The cause of death of Oscar-nominated actor Ryan O’Neal has been revealed.
The actor, who “passed away peacefully” on Dec. 8 at the age of 82, died of “congestive heart failure,” according to a death certificate obtained by The Blast this week.
In addition to the cause of death, the certificate stated that O’Neal had suffered from “cardiomyopathy” for “years”.
The Cleveland Clinic describes cardiomyopathy as a condition “that affects your heart muscle. If you have cardiomyopathy, your heart can’t pump blood efficiently to the rest of your body.”
O’Neal’s death certificate also states that his place of death was Saint John’s Health Center and that he was buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary, both in Los Angeles.
After his death earlier this month, O’Neal’s daughter and Paper moon co-star Tatum O’Neal spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about her father.
“I feel great sadness over my father’s death,” she said in a statement. “He meant the world to me. I loved him very much and I know he loved me too. I will miss him forever and feel very lucky that we ended up on such good terms.”
Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett in the 80s.
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Tatum’s brother, Patrick O’Neal, announced Ryan’s death in an Instagram post on Dec. 8, saying his father was “always my hero” and “passed away peacefully” with loved ones by his side.
Ryan shared Tatum, 60, and her brother Griffin O’Neal, 59, with Joanna Moore. He had Patrick, 56, with Leigh Taylor-Young. He shared his youngest son Redmond (38) with Farrah Fawcett.
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The Peyton Place star had a history of health problems – he was diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and prostate cancer in 2012.
He looked back on his illnesses to PEOPLE in 2021. “I’m proud of them, I survived them. I thought I was gone. And suddenly I’m back. I’m not the same man I was, but I’m back.”
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Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage
Ryan’s leukemia diagnosis was the catalyst for his reconciliation with Fawcett, with whom he was initially romantically involved from 1979 to 1997. After reconciling, the couple remained together until Fawcett’s death in 2009.
Inside Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett’s love story: ‘I loved her with all my heart’
In an interview with PEOPLE in 2021, Ryan talked about what he thought his legacy would be. “Oh, I’ve been told so many stories about myself that I don’t even know what I’ve left behind,” he said.
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Source: HIS Education