Patrick O'Neal (actor)

Patrick Wisdom O'Neal (September 26, 1927 – September 9, 1994) was an American television, stage and film actor and New York 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. During college, O'Neal joined the Florida Players, a theatre troupe. He was also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and was the editor of the University yearbook. After earning a bachelor's degree, O'Neal enlisted in the US Army Air Forces and served during the Korean War. During the war, he directed short training films. After his military stint, he moved to New York and studied at the Actors Studio and Neighborhood Playhouse.

Career
O'Neal was seen mostly as a guest star on US 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 lost the starring role for the 1964 film version to Richard Burton. O'Neal appeared in several films of the mid-1960s. In 1969 he had a leading role in John Huston's The Kremlin Letter, and a supporting role in the western El Condor, starring Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef. He appeared in the 1973 hit The Way We Were. In 1972 he portrayed a murderous architect in the Columbo episode "Blueprint For Murder". In 1990 he played Police Commissioner Kevin Quinn in Sidney Lumet's Q and A.

With his wife and his brother Michael, O'Neal co-owned a number of successful restaurants, including the Ginger Man (later O'Neal's Restaurant) and the Landmark Tavern, both in Manhattan.

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.

Death
O'Neal died on September 9, 1994, of respiratory failure at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan, seventeen days short of his 67th birthday. At the time of his death, O'Neal was also suffering from cancer and tuberculosis.

Broadway credits

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

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 (1955-1956, 2 episodes)
 * 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
 * Naked City (1 episode, 1962) - Roy Pressfield
 * The Twilight Zone (1 episode, 1963) (episode: "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain") - Harmon Gordon
 * Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1 episode, 1964) - George Maxwell
 * 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
 * The Doris Day Show (3 episodes, 1972-1973) - Jonathan Rusk
 * Barnaby Jones (Sins Of Thy Father 1973-1976) - Coleman Reeves / Frank Cabot / Charles Manly Wheeling
 * The Moneychangers (miniseries, 1976) - Harold Austin
 * Kaz (23 episodes, 1978-1979) - Samuel Bennett
 * Emerald Point N.A.S. (9 episodes, 1983) - Harlan Adams
 * Murder, She Wrote (1 episode, 1985) - Si Parrish
 * Perry Mason Returns (television movie, 1985) - Arthur Gordon
 * Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (television movie, 1993) - Arthur Westbrook (final film role)