction of Dustin Hoffman and he also appeared in
Shakespeare plays during the 1970s, including Othello, Macbeth and The
Taming of the Shrew.
actor, director and screenwriter, who rose to fame in his role as
Youngblood Priest, a New York cocaine dealer, in the blaxploitation
film Super Fly (1972) 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.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.In 1969, he appeared in the Broadway
play Ceremonies in Dark Old Men. In 1969, appearing in Charles
Gordone's Pulitzer Prize-winning play No Place to Be Somebody, he
garnered even more attention, winning an Obie Award and 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 pimp or
drug dealer. In 1975, he returned to Broadway, starring in All Over
Town under the direction of Dustin Hoffman and he also appeared in
Shakespeare plays during the 1970s, including Othello, Macbeth and The
Taming of the Shrew.
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