Ryan O’Neal has died, and it’s sad, of course. But there is a bright side.
O’Neal got a New York Times obit written by legendary Times Hollywood reporter Aljean Harmetz.
Aljean covered Tinseltown for the Times from the mid-70s through 1990. Her byline was constant and her scoops were spot on. This was before the internet and rumors flying around all day on Twitter. If you wanted to know the breaking news in Hollywood, it was all from Harmetz.
The brilliant reporter turns 93 this December 30th. Before she left the Times it seems like she stockpiled some obits for the morgue, or library of celebrities. The last one that appeared was two years ago, was for Jane Withers, aka Josephine the Plumber in Comet cleanser commercials.
Harmetz’s obits appear once a year or two. Who knows when they will run out? Her previous obits were for Sean Connery, Doris Day, Tab Hunter, Dina Merrill, Mickey Rooney, and Shirley Temple Black. Some of her older ones included Paul Newman, Shelley Winters, and Lena Horne. In other words, only Big Stars.
So congrats to Ryan. No Oscars but the top movie writer maybe in the history of the Times. Not bad!
