The late Farrah Fawcett graces the cover of Vanity Fair magazine’s September 2009 issue. The article is a particularly scathing account of the dysfunctional relationship between the actress and Ryan O’Neal, as well as his estranged relationship with his children.
One startling revelation is that O’Neal hit on his own daughter at Farrah’s funeral. Tatum O’Neal, who hadn’t seen her father for several years prior to Fawcett’s death, ran into her father’s arms after the memorial service and hugged him. He didn’t recognize her and said, “You have a drink on you? You have a car?” She replied, “Daddy, it’s me — Tatum.” She acknowledges, “That’s our relationship in a nutshell. You make of it what you will.”
Tatum said that the relationship between father and daughter deteriorated when she was 16-years-old and he began his relationship with Farrah. She doesn’t blame Fawcett, who she said was inspirational, beautiful and kind.
O’Neal calls himself a “hopeless father” and regrets some of his children. He has a particularly troubled relationship with Griffin O’Neal, who was barred from entering the church at Farrah’s funeral, per his instructions. See Griffin’s candid account and photos from that day here.
Griffin penned an autobiography detailing the family’s dirty laundry, including the fact that his father forced cocaine on him when he was 11-years old. He discussed his father’s uncontrolled rages. According to Griffin, “He was violent all the way through my upbringing. He was a very abusive, narcissistic psychopath.”
The addiction cycle of the family apparently is multi-generational, going back to Ryan O’Neal’s mother. Son Redmond O’Neal is currently enrolled in a prison treatment program that a California judge characterized as his last chance to straighten out his life before he will feel the full weight of the legal system.
Farrah Fawcett, who died on June 25, 2009, has been nominated for an Emmy for her documentary Farrah’s Story, detailing her cancer journey.
The September issue of Vanity Fair hits newsstands nationally on August 11. Readers in New York and Los Angeles will find the issue available August 5.
View Tatum O’Neal in a recent photo below.
Photo: WENN