![ron o neal on the equalizer ron o neal on the equalizer](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTk5OGI5MzMtMjJlZC00NDkxLWI1MzItMmU4ODdjOWNjODM5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU1NzE3NTg@._V1_CR0,45,480,270_AL_UX477_CR0,0,477,268_AL_.jpg)
But the criticism proved too much as he later said, ".the press thought I was some n****r off the street who made a movie about his own dissolute life. And there was even talk of an Oscar Nomination. The gifted actor's remarkable performance brought a great measure of class and depth to the role, which if done by a lesser actor could have easily have become "cartoonish".O'Neal received both praise and criticism for his performance. Shot on a starvation budget, Super Fly became a surprise box-office hit. He had two minor roles in Move (1970) and The Organization (1971), before being contacted by an old friend from Cleveland, screenwriter Phillip Fenty, who wanted him to play the title role in a film about a drug dealer who wants to leave his life of crime behind him. The stirring performance earned him an Obie Award, Drama Desk Award, Clarence Derwent Award and the National Theater Award. In 1970, he was propelled into the spotlight after appearing in Charles Gordone's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, No Place to Be Somebody. He taught acting classes in Harlem to support himself and appeared in Off-Broadway plays and summer stock.His first big break came when he was cast in a Broadway production of Ceremonies In Dark Old Men. He moved to New York in 1967 to pursue a career in acting. He joined the Karamu House and trained with the interracial acting troupe between 1957-1966 acting in productions of Kiss Me Kate and A Streetcar Named Desire. After graduating Glenville High School, he attended Ohio State University, and after a disastrous semester where he, in his words, "just played bridge", developed an interest in acting after seeing Finian's Rainbow at the Karamu House.
![ron o neal on the equalizer ron o neal on the equalizer](http://www.videocollector.co.uk/data/images/equalizer-the---volume-1-box-set-1985-87-2376l.jpg)
Son of a jazz musician who worked as a factory worker to support his family, Ron O'Neal grew up in the ghetto. Tall, lean, handsome veteran stage and classically trained actor, best known for his iconic role as Youngblood Priest - the long haired, stylishly dressed cocaine dealer who wants to make one last big score so he can retire from the cocaine business, in the seminal 1972 crime drama Super Fly. Ron O'Neal was born on Septemin Utica, New York, United States, is Actor, Director, Writer.