Oscar-nominated Ryan O’Neal arrested for assaulting son

Hollywood actor Ryan O'Neal has been accused by authorities in California for assaulting his adult son and was arrested at his home in Malibu, police said Sunday.

The 65-year-old actor was arrested Saturday for investigation and was released on a $50,000 bond after five hours in detention over what police called a "family dispute".

Authorities accused the Oscar-nominated actor Ryan O’Neal of assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm. Sgt. Peter Charbonneau at the Malibu Lost Hills station identifies the weapon as a handgun, but had no idea about how many shots had been fired.

According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. John Benedict, deputies and paramedics were called to O’Neal’s home at 12:30 a.m. Saturday “regarding a battery that had occurred.”

Deputies determined that Griffin, O'Neal's son had been assaulted by his father during a family spat, Benedict said. Though, Griffin was not hurt in the incident but his 22-year-old pregnant girlfriend suffered injuries that were not gun related.

The cause behind the dispute is still to determine but the police say no one was injured during the fight.

However, Neil Hassman, actor's manager, claimed elder O'Neal was defending himself after his son began “wildly swinging a fireplace poker.” Griffin's girlfriend was slightly injured in the incident, and was treated at a hospital and released, Hassman said. Woman’s injuries were caused by the younger O'Neal, the manager maintained.

“It is unfortunate that what should have been an internal family disagreement was escalated to the point that Ryan felt he had to defend himself from Griffin's aggressive, extremely menacing physical behavior,'' Hassman said in a statement.

An investigation is in process.

Born in Los Angeles, California to an Irish-American Hollywood movie screenwriter Charles O'Neal and actress Patricia Callaghan, O'Neal was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Love Story." His also starred in other films including "Paper Moon," "Barry Lyndon," "Green Ice" and "Zero Effect."

The twice-divorced Ryan O’Neal, known for his boyish good looks, was previously married to actresses Joanna Moore and Leigh Taylor-Young. He also had a 15-year relationship with former Charlie's Angel actress Farah Fawcett.

The actor has four children, Griffin O’Neal and actress Tatum O’Neal with his first wife, Joanna Moore, Patrick O'Neal with Taylor-Young and Redmond O' Neal with Fawcett.

His daughter, Tatum O'Neal was his co-star in the 1973 movie “Paper Moon,” for which she won an Oscar for best supporting actress.

Griffin O’Neal, 42, who has never attained the star status of his father, made his feature-film debut in The Escape Artist in 1982. The younger O’Neal has a history of troubles.

He was given an 18-day jail sentence for not performing 400 hours of community service ordered by the judge who found him guilty of reckless boating in the 1986 tragic accident that took the life of director Francis Ford Coppola's son Gian-Carlo Coppola. He was charged for manslaughter in connection to this accident.

The younger O’Neal, who has been married to Rima Belinda Uranga since 1989 and has one daughter named Dillan O'Neal, also pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge in 1989 and was sentenced to probation. In 1992, he was charged for shooting at his estranged girlfriend’s unoccupied car. Later he pleaded no contest to charges, and agreed to spend a year in a live-in drug rehabilitation program and serve five years on probation.