In New York City yesterday, police arrested 44-year-old Oscar-winning actress Tatum O'Neal on suspicion of buying drugs on the streets. She was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.

The New York Daily News reported that she was caught buying crack cocaine from a homeless street vendor Sunday night, three blocks from her home in Manhattan's Lower East Side. A judge released her today after she spent the night in jail. She was ordered to return on July 28.

Citing unnamed police sources, the Daily News reported that Tatum O'Neal first claimed that she was "doing research for a part" and then changed her story after police found a bag of crack, a bag of regular cocaine and an unused crack pipe.

"I've been clean for a long time," the Daily News reported her as telling police. "Today was the first time I was relapsing, but you guys saved me. Can you let me go?"

In 2004, O'Neal wrote a memoir entitled A Paper Life in which she chronicled her addiction to heroin and how the addiction led to a lengthy custody battle with ex-husband John McEnroe over their three children.

At age 10, O'Neal became the youngest person to win an Oscar for her role in Paper Moon. She has also appeared on the second season of Dancing with the Stars. On Dancing with the Stars, she was teamed with professional dancer Nick Kosovich. In the first week of competition, they danced a waltz that earned them a respectable 23 out of 30. However, they faltered in the second week when they received a mere 17 out of 30 for their rumba. They became the second pair to be eliminated from season 2 of Dancing with the Stars.

Currently, Tatum O'Neal plays the recurring role of Maggie Gavin on FX's Rescue Me.  Sony Pictures and FX are teaming up this summer to provide 10 minisodes of original programming for this firehouse drama.  Premiering on June 24, the five-minute-long comedic standalone minisodes will be air on FX on Tuesday nights at 10pm and will be available online the following day at Sony Pictures' Crackle.com.



-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: Reuters, FX
(Image courtesy of Reuters)