McEnroe and O’Neal Are Married in a Private Ceremony in New York

John McEnroe married actress Tatum O’Neal in a private ceremony attended by about 30 persons Friday at a stately, old brick Catholic church.

About 500 curious neighborhood residents were kept off church property during the wedding by about a dozen private security guards and a similar number of hamlet police officers.

The bride and groom were hidden from the view of several dozen photographers and television cameras by huge blue curtains that covered an opening in the wall at the entrance to the church.

The 27-year-old groom, whose parents live in Oyster Bay Cove, is nearing the end of a six-month leave from the professional tennis circuit. McEnroe, a three-time Wimbledon champion, said he took the sabbatical because he was mentally and physically exhausted and because O’Neal was pregnant.

O’Neal, 22, gave birth to a son by the tennis star May 23, 1986, in Santa Monica, Calif. The baby, Kevin, was the first grandchild for the bride’s father, actor Ryan O’Neal.

After the ceremony, McEnroe and O’Neal came to the doors of the church and greeted the crowd. McEnroe, who wore a black suit and a red bow tie, blew a kiss to the crowd. His wife, who wore a long white wedding gown, smiled and waved.

“You look in the eyes of people and you know they really meant what they were saying,” said the Rev. Joseph Byrns of New York, who performed the ceremony.