He attended the Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, and Ocala High School.

[3] After earning a bachelor's degree, O'Neal enlisted in the United States Air Force and served during the Korean War.

After 15 months' service, he moved to New York and studied at the Actors Studio and Neighborhood Playhouse.

In 1990, he played the corrupt Police Commissioner Kevin Quinn in Sidney Lumet's Q&A.

[4] O'Neal died aged 66 on September 9, 1994, of respiratory failure at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan.