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Edward Leonard "Ed" O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is the Ohio-born actor who played family patriarch Al Bundy. He is known to younger audiences as Jay Pritchett, the head of a multi-generational, multi-ethnic family in ABC-TV's hit series Modern Family, for which he has been nominated for two Emmy Awards and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards..[1]

Early Life[]

In 1969, he was signed as an undrafted free agent for the Pittsburg Steelers. Despite his efforts, he was cut from the team during training camp.

In a 2024 interview, he mentioned that he had almost joined a local organized crime syndicate after being cut from the Steelers and not knowing what to do with his life. He eventually decided not to join after his father asked him if he was willing to do time in prison.[2]

O'Neill worked as a substitute social studies teacher at his former high school prior to becoming an actor.

Career[]

O'Neill is primarily known for his role as Al Bundy in Married... with Children, It was the first primetime television series to air on the Fox Network as a midseason replacement, debuting on April 5, 1987 and concluding June 9, 1997.

Before Married... with Children[]

Although often believed to have first appeared in the 1972 film Deliverance as a sheriff, his first on-screen role was in the 1980 film, Cruising alongside Al Pacino, playing a police detective. He audition for the role of Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom, Cheers in 1982, but eventually lost the role to Ted Danson. [3] He later appeared in the first season of the NBC series, Miami Vice as undercover FBI agent Arthur Lawson.

In 1985, he appeared in a commercial for the seafood restaurant chain, Red Lobster[4]. That same year, he also appeared in the NBC series, Hunter as a corrupt parole officer out for revenge in the season 1 episode, "The Garbage Man". He also briefly appeared in The Equalizer as a doctor in the episode, "The Children's Song".

He then starred in the made-for-tv movie, Popeye Doyle in 1986, playing the titular character that was previously played by Gene Hackman in the 1971 film, The French Connection. It was intended to be the pilot for a television series for the character, but was not picked up by the networks.

After "Married...with Children"[]

During and following the success of Married... with Children, Ed appeared in several movies, including The Bone Collector, Little Giants, and Dutch. He also had small parts in Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, and appeared as Relish the Troll King in The 10th Kingdom. O'Neill made a brief appearance on the comedy variety show In Living Color, playing the "Dirty Dozens" champion who defeats the challenger, played by Jamie Foxx. He also made a cameo on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules where he was the ex-boyfriend of Kate S. Hennessy (played by Katey Sagal, who portrayed O'Neill's TV wife Peggy Bundy on Married... with Children). He also appeared in the movie The Adventures of Ford Fairlane with Andrew Dice Clay and . During the mid 1990s, he had a long string of appearances in commercials for MCI Communications, 1-800-COLLECT.

Law & Order franchise creator Dick Wolf cast Ed as Sgt. Joe Friday in his 2003 remake of Jack Webb's classic TV crime series Dragnet. The series was canceled by ABC in its second season. O'Neill went on to appear as fictional Governor Eric Baker (D-PA), a recurring character on NBC's The West Wing. Baker, a strong candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, assumed the office of the Vice President of the United States under Matt Santos at the end of the series.

O'Neill also played Bill on HBO's television series John From Cincinnati.

In 2008, O'Neill appeared in an advertisement for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama as "Al the Shoesalesman".[5]

In January 2009, O'Neill reunited with David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for two episodes of Faustino's show Star-ving.[6] O'Neill also appeared with the entire cast of Married with Children again when they were honored at the 7th Annual TV Land Award show in 2009, presented by Dr. Phil.

"Modern Family" TV series (2009-2020)[]

From 2009 to 2020, O'Neill has played the role of Jay Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, a role that earned him Emmy award nominations in 2011 and 2012.[7][8][9]

Voice Acting[]

Since 2012, O'Neill has done voice-overs in TV advertisements for allergy medicine, Zyrtec and mobile phone service, Straight Talk.

He has voiced characters in animated films, such as Hank in Finding Dory and Mr. Litwak in Wreck-It Ralph.

Relationship with Married... with Children Cast[]

While O'Neill appears to be on good terms with Katey Sagal, Christina Applegate, and David Faustino, having reunited with them on several occasions since the series finale, there has been a long time feud between him and Amanda Bearse.

In an interview from 2013, O'Neill noted that while he respects Bearse as an actress and director, their personalities clashed by the final years of the show, despite getting along well at the beginning of the series. He also alluded to her change in personality, noting that Bearse was already a lesbian when the show started and was the more cute / feminine partner in the relationship, but at some point decided to become more masculine and snarky. He even mentions that she did not invite him, David Faustino, and show co-creator Ron Leavitt to her wedding out of fear that they would laugh at the sight of her and her partner in a tuxedo while standing at an alter in church. Sometime later, he recalled that they got into an argument in front of the cast, where she accused him of being a bully. He then responded by telling her that she was not very bright and that as the leading star of the show, he could easily have her fired while she would not have the same power to get him fired. Although he admitted it was a mean thing to say, as he knew she was bright and that he really would not have gone that far to get her fired, he also pointed out that he really had more power than her when it came to the show.[10]

During an interview on the “Dinner’s On Me” podcast in January 2024, he mentioned that he believes the feud between him and Bearse started when he and the main cast appeared on the cover of TV Guide in 1989, which excluded Bearse and David Garrison as they were the neighbors. O'Neill also noted that TV Guide had a rule that only a certain number of cast members can appear on the cover, pointing out that the two rare exceptions were M*A*S*H and Dallas. He then stated that when Bearse and Garrison heard about the news, they asked O'Neill to stand up for them and confront Ron Leavitt about why they were excluded. O'Neill then admitted that he was hesitant to do so, as it had taken some time for the show to get recognized and he did not want to risk losing the opportunity. He concluded by saying that he regretted choosing to remain silent and wished that he had handled the situation better.[11]

Bearse has also had a similar take on their relationship. In 2017, during an interview on the MWC podcast, she admitted that she and O'Neill in fact did not get along by the final season of the show, despite having been good friends at the beginning of the show.[12] . During a Q-and-A session at RaleighCon 2018, she noted that O'Neill was not particularly happy with the show during its final years. She went on to mention that in the last couple of seasons of the show, she had to be both an actress and director, which meant that she had more to say about how things went and implied that O'Neill was not happy with her decisions. She did conclude by praising his acting ability.[13]

Personal Life[]

O'Neill is married to actress Catherine Rusoff, who previously appeared on MWC as Mona Squab in "Just Married... with Children" and as Betsy, one of the pregnant members of W.O.M.B. in "If Al Had a Hammer". Together, they have two daughters.

He currently holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, having trained under Rorion Gracie since the early 1990s.

In 2013, he earned an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Youngstown State University. During an appearance on MSNBC's The Last Word in January 2024, O'Neill declared that he would be returning his doctorate due to the school hiring former Republican congressman Bill Johnson as the university's next president. His opposition stems from Johnson's support of former U.S. president Donald Trump. O'Neill is a prominent supporter of the democratic party, having appeared in an ad for Barrack Obama during his presidential run in 2008 and backing several other democrats running for office in recent years.[14][15]

Official Account[]

References[]

External links[]

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