“He meant the world to me,” the actress said of her late father, who died on Friday at the age of 82.
Tatum O’Neal is mourning the death of the father, Ryan O’Neal, who passed away at the age of 82 on Friday.
Following the news of her dad’s passing, the actress paid tribute to the Love Story star in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
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“I feel great sorrow with my father’s passing. He meant the world to me,” Tatum, 60, shared. “I loved him very much and knew he loved me too. I’ll miss him forever and I feel very lucky that we ended on such good terms.”
Earlier on Friday, Tatum’s brother, Patrick O’Neal, announced the news of their father’s death, sharing that Ryan “passed away peacefully.”
“So this is the toughest thing I’ve ever had to say but here we go. My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us,” Patrick wrote alongside a photo of a sunset. “This is very difficult for my wife Summer and me, but I will share some feelings to give you an idea of how great a man he is.”
“My father Ryan O’Neal has always been my hero. I looked up to him and he was always bigger than life,” Patrick continued. “When I was born in 1967 my dad was already a TV star on Peyton Place. That’s where he met my mom Leigh Taylor-Young, and about 9 months later (give or take a date night or two) I was born.”
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The sports broadcaster went on to praise his late father’s career, writing, how he “absolutely crushed” the 1970s after he “became an international movie star with Love Story.”
Patrick concluded his post by calling his father a “Hollywood legend.”
“The growth spurt of the first name Ryan can be traced back to my dad. That’s a fact,” he wrote. “He was Rodney Harrington on Peyton Place 3 days a week (he starred in 500 shows over 5 years) and then of course the name Ryan peaked after Love Story (the film that saved Paramount Studios and earned my dad a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame).”
Meanwhile, Tatum posted in honor of her father’s 82nd birthday on Instagram earlier this year.
Alongside a photo of herself and Ryan smiling for the camera together, she wrote, “Happy birthday Dad I love you.”
Ryan is survived by his four children, including Tatum and Patrick. The Peyton Place star welcomed Tatum and her brother Griffin O’Neal during his marriage with Joanna Moore. Meanwhile, he also shared Patrick with his ex-wife, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Redmond James Fawcett O’Neal, with longtime partner Farrah Fawcett.
