It’s unknown just how well or how badly Farrah Fawcett is doing in her battle with cancer. Last we heard, she was still in good spirits, but from what I understand her pain and lucidity comes and goes rapidly. By her side in the cancer fight is long-time love Ryan O’Neal. I’ve never been a huge fan on Ryan, but his devotion to Farrah has won my respect. He seems to be that fantasy many of us have of the kind of love the vows signify – “In sickness and in health…”

I’d always thought of Ryan and Farrah as ex-husband and ex-wife, but as it turns out, they never got married in the first place. They were engaged, and lived together on-and-off through the years, but they never made it official. Ryan is determined to change that – he has proposed once more to Farrah, and she has accepted. Ryan told Barbara Walters the happy news for 20/20, in an interview that will air on Friday (story via US Weekly):

Ryan O’Neal says he and longtime love Farrah Fawcett are tying the knot.

“I’ve asked her to marry me, again, and she’s agreed,” O’Neal, 68, tells Barbara Walters in an exclusive interview on ABC’s 20/20, airing Friday, June 26.

O’Neal says the 62-year-old Fawcett – who was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006 – is now “fighting for her life.”

But he says they “will” wed “as soon as she can, say yes. … Maybe we can just nod her head.”

“I promise you, we will,” he told Walters. “Absolutely.”

The actor says he and Fawcett have even joked about what he’ll wear for the ceremony, kidding that he’ll dress “like a gigolo. You know? And a little thin mustache and slicked-back hair. I don’t know. We have fun, we tease about that.”

The two — who have a 24-year-old son Redmond (who is now in rehab following previous drug convictions) — began dating in 1980 and have lived together.

“I used to ask her to marry me all the time,” O’Neal tells Walters. “But … it just got to be a joke, you know. We just joked about it.”

In May, O’Neal told NBC News that he has fallen more in love with Fawcett as he watches her bravely battle cancer.

“I know this, that in the last two years I loved her more than I’ve ever loved her – ever,” he told Meredith Vieira. “She’s so much more of a woman … powerful, courageous, fearless and all those adjectives. And I look at her with awe.”

[From US Weekly]

I’d be lying if I said this didn’t choke me up – and I’m a pretty hard egg to crack. I hope they do get married, and Ryan gets the wedding memories of the woman he loves. That being said, they’re complicated people who’ve led complicated lives – but they’ve found each other, and they’re giving each other so much peace. And I can’t snark about that.

Here’s Farrah and Ryan in a PR photo from 1991. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Ryan and Redmond O’Neal appeared in court in Malibu yesterday to face felony drug charges.

The father and son duo were arrested this September after an unannounced sheriff’s sweep of their Malibu home turned up narcotics thought to be Redmond’s and methamphetamines in Ryan’s bedroom. Ryan, 67, claimed the drugs were not his. Police officers were searching to home to see if Redmond, 23, was in compliance with his probation from a DUI and drug possession conviction from June.

At the hearing yesterday their arraignment was postponed until January 9, 2009.

Redmond O’Neal is thought to be sober after successfully finishing a court-ordered by two week drug detox last month.

The arraignment of Ryan O’Neal, 67, and son Redmond, 23, on drug charges was postponed from today until after the new year.

“It was continued until Jan. 9,” Malibu Deputy District Attorney James Garrison told E! News, adding that the postponement was granted at the request of the O’Neals.

Attorneys asked for the additional time to more closely examine new evidence brought forth by the prosecution. It’s unclear what the new evidence is.

The elder O’Neal faces one felony count of methamphetamine possession stemming from their joint September arrests at his Malibu home. Officers conducting a routine probation checkup for Redmond (for previous drug-related charges) found the illicit pharmaceuticals. Ryan’s lawyer has claimed the Love Story star was hiding the drugs from his son.

Redmond also faces the felony possession count, as well as two additional misdemeanor counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and illegal possession of pepper spray.

[From E! Online]

As we mentioned in earlier coverage of this story, Ryan has four children by three different women and three out of four of his children have been arrested for drug-related offenses in the past three years. His daughter, actress Tatum O’Neal, 44, was busted trying to buy crack and cocaine in NY in July of this year. Ryan and his various wives and children have a long and checkered history of domestic problems and assaults. His current long term partner is actress Farrah Fawcett, who was home in bed at the time of the September arrests.

You wonder if Ryan is ever going to own up to possessing meth or if he’s going to keep trying to pin it on his troubled son. The two sure look upset in these photos and maybe this arrest has been a wake up call for them.

Ryan and Redmond O’Neal are shown at the Malibu Courthouse yesterday. Credit: Bauergriffinonline

Redmond O’Neal, son of Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett, has been sentenced to a court-ordered two-week rehab program as the result of a drug bust at the home he shares with his father in Los Angeles. Given the long history of drug abuse in this famous family, is two weeks really going to be enough?

What Redmond O’Neal called a “major misunderstanding” is starting to make a little more sense.

The 23-year-old son of Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett, who was arrested along with his dad last month on suspicion of methamphetamine possession, was ordered into a two-week treatment program Wednesday after admitting that he had relapsed.

“You’re a stand-up guy to come here and deal with your problem,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Millington told Redmond, who also checked into rehab in 2004 to treat a heroin addiction. “I want you to stay clean…You better stay clean or the hammer is going to fall.”

An attorney for the O’Neals didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

No criminal charges have been filed against either Redmond or his dad in connection with their Sept. 17 bust at the elder O’Neal’s Malibu home during a routine probation checkup. Officers allegedly found Redmond to be in possession of what looked like meth, as well as a small vial of the stuff in his father’s bedroom.

At the time of their arrest, Redmond was about two months into a three-year probation sentence for DUI and possessing heroin and crystal meth.

Ryan O’Neal has maintained his innocence in the affair, his lawyer telling reporters that his client would no doubt be vindicated.

“Those were not Ryan’s drugs, he doesn’t use drugs, and has nothing to do with them,” attorney Mark Werksman said. “It’s a dangerous assumption for deputies to have arrested Ryan just because he was in proximity to the drugs.”

[From E!Online]

It certainly would not be unreasonable to assume that Ryan O’Neal was in possession of drugs. The guy is a notorious substance abuser and has passed it on to his children, including adult daughter Tatum O’Neal, who ended up losing custody of her children over her heroin habit. I’d say the best chance young Redmond has of staying clean is to move out of his father’s home and stay in a place where the people around him won’t be enabling him. Two weeks in rehab is a joke.

Redmond O’Neal is shown outside the home he shares with his dad on 09/18/08. Credit: Fame Pictures

Ryan O’Neal, 67, and his son Redmond, 23, were both arrested and charged with drug possession last Wednesday after cops found crystal meth in both the father and son’s bedrooms during a routine sweep of the house. Redmond is on probation for another drug charge, which is why the police searched the Malibu home he shares with his father and his mother, actress Farrah Fawcett, who was said to have been home and sleeping at the time.

Ryan’s lawyer told the press that it was all a misunderstanding and that the drugs were in no way Ryan’s despite the fact that they were found in his room. An eyewitness quoted by the National Enquirer says otherwise. The person claims to have done drugs with both Redmond and his dad, and to know that Ryan also routinely hired hookers for his son. Ryan did have some standards, though – he told his son he could snort meth, but not smoke it. He also got his own dealer when he realized his son was hoarding drugs and keeping them from him.

The witness quoted by The Enquirer says that Ryan punched Redmond in the head right in front of him, and that he also gave him his credit card to hire hookers:

“I’ve known Redmond since seventh grade when we were doing a lot of cocaine and crystal meth…

“About four years ago, Redmond and I were doing crystal, and we took some up to his dad. Ryan scooped some up, crushed it into a line and snorted it…

“Ryan didn’t mind us snorting crystal – with or without him – but he warned us not to smoke it. He thought that was much worse, but we’d break up a sack of crystal and snort it and drink a beer with him, and then go downstairs to Redmond’s room and smoke and get high.”

For a while, O’Neal let his son – who’s been in rehab 12 times since the age of 13 – buy drugs for him from a dealer, explained the friend.

“Then Ryan found out Redmond was ‘shorting’ him – keeping some of the drugs for himself or stealing his money – and he got his own dealer,” confided the friend…

“Once I slept over, and Ryan was driving us to McDonald’s…

“Redmond had been snorting coke all night. He was in the passenger seat and he grabbed Ryan’s gym towel and blew his nose on it. It made a horrible mess.

“Ryan was furious! He punched Redmond in the head so hard that he flew up against the car window and started crying.”

O’Neal also encouraged the two pals to hire prostitutes for sex, claimed the friend.

“When I was over there once, Ryan gave Redmond his credit card and said, ‘Why don’t you guys get yourselves some girls?’” the friend divulged.

“We didn’t take him up on it, but recently Redmond has been using his father’s credit card to pay prostitutes $200 a time to come to the house.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, October 6, 2008]

That’s pretty despicable if it’s true and hopefully Ryan will get some sort of court-ordered treatment after this mess. His son is old enough to take responsibility for his actions, but it’s easy to see how he got so screwed up in the first place with a drug-addicted, abusive, enabling father.

Ryan O’Neal is shown on 9/20/08. Redmond O’Neal is shown on 9/20/08. Credit: Fame Pictures

Before writing this story, I consulted with JayBird to see if she knew some background on Ryan O’Neal so I could save 5 minutes of Wiki research. It turns out we were both kind of hazy about O’Neal’s family drama because it’s complicated. To explain it simply, Ryan has four children by three different women and 3/4 of his children have been arrested for drug-related offenses in the past three years. The family also has a long history of fighting and domestic abuse.

2007 domestic assault incident
Ryan was arrested in February, 2007 for assault against his son Griffin, 43, after he fired a gun in the house. It involved an alleged incident in which he claims Griffin tried to attack him with a fireplace poker but ended up jabbing his girlfriend instead, prompting Ryan to fire the gun above Griffin to try and scare him off. The National Enquirer’s version of the events which preceded the strange family dispute involve Griffin tying up his younger half brother, Redmond, 25, (Ryan’s only son with Farrah Fawcett) to a dog run outside the house, enraging Ryan. It is thought that Griffin put Redmond on the leash to try and keep him away from his stash.

To make matters more complicated, Tatum O’Neal, 44, is also Ryan O’Neals progeny. She is the daughter of Ryan O’Neal’s first wife, Joanna Cook Moore, and is Griffin’s full sister. Tatum was famously arrested trying to buy crack and cocaine in July of this year.

Like his other troubled family members, Redmond has some experience on the wrong side of the law. He’s on probation for DUI and possession charges after he was found with crystal meth and heroin last year. Cops were conducting a sweep today of the family home he shares with dad Ryan, 67, in Malibu. They found drugs that looked like meth in both the father and son’s bedrooms.

Actor Ryan O’Neal and his son, Redmond, were arrested Wednesday at the actor’s Malibu, Calif., home for alleged drug possession, a sheriff’s spokesman confirms.

“This morning, deputies were doing a routine sweep to make sure Redmond was adhering to his probation,” sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said. “Upon searching the premises, the younger O’Neal was found in possession of narcotics. Later, a vial of drugs were found in the elder O’Neal’s bedroom. We believe the drugs found were methamphetamines.”

Both Ryan, 67, and Redmond, 23, are being held at a local sheriff’s station in lieu of $10,000 bail each.

Redmond O’Neal’s mother is Farrah Fawcett and his half-sister is Tatum O’Neal, who was arrested July 1 in New York City for trying to buy drugs.

Reps for Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett weren’t immediately available for comment.

Redmond has a history of drug abuse, having entered rehab in 2004 for heroin abuse. This past June, he pleaded guilty to drug possession and one misdemeanor DUI charge.

[From People]

What is the issue with all these older celebrity addicts getting busted lately? It seems like so many people have drug problems for decades. No wonder Ryan O’Neal has such a bad temper and is fighting with his kids if he’s doing meth with them.