Long before he became one of the most recognizable faces in 1970s American cinema, Ron O’Neal’s story began right here in Utica, New York.

O’Neal was born in Utica on September 1, 1937. Although he would spend most of his childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, Utica holds the distinction of being the birthplace of the actor who would eventually create one of the defining movie characters of the 1970s — Youngblood Priest in Super Fly.

From Utica to Cleveland

O’Neal grew up in a working-class family. His father, Ernest, had been a jazz musician before working in a factory to support the family. After the family moved to Cleveland, O’Neal attended Glenville High School and later enrolled at Ohio State University.

Acting wasn’t originally the plan.

After leaving college, O’Neal happened to see a production of the musical Finian’s Rainbow at Cleveland’s Karamu House. The experience changed the direction of his life.

Karamu House was already an important institution in American theater, known for its interracial productions. O’Neal joined the company and spent years learning his craft, appearing in productions that included A Raisin in the Sun and A Streetcar Named Desire.

That stage background is easy to lose in the Super Fly story. O’Neal had already spent years acting before Hollywood audiences knew who he was.

Broadway Comes Calling

O’Neal eventually headed to New York City, where he taught acting in Harlem while pursuing his own career on stage.

His breakthrough came with playwright Charles Gordone’s No Place to Be Somebody. O’Neal played Gabe Gabriel when the production reached Broadway in 1969, and his performance earned considerable recognition, including a Drama Desk Award and Theatre World Award.

He was establishing himself as a serious theater actor.

Then came the role that changed everything.

Super Fly

Released in 1972, Super Fly starred O’Neal as Youngblood Priest, a stylish New York City cocaine dealer determined to make one final score and get out of the drug business.

The film was directed by Gordon Parks Jr., written by Phillip Fenty and featured a now-legendary soundtrack written and performed by Curtis Mayfield.

Made on a relatively small budget, Super Fly became a major box-office success and one of the best-known films of the era.

And suddenly, the man born in Utica was a movie star.

With his long hair, tailored clothes and cool, controlled performance, O’Neal created a character audiences remembered. Youngblood Priest became one of the iconic figures associated with the era of films that came to be known as “blaxploitation.”

But Super Fly was also controversial.

Some critics believed the film glamorized drugs and criminal life, while others saw Priest differently — as a man trapped in a corrupt system who was desperately trying to find a way out.

The debate surrounding the movie sometimes became bigger than O’Neal’s performance itself. Years later, he spoke about his frustration that people sometimes confused the actor with the character he had played.

The Role That Made — and Limited — His Career

O’Neal returned as Priest in Super Fly T.N.T. in 1973, but this time he did more than act. He also directed the film.

The sequel failed to duplicate the success of the original, and O’Neal faced another problem: Hollywood had trouble seeing him as anyone other than Youngblood Priest.

For an actor who had spent years performing serious theater, it was a frustrating turn.

He continued working steadily, however, appearing in movies including The Master Gunfighter, A Force of One, When a Stranger Calls and, years later, Original Gangstas. Television viewers also saw him in programs including The Equalizer, Hill Street Blues and Murder, She Wrote.

He also returned to the stage during his career — back to the place where he had first discovered acting.

A Movie That Never Went Away

Whatever O’Neal may have felt about being permanently associated with Super Fly, the film became part of American movie history.

Its influence continued long after the 1970s, particularly through its look, its depiction of urban America and Curtis Mayfield’s celebrated soundtrack.

Half a century after its original release, Super Fly received one of the highest honors an American film can receive. In 2022, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry as a film considered culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.

Ron O’Neal never lived to see that recognition.

He died in Los Angeles on January 14, 2004, after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 66 years old.

O’Neal worked on stage, Broadway, movies and television, but Super Fly followed him for the rest of his career. For a lot of movie fans, Ron O’Neal and Youngblood Priest will always be connected.

And like a surprising number of stories from American entertainment history, this one began in Utica, New York.