Redmond O’Neal: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Redmond O’Neal, the son of famous actors Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett, has been charged with attempted murder. According to KABC-TV, the 33-year-old Redmond is charged with punching and stabbing five men in the Venice Beach and Palms neighborhoods between May 2nd and May 5th.

Police report that two of the men were seriously injured in the altercation, including one who was stabbed in the face. At the time of the attacks, they stated that their suspect was described as having red hair and distinct tattoos. They have now determined it to be Redmond, but a specific motive has yet to be uncovered.

“They all seem to be random”, said LAPD Sgt. Scotty Steven, “It appears, though, based on what we know now, that it just started as an argument between unknown persons and quickly escalated with the violent acts.” O’Neal is currently in police custody.

Here’s what you need to know about Redmond O’Neal:

1. He’s the Only Son of Actors Ryan O’Neal & Farrah Fawcett

GettyRedmond O’Neal, Ryan O’Neal, and Farrah Fawcett.

Redmond was born to celebrity couple Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett in 1985. Known for their partying habits as much as they were their talent, O’Neal and Fawcett had a famously tumultuous relationship that included adultery, alcoholism, and drug addiction. According to O’Neal’s eldest son Griffin O’Neal, Redmond was entrenched in these vices from an early age.

“Redmond hung out with Ryan a lot, because Ryan allowed the drug use. He allowed the drug use in the house”, Griffin told CNN, “They [partied] together. They were both arrested. My dad had more dope on him than Redmond did.” Griffin went on to say that their father wasn’t helpful when Redmond tried to get clean.

“My brother Red would do a seven-day detox, and he’d split on the sixth day”, he said, “So my dad would get mad and not pay the detox center. So this happened to every detox center in Los Angeles. What ended up happening was Redmond was no longer allowed at a detox center in Los Angeles.”

O’Neal and Fawcett were together from 1979 to 1997, then from 2001 to Fawcett’s death in 2009. Despite her relationship with O’Neal, however, Fawcett left the bulk of her estate, including a whopping $4.5 million, exclusively to Redmond.

The younger O’Neal vowed to get clean immediately following his mother’s death, telling People Magazine: “My plan is to move forward with my life, clean and sober. I am going to do so privately and with as much dignity as I can.”

2. He Previously Worked as a Voice Actor for Cartoon Network & Disney

Redmond O’Neal at the National Museum of American History.

Despite the financial security of his parents, Redmond did briefly follow in their footsteps and pursue a career as an actor. He made his debut in a 1997 episode (of the Cartoon Network series Johnny Bravo, where he played a character known as Skateboard Boy. He followed it up with a voice role in Disney’s The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, a 1998 sequel to the beloved children’s film. Redmond played a character named Squirt.

He also served as a production assistant on the 2003 live-action comedy Love Don’t Cost a Thing, which starred Nick Cannon, Christina Milian, and Steve Harvey. Redmond’s career took a downturn in the 2000s, but he did continue to appear as himself on episodes of Entertainment Tonight, Celebrities Uncensored, and the 2009 documentary Farrah’s Story, which chronicled his mother’s battle with cancer.

3. He’s Previously Been Arrested for Drug Possession & Robbery

Redmond’s attempted murder charge is only the latest in a long line of legal troubles. In 2009, he was arrested on charges of trying to smuggle drugs into the country. As his mother was ill at the time, Redmond had to convince his estate to pay $1,285 so that he could be transported to Fawcett’s home (under police supervision) to visit with her. According to The Los Angeles, Redmond worked out a similar deal to attend Fawcett’s funeral the same year.

In 2011, he was arrested by Santa Monica police after he was stopped for running a red light. Officers found heroin in his car. In 2015, Redmond was sentenced to three years in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation after violating his probation related to the earlier drug conviction.

In May 2018, Redmond was arrested for allegedly robbing a convenience store and threatening the clerk with a knife. Fox News reports that Redmond fled the store around 2:30 a.m. before he was picked up by police with a knife that matched the clerk’s description. Redmond was eventually charged with second-degree robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a smoking device, possession of an injection/ingestion device and two counts of possessing a controlled substance: heroin and marijuana.

4. His 3 Half-Siblings Have Tried to Help Him Go Straight

Redmond O’Neal and his half-sister Tatum O’Neal.

Redmond has three half-siblings: Griffin O’Neal, Patrick O’Neal, and Tatum O’Neal. His relationship with the latter has remained strong since childhood, as Griffin revealed to CNN. “He is an amazing individual, he is an amazing musician. I have so many good dreams for him”, said Griffin, “[But] his drug of choice is more. That means whatever you’ve got, he’ll take it. And, you know, he [just] needs to love himself.”

Patrick O’Neal has not spoken publicly about his relationship with Redmond. Patrick, a FOX News sportscaster, has been a vocal defender of his father, however, which has put him at odds with his other siblings. “I love my dad. I’m proud of my dad”, he told Access Hollywood, “Ryan O’Neal was my hero. His legacy is not going to be that he was a bad parent… because I’m here to say that in my case that is not true.”

Patrick has also rebuked claims made by Redmond and his sister, saying that “Tatum wrote a book about how bad everything was, I could write a book– it might be pretty boring– about how awesome my childhood was.”

Tatum O’Neal, who acted opposite her father as a child, and won an Academy Award for 1973’s Paper Moon, has reportedly grown distant from Redmond in recent years. “I love him but I have never seen a more scary side of addiction”, she told People Magazine, “He’s got addiction problems so bad that it breaks my heart. Nobody knows what to do with Redmond. From what I’ve seen, there is no way he’s going to survive.”

Tatum went on to reveal that her biggest issue was connecting with Redmond. “I wanted him to have a safe place to put his head down, not on the streets and not with his dealer”, she said, “now that his mother is gone, I wanted him to know there is a woman in his life he could turn to. But unfortunately the disease has overtaken him.”

5. He Blames His Troubled Life on His Parents

Redmond has made it clear that he blames his parents for the addictions that’ve plagued him as an adult. He feels that their negative influence, and the notoriety of being the child of two celebrities, made for a toxic combination. “It’s not the drugs that have been a problem, it’s the psychological trauma of my entire life”, he told Radar Online. “My life experiences have affected me the most: fighting with my father, being kicked out and living on the streets, going to jail, being put in a psychiatric ward, being embarrassed all the time, just because of who my parents are.”

Redmond went on to say that he doesn’t feel like he can handle being in prison again. “The pressure that came with that set off a time-bomb in my head. I never asked for any of this, I never wanted any attention”, he said. “This last arrest, something happened to me. I’m not doing good. I just can’t do it. I hated prison. I don’t do well in there. In my mind I’ve lost all hope.”

Ryan O’Neal, who rarely gives interviews, admitted that he had been a bad father to Redmond in 2016. “I’m a hopeless father. I don’t know why”, he told Vanity Fair, “I don’t think I was supposed to be a father. Just look around at my work– they’re either in jail or they should be.”

According to ABC News, Redmond is currently being held at Men’s Central Jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 10.