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Patrick O'Neal
Patrick O'Neal
	O'Neal in 1968
Born	Patrick Wisdom O'Neal; September 26, 1927; Ocala, Florida, U.S.
Died	September 9, 1994 (aged 66); Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Education	Riverside Military Academy; Ocala High School; University of Florida
Occupations	Actor; restaurateur;
Years active	1952–1994
Spouse	Cynthia Baxter (m. 1956)
Children	2
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1952–53

Patrick Wisdom O'Neal (September 26, 1927 – September 9, 1994) was an American actor and restaurateur.

Early life

O'Neal was born in Ocala, Florida, to Martha and Coke Wisdom O'Neal. He attended the Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, and Ocala High School. Upon graduation, he enrolled at the University of Florida in Gainesville where he majored in drama.^[2] During college, O'Neal joined the Florida Players, a theatre troupe. He was also a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and was the editor of the university yearbook.^[3] After earning a bachelor's degree, O'Neal enlisted in the United States Air Force and served during the Korean War. During the war, he directed short training films. After 15 months' service, he moved to New York and studied at the Actors Studio and Neighborhood Playhouse.^[4]

Career

O'Neal was seen mostly as a guest star on television throughout four decades, beginning in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, he received critical praise for his leading role on Broadway in Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana, but the starring role for the 1964 film version went to Richard Burton. In 1969, he had a leading role in John Huston's The Kremlin Letter and a supporting role in the western El Condor. He appeared in the 1973 hit The Way We Were. In 1972, he portrayed a murderous architect in the Columbo episode "Blueprint for Murder" and in 1978, on the same show, he played a television network executive in the episode "Make Me a Perfect Murder". In 1990, he played the corrupt Police Commissioner Kevin Quinn in Sidney Lumet's Q&A.

With his wife and his brother Michael, O'Neal co-owned a number of successful restaurants beginning in 1963, including "The Ginger Man" on West 64th St. (later renamed O'Neal's); "O'Neal's" on West 57th St., briefly the flagship of an O'Neal's chain; "The Landmark Tavern" on 11th Avenue; and “O’Neal’s Saloon” at West 63rd St. and Columbus Ave., soon retitled "O'Neal's Baloon" (because the word “Saloon” had been outlawed during Prohibition but the neon sign for Saloon had already been created). All were located on the West Side of Manhattan.^[4]

Personal life

O'Neal married actress Cynthia Baxter in 1956. They had two sons, Maximilian and Fitzjohn, and remained married until O'Neal's death.^[4]

Death

O'Neal died aged 66 on September 9, 1994, of respiratory failure at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan. At the time of his death, he was also suffering from lung cancer and tuberculosis.^[5]

Broadway credits

A Far Country (April–November 1961)
The Night of the Iguana (December 1961 – September 1962)

Selected filmography

Films

The Mad Magician (1954) - Lt. Alan Bruce
The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) - Walter Blunt
From the Terrace (1960) - Dr. Jim Roper
A Matter of Morals (1961) - Alan Kennebeck
The Cardinal (1963) - Cecil Turner
In Harm's Way (1965) - Commander Neal Owynn
King Rat (1965) - Max
A Fine Madness (1966) - Dr. Oliver West
Alvarez Kelly (1966) - Major Albert Stedman
Chamber of Horrors (1966) - Jason Cravatte (aka Jason Caroll)
Matchless (1967) - Perry 'Matchless' Liston
Assignment to Kill (1968) - Richard Cutting
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) - Peter Garrison
The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968) - Tom Layton
Castle Keep (1969) - Capt. Lionel Beckman
Stiletto (1969) - George Baker
The Kremlin Letter (1970) - Charles Rone
El Condor (1970) - Chavez
Corky (1972) - Randy
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) - John Carter
The Way We Were (1973) - George Bissinger
To Kill the King (1974) - David Howard
The Stepford Wives (1975) - Dale Coba
The Stuff (1985) - Fletcher
Like Father Like Son (1987) - Dr. Larry Armbruster
New York Stories (1989) - Phillip Fowler (segment: "Life Lessons")
Q & A (1990) - Kevin Quinn
Alice (1990) - Alice's Father
For the Boys (1991) - Shephard
Under Siege (1992) - Captain Adams

Television

The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (1 episode, 1954)
Appointment with Adventure (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Dick and the Duchess (25 episodes, 1957-1958) - Dick Starrett
One Step Beyond (1 episode, 1959) - Mitchell Campion
Diagnosis: Unknown (3 episodes, 1960) - Dr. Daniel Coffee
The Millionaire (episode: “The Story of Elizabeth Tander”, 1960) - David Stevens
Naked City (1 episode, 1962) - Roy Pressfield
The Twilight Zone (episode: "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain", 1963) - Harmon Gordon
Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1 episode, 1964) - George Maxwell
Route 66 (1 episode, 1963: "Same Picture, Different Frame", - Eric
Outer Limits (episode: "Wolf 359", 1964) - Jonathan Meridith
Night Gallery (1 episode, 1971) - Justus Walters (segment: "A Fear of Spiders")
McCloud (2 episodes, 1971-1972) - Alex Demarest / Arthur Yerby
Columbo (2 episodes, 1972-1978) - Frank Flanagan / Elliot Markham
Cannon (1 episode, 1972) - Arlo Hemming
Marcus Welby M.D. (1 episode, 1972) - Dr. Valentine Peterson
The Doris Day Show (3 episodes, 1972-1973) - Jonathan Rusk
Barnaby Jones (3 episodes, 1973-1976) - Coleman Reeves / Frank Cabot / Charles Manly Wheeling
Thriller (1 episode, 1974) - Michael Lane
The Moneychangers (miniseries, 1976) - Harold Austin
Kaz (23 episodes, 1978-1979) - Samuel Bennett
Emerald Point N.A.S. (9 episodes, 1983) - Harlan Adams
Tales of the Unexpected (1 episode, 1984) - Sutton
Murder, She Wrote (1 episode, 1985) - Si Parrish
Perry Mason Returns (television movie, 1985) - Arthur Gordon
Maigret (television movie, 1988) - Kevin Portman
Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (television movie, 1993) - Arthur Westbrook (final film role)