Alex aka BBats here. It’s Ryan O’Neal’s 70th birthday today! He’s always been one of my favorite actors. In a few great movies, he showed incredible range and unbelieveable charisma. After a few years of doing guest roles on television, O’Neal became a bankable star after Peyton Place's popular run. The Big Bounce (1969) was his first starring role in a film, but he’ll be remembered as bursting through to superstardom for Love Story (1970).
Everyone’s seen Paper Moon (1973) and everyone should watch it again. (Its streaming on Instant Netflix, so no excuses!) His collaborations with Peter Bogdonavich coincide with the peak of his career. Look at his filmography in the 1970’s. It is an amazing assembly of films!
I must confess that I still haven’t seen Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975). I have a firm belief that one day some repertoire movie theater will screen it in 70mm (a man can dream, can’t he?).
Go watch The Big Bounce, The Driver, What’s up Doc?, Nickelodeon, Wild Rovers, or any of his films.