Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill | |
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![]() Ed O'Neill on August 1, 2010 | |
Born | Edward Leonard O'Neill April 12, 1946 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1970–present |
Spouse | Catherine Rusoff (1986–present) |
Edward Leonard "Ed" O'Neill[1] (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox TV Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes.[2] Since 2009, O'Neill has been playing patriarch Jay Pritchett on the award-winning ABC sitcom Modern Family, a role for which he was nominated for two Emmy Awards and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Early life
O'Neill was born into an Irish Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio.[3][4] His mother, Ruth Ann (née Quinlan), was a homemaker and social worker, and his father, Edward Phillip O'Neill, Sr., was a steel mill worker and truck driver.[5] O'Neill attended Ursuline High School and won a football scholarship to Ohio University, where he majored in history.[6] O'Neill left Ohio after his sophomore year: he spent more time playing sports and partying than studying[6] and also feuded with his coach. He transferred to Youngstown State University, where he was a defensive lineman.[5] O'Neill was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, but was cut in training camp.[7][4][5] Later, on Married... with Children, O'Neill played a former high-school football star who had failed to make it big and constantly reminisced about his "glory days" at Polk High ("I once scored four touchdowns in a single game"). As part of this theme, former Pittsburgh Steelers great and hall of fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw also made two guest appearances on the show. O'Neill was also a social studies teacher at Ursuline High School, before becoming an actor.[5]
Career
O'Neill reenrolled at YSU after being cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers and was one of the first students at the school's then new theatre program. He played Lennie in a stage production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1985, O'Neill appeared alongside Jeff Kinsland in a Red Lobster commercial eating fish and made a brief guest appearance in The Equalizer. In 1986, he was cast as the character of NYPD Police Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle for the planned television series Popeye Doyle. The Popeye Doyle character originally appeared in the motion picture The French Connection (played by Gene Hackman). The two-hour made-for-television movie/pilot was filmed and shown on network television. O'Neill received good reviews for his performance, and the pilot received good ratings, but the series was not picked up for production.
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.[5] 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.
During and following the success of Married... with Children, O'Neill 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 Cate S. Hennessy (played by Katey Sagal, who portrayed O'Neill's TV wife Peg Bundy on Married with Children). He also appeared in the movie The Adventures of Ford Fairlane with Andrew Dice Clay and in Cruising with Al Pacino. During the mid-1990s, he had a long string of appearances in commercials for 1-800-COLLECT.
Law & Order franchise creator Dick Wolf cast O'Neill 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 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 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".[8]
In January 2009, O'Neill reunited with David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for two episodes of Faustino's show Star-ving.[9] 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.
Since 2009, 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.[10][11][12]
Starting in winter 2012, O'Neill has lent his voice to TV advertisements for allergy pill Zyrtec. [13]
Personal life
Since 1986 O'Neill has been married 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: Claire, born in 1996, and Sophia, born in 1999.
After being introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by his friend writer/director John Milius, O'Neill has trained in the martial art for 22 years under the mentoring of Rorion Gracie. In December 2007, O'Neill received his black belt.[14][15] In the 2011 TV documentary I Am Bruce Lee, O'Neill states that he considers getting his black belt "the greatest achievement of my life, apart from my children."
Awards
O'Neill received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 30, 2011.[16][17]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Cruising | Detective Schreiber | |
1980 | The Dogs of War | Terry | |
1980 | The Day the Women Got Even | Ed | |
1982 | Farrell for the People | Detective Jay Brennan | |
1983 | When Your Lover Leaves | Mack Sher | |
1986 | A Winner Never Quits | Whitey Wyshner | |
1986 | Popeye Doyle | Popeye Doyle | |
1987 | Right to Die | ||
1988 | Police Story: Gladiator School | Sergeant Stanley Bivens | |
1990 | A Very Retail Christmas | Max Crandall | |
1989 | Disorganized Crime | George Denver | |
1989 | K-9 | Sergeant Brannigan | |
1990 | The Adventures of Ford Fairlane | Lieutenant Amos | |
1990 | Sibling Rivalry | Wilbur Meany | |
1991 | Dutch | Dutch Dooley | |
1991 | The Whereabouts of Jenny | Jimmy O'Meara | |
1992 | Wayne's World | Glen | |
1993 | Wayne's World 2 | Glen | |
1993 | Nick's Game | Ron Hawthorne | |
1994 | Blue Chips | Ed | |
1994 | Little Giants | Kevin O'Shea | |
1995 | W.E.I.R.D. World | Dr. Monochian | |
1997 | Prefontaine | Bill Dellinger | |
1997 | The Spanish Prisoner | FBI team leader | |
1999 | The Bone Collector | Detective Paulie Sellitto | |
2000 | Lucky Numbers | Dick Simmons | |
2001 | Nobody's Baby | Norman Pinkney | |
2004 | Spartan | Burch | |
2005 | Steel Valley | Congressman Cardone | Short film |
2008 | Redbelt | Hollywood producer | |
2012 | Wreck-It Ralph | Mr. Litwak | Voice only |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | All My Children | Unknown episodes | |
1984 | Miami Vice | Arthur Lawson / Artie Rollins | Episode: "Heart of Darkness" |
1985 | Hunter | Dan Colson | Episode: "The Garbage Man" |
1985 | Braker | Danny Buckner | |
1985 | The Equalizer | Doctor | Episode: "The Children's Song" |
1985 | Spenser: For Hire | Buddy Almeida | Episode: "Widow's Walk" |
1987–1997 | Married... with Children | Al Bundy | 259 Episodes |
1988 | Midnight Caller | Hank | Episode: "Twelve Gauge" |
1990 | Saturday Night Live | Guest host | January 13, 1990 |
1990 | The Earth Day Special | Al Bundy | |
1991 | Top of the Heap | Al Bundy | Episode: "Top of the Heap" |
1994 | In Living Color | Himself | Episode: "The Dirty Dozens Tournament of Champions" |
2000 | The 10th Kingdom | Relish the Troll King | |
2001 | Big Apple | Detective Michael Mooney | 8 episodes |
2003–2004 | L.A. Dragnet | Lieutenant Joe Friday | 22 episodes |
2004 | In the Game | Buzz | |
2004 | The West Wing | Governor Eric Baker | |
2005 | 8 Simple Rules | Matt | Episode: "Old Flame" |
2005 | In the Game | Buzz | |
2005 | The West Wing | Governor Eric Baker | |
2006 | Inseparable | Alan | |
2006 | Twenty Good Years | Brock Manley | Episode: "Between Brock and a Hard Place" |
2006 | The Unit | William Partch | Episode: "Silver Star" |
2007 | John from Cincinnati | Bill Jacks | 10 episodes |
2009–present | Modern Family | Jay Pritchett | |
2011 | Handy Manny | Mayor Thompson | Episode: "Great Garage Rescue" |
2011 | Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil | Grandpa | Episode: "Truth or Daredevil" |
2012 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Hunter's father | Episode: "Operation: Antarctica" |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Golden Globe Award | Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical | Married...with Children | Nominated |
1993 | Golden Globe Award | Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical | Married...with Children | Nominated |
2009 | TV Land Award | Innovator Award | Married...with Children | Won |
2010 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Nominated |
2011 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Nominated |
2011 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Won |
2011 | Golden Nymph | Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Nominated |
2011 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Nominated |
2011 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Nominated |
2012 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Won |
2012 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Nominated |
2013 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Modern Family | Won |
See also
References
- ^ Ed O'Neill (April 3, 2013). Ed O'Neill Interview Part 1 of 3 - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG (Interview). Beverly Hills, CA: Archive of American Television.
- ^ Romero, Frances (September 16, 2011). "Ed O'Neill: From Al Bundy to Jay Pritchett". Top 10 TV Character Chameleons. Time Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
- ^ Pallante, Sally (2004). Irish in Youngstown and the Greater Mahoning Valley. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 0738532185. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Ed O'Neill: Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Ed O'Neill Biography". Biography.com. A&E Networks. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2011
- ^ "It's Evening in America". Vanity Fair. May 2012. Page 156.
- ^ Al the Shoesalesman Gets a Tax Cut on YouTube
- ^ Faustino, David (2009). Star-ving: The Complete First Season (NTSC). Sony Pictures. ASIN B002HMDSOY. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ "Ed O'Neill". Emmys.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ Pond, Steve (July 14, 2011). "Snubs, surprises and favorites for Emmy gold". Reuters. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ O'Neil, Tom (September 14, 2011). "Finally, Emmy jackpot for Ed O'Neill?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ Other works for Ed O'Neill (I). imdb.com
- ^ Al Bundy Gets Black Belt on YouTube
- ^ "Ed O'Neill Practices Jiu-Jitsu With Billy Bush!". Access Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ Nededog, Jethro (August 30, 2011). "'Modern Family's' Ed O'Neill Gets Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
- ^ Oldenburg, Ann (August 30, 2011). "Ed O'Neill gets Walk of Fame star". USA Today. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
External links
- Ed O'Neill at IMDb
- 1946 births
- American comedians
- American people of Irish descent
- American film actors
- American football linebackers
- American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- American schoolteachers
- American television actors
- Living people
- Ohio Bobcats football players
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Actors from Youngstown, Ohio
- Pittsburgh Steelers players
- Players of American football from Ohio
- Youngstown State Penguins football players
- 20th-century American actors
- 21st-century American actors