Ed O'Neill

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For other persons named Ed O'Neill, see Ed O'Neill (disambiguation).
Ed O'Neill
Born Edward O'Neill
April 12, 1946 (1946-04-12) (age 63)
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation Athlete, Teacher, Actor
Years active 1970–present
Spouse(s) Catherine Rusoff (1986–present)

Edward "Ed" O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor.[1] He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the FOX Network's sitcom, Married... with Children.[1] O'Neill has often been cast as a police officer in television shows and films.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

O'Neill was born into an Irish Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio.[2] His mother, Ruth Ann (née Quinlan), was a homemaker and social worker, and his father, Edward Phillip O'Neill, was a steel mill worker and truck driver.[3][4] O'Neill attended Ursuline High School and went on to study at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he was a member of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, and Youngstown State University.[4] O'Neill was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 as an outside linebacker. He was released before the start of the 1969 regular season.[4] Later, on Married... with Children, O'Neill played a former high-school football star who had failed to make it big and constantly relived his "glory days" at Polk High ("I once scored four touchdowns in a single game"). O'Neill was also a social studies teacher at Youngstown's Ursuline High School, before becoming an actor.[4]

[edit] Career

O'Neill played Lenny in a stage production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He made his film debut in John Boorman's Deliverance as a deputy[4]and appeared in several more movies, including The Bone Collector, Little Giants, and Dutch. He also starred as Sgt. Joe Friday on Dick Wolf's remake of Jack Webb's classic TV crime series Dragnet. The series was canceled by ABC in its second season. O'Neill also in 1985, two years before Married...With Children was in a Red Lobster commercial eating fish. He had no lines.

O'Neill is primarily known for playing the lead role of Al Bundy in Married... with Children, a long-running American sitcom about a dysfunctional family living in Chicago.[4] 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. The series was created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt. O'Neill had short cameos in Wayne's World and its sequel, Wayne's World 2. He also appeared as Relish the Troll King in The 10th Kingdom. He also made a cameo on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules where he played Katey Sagal's old boyfriend. 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.

O'Neill went on to appear as a recurring character on NBC's The West Wing, playing Gov. Eric Baker (D-PA).[4] Baker, a strong candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, assumed the office of the Vice President under Matt Santos at the end of the series.

O'Neill currently appears in advertisements for AOL's online video service. His most recent role was Bill on HBO's television series John From Cincinnati. O'Neill also used to star in commercials for 1-800-COLLECT.

In January of 2009, O'Neill reunited with his TV son David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for an episode of Faustino's show Star-ving.[5] Ed 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.

[edit] Personal life

O'Neill has been married since 1986 to actress Catherine Rusoff, who appeared in two episodes of Married with Children. In 1989, the couple separated but reconciled in 1993. They have two daughters.

After being introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by his friend, writer/director John Milius, O'Neill has now trained in the martial art for 15 years under the mentoring of Rorion Gracie. In December 2007, O'Neill received his Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.[6]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television credits

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Ed O'Neill Biography". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642145. Retrieved on 2007-11-09. 
  2. ^ Pallante, Sally; Scotty Hanahan, Jim Dunn, Ted Miller, Martin Pallante, Terry Dunn (2004). Irish in Youngstown and the Greater Mahoning Valley. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 105. 
  3. ^ Ed O'Neill Biography (1946-)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Ed O'Neill Biography". Bundyology.com. http://www.bundyology.com/eo.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-09. 
  5. ^ "Star-ving’s David Faustino’s five favorite comedians of all time + Ed O’Neill reunion". Punchline Magazine. http://punchlinemagazine.com/blog/star-vings-david-faustinos-five-favorite-comedians-of-all-time-ed-oneill-reunion. Retrieved on 2009-02-20. 
  6. ^ "Al Bundy Gets Black Belt". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3yjN1KrqfM. Retrieved on 2008-11-04. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Married... with Children
Episodes • Quotes
Characters
Major cast members
Production
Other
v • d • e
Jack Webb/Mark VII Limited
Television series
Radio series
Films
People
Miscellaneous


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