Actor Kevin O’Neal, known for turns in the television series “No Time for Sergeants” and Elvis Presley’s “The Trouble With Girls,” has died at age 77, his nephew announced Monday.
Besides having his own steady acting career, O’Neal was the younger brother of Hollywood icon Ryan O’Neal.
Kevin O’Neal died in his sleep on Saturday morning of natural causes in Thousand Oaks, California, his nephew, Ryan O’Neal’s son Patrick, announced on social media.
“My uncle passed in his sleep and didn’t suffer, for which we are thankful,” the younger O’Neal said on Instagram. “Kevin had a wicked sense of humor, just like his older brother, and we have his stories to keep him in our hearts forever.”
O’Neal appeared in several of older brother Ryan’s films, including “What’s Up Doc,” “Love Story,” “The Big Bounce” and “The Thief Who Came to Dinner.”
Born March 26, 1945, as Geoffrey Garrett O’Neal, Kevin began in television with appearances on “The Donna Reed Show,” “The Danny Thomas Show” and others. He cropped up steadily in many 1960s and ‘70s series, including “Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza,” “The Mod Squad,” “My Three Sons,” “Gidget” and “Perry Mason.”
O’Neal played Private Ben Whitledge on the single-season television adaptation of the comedy “No Time for Sergeants” after its incarnations on stage and big screen.
“When Kevin walked into a room you heard him before you saw him,” Patrick O’Neal wrote, sending “love and support” to his cousin Garrett, Kevin’s son. “That energy and personality is an old O’Neal trademark. Heaven better be ready for him!”
Besides his nephew, brother and son, Kevin O’Neal’s survivors include niece and Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal, and actor nephew Griffin O’Neal.
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