Nobody watched Ryan O'Neal's reality show on the OWN network ... NOBODY ... not even Oprah Winfrey ... this according to Ryan O'Neal.

The 70-year-old Hollywood star -- who starred with his famous daughter on "Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals" -- was out in L.A. yesterday when we asked how he felt about O's admission that she wasn't ready to launch her network.

O'Neal replied, "I wish we had known that ... she should have told us."

When we asked if he was worried that the extremely low-rated reality show would tarnish his reputation .... he simply shot back, "No because nobody saw it ... I don't know if Oprah saw it."

We're guessing there won't be a Season 2.

Ryan O'Neal's 26-year-old son Redmond got one hell of a parting gift during his sentencing last week for a probation violation -- a state-of-the-art GPS monitoring bracelet.

Redmond's probation was revoked in September -- after he allegedly snuck out of rehab and ordered drugs on a payphone -- and last week, a judge sent him back to the treatment facility ... with the monitoring device around his ankle.


According to law enforcement sources, the device sends back detailed information about Redmond's whereabouts every five minutes -- and if he steps outside his assigned area, an alarm goes off.

Redmond -- who's had a long history battling drugs -- pled no contest to drug and weapons charges back in August ... and was sentenced to a year in rehab.

If Redmond screws up again, he faces up to six years in prison.

Nancy Grace is perplexed that Ryan O'Neal dropped out of "Dancing with the Stars" because of her, telling TMZ, she never said anything bad about him.

Sources directly connected to Ryan tell us ... the actor was all set to do DWTS but dropped out because Nancy has said bad things about his son Redmond, who has had chronic drug problems, and also suggested he was a bad parent.

But Grace tells TMZ, "We have never covered Mr. O'Neal nor his family on our show," adding, "I hate that he dropped out of DWTS; I would have loved to compete with him and wish him the very best."

Grace says she considers O'Neal to be one of the great actors of our time and she finds his relationship with Farrah Fawcett "an inspiration to me."

Nevertheless, O'Neal has bitter feelings toward Grace ... and he freely discusses that in private.

Ryan O'Neal said he backed out of "Dancing with the Stars" because of a bad knee, but multiple sources connected with the show tell TMZ ... he REALLY backed out because he can't stand Nancy Grace.

Sources tell TMZ O'Neal feels Grace has been "disrespectful" to his family ... claiming she has gone after Redmond, who has had ongoing drug problems, and even suggested the reason Redmond is messed up is because Ryan is a bad parent.

We're told Ryan really wanted to do the show, but could not co-exist with Grace.

Hours after one son was arrested for drug possession on Tuesday, his other son got into a gnarly head-on car accident -- and now, Hollywood legend Ryan O'Neal tells TMZ, his family is "falling apart."

The first son, 26-year-old Redmond O'Neal -- who has a long history with drugs -- pled "not guilty" to  heroin possession and unlawful possession of a firearm this morning ... but Ryan tells us, the kid "has a real problem."

Ryan hasn't seen his other son -- 46-year-old Griffin O'Neal -- in years ... but thankfully, he heard through the grapevine ... Griffin wasn't seriously injured in Tuesday's head-on collision.

All in all, Ryan's still optimistic despite the familial setbacks -- insisting, "We'll come back."

Ryan O'Neal claims an obsessed, demented, Farrah Fawcett fan is behind recent accusations he stole a $30 million Andy Warhol portrait of Farrah ... so he's suing the guy for defamation.



Farrah donated her vast collection of art to her alma mater, the University of Texas.  One of the pieces she donated was one of two famous Warhol portraits of the "Charlie's Angels" star. 



O'Neal insists the other portrait is his -- given to him by Warhol, who was a close personal friend.  He says it's one of his most  "prized possessions and a precious memento of his life with Ms. Fawcett."

According to the lawsuit, filed by Marty Singer, Craig Nevius -- who has been dogging O'Neal for years -- began telling various media outlets that he stole the portrait in question from Farrah.  Last month, "Good Morning America" and Star Magazine ran stories that O'Neal was being investigated for theft -- something O'Neal calls "false, malicious and defamatory."

The stories triggered a demand from the University of Texas that O'Neal turn the portrait over, stat.

O'Neal says Nevius has been wretched for years, selling medical information about Farrah to the tabloids as she battled cancer.

O'Neal says he will never sell the portrait, and when he dies he'll will it to his son, Redmond O'Neal.

O'Neal says he's suffered "humiliation, mental anguish and emotional distress," and he's been damaged in excess of $1 million.

UPDATE: Nevius sent us a statement saying "At no time have I ever claimed" that Ryan stole the portrait. 

On the one year anniversary of her death, Ryan O'Neal and son Redmond visited the grave of Farrah Fawcett at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery yesterday.


Redmond was granted special leave from the Pasadena sober living facility where he is undergoing court-ordered drug rehab.

The anniversary of Farrah's passing was largely overshadowed yesterday by the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson.

RIP Farrah.

TMZ has learned that Ryan O'Neal will not face criminal prosecution for allegedly firing a gun during a late-night brawl with his son Griffin in February.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney claims there was "insufficient evidence to prove the case" against the 65-year-old actor, even after cops interviewed and re-interviewed several witnesses.

Ryan was arrested and booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm after Griffin's girlfriend called 911. In February, O'Neal's attorney Mark Werksman told TMZ that Ryan was badly injured in the incident, after Griffin allegedly struck him with a fire poker. Ryan's lawyer also stated that the actor "fired a shot in warning, not in anger."

Ryan's rep, Neil Hassman, tells TMZ, "We're extremely happy that the D.A., after a thorough investigation, has come to learn what we've known all along. Ryan was defending himself and we knew that's what would come out."

Griffin and his girlfriend Joanna's attorney Gloria Allred tells TMZ "There is a high standard of proof in a criminal case. The District Attorney must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Apparently the DA did not feel that he had evidence sufficient to meet that high standard. Griffin and Joanna will now explore all of their legal options."

TMZ's cameras spotted Ryan O'Neal back at his Malibu home, just days after his now infamous brawl with son Griffin.

O'Neal was trying to help a visitor off of his property when he noticed a TMZ camera. In need of a little assistance, O'Neal pointed and shouted "Hey, will you help him out? Help him get out?"

Both Ryan and Griffin's lawyers went to the press earlier in the day, telling different stories about the fight that took place Saturday evening. Ryan's lawyer, Mark Werksman, called Griffin the aggressor and said that Ryan "got the worst of it" after being "thrown to the ground and beaten." Griffin's lawyer, Gloria Allred, says that her clients, Griffin and his pregnant girlfriend Joanna Berry, reject any assertion that Ryan was acting in self defense.

Ryan O'Neal says that it was his son Griffin who instigated the incident that led to Ryan's arrest on suspicion of assault early Saturday morning, as first reported by TMZ. In a statement to TMZ issued by O'Neal's rep, Ryan accuses Griffin of "wildly swinging a fireplace poker" at him, an action that allegedly caused an injury to Griffin's pregnant girlfriend.

O'Neal adds further details in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He charges that his son grazed him "four or five times" with the fireplace poker and that when he ducked to avoid the swinging weapon, Griffin "hit his own girlfriend in the head." O'Neal adds that he got "nervous" because of the woman's pregnancy. "I fled to my room," he says, "and I got my gun." When Griffin pursued him anew, says Ryan, he fired his gun "into the banister" which scared Griffin into fleeing.

Ryan O'Neal's rep Neil Hassman tells TMZ this morning that Ryan is "back at work" on FOX's "Bones" today and is "extremely sad and upset that this happened. Ryan was acting from a purely DEFENSIVE posture, but that doesn't change the fact that he and his son had a terrible falling out." Neither Griffin nor his girlfriend could be reached for comment.

Father and son O'Neal have tussled before: In 1983, Ryan knocked out two of Griffin's teeth in an altercation. Police were called but no charges filed. Griffin O'Neal was found guilty of reckless boating for his part in the death of Gian-Carlo Coppola, the son of Francis Ford Coppola. He also pleaded no contest to drunk driving in 1989 and no contest in 1992 to charges that he shot at his then-estranged girlfriend's empty car.

TMZ has obtained the mugshot of actor Ryan O'Neal, who was arrested Saturday morning at his Malibu home. He was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm after a fight with his son, Griffin. O'Neal was released after posting $50,000 bail.

Police tell TMZ that O'Neal, 65, fired at least one gunshot during the scuffle.

Cops say he was booked at the Lost Hills Sheriff's station without incident. He was released at 5:30 AM.

Sheriff's sources tell TMZ that a 22-year-old female friend of Griffin's was "inadvertently" injured at the scene and transported to a local hospital. Sources wouldn't confirm if the injury was a result of the gunshot.

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