Ed O'Neill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ed O'Neill
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O'Neill at the 2015 PaleyFest for Modern Family
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| Born |
Edward Leonard O'Neill
April 12, 1946 Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
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| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1967–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Catherine Rusoff
(m. 1986) |
| Children | 2 |
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Football career |
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| Position: | Defensive lineman |
| Personal information | |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Ursuline (Youngstown, Ohio) |
| College: | Youngstown State |
| Undrafted: | 1969 |
| Career history | |
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Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is a well-known American actor and comedian. Before becoming famous for acting, he was also a football player. He has won four Screen Actors Guild Awards and has been nominated for many other big awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Ed O'Neill became very popular in the late 1980s. He played Al Bundy, a working-class dad, on the TV show Married... with Children. This show was on the Fox network from 1987 to 1997. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award twice for this role.
Later, in the 2010s, his career became even more successful. He played Jay Pritchett, the family leader, on the popular ABC show Modern Family. This show ran from 2009 to 2020 and won many awards. For his role as Jay, he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. He also won four Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the show's amazing cast.
Besides TV, Ed O'Neill has been in many movies. His first movie was Cruising in 1980. He also appeared in movies like Wayne's World (1991), Dutch (1991), and Little Giants (1994). He has also lent his voice to animated films, such as Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and Finding Dory (2016).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ed O'Neill was born in Youngstown, Ohio, on April 12, 1946. His family was Irish-American and Catholic. His ancestors came to the United States from Ireland in the 1850s.
His mother, Ruth Ann, was a homemaker and social worker. His father, Edward Phillip O'Neill, worked in a steel mill and was a truck driver. Ed went to Ursuline High School, where he played football. When he was 14, he worked in construction and later at a steel mill.
He received a football scholarship to Ohio University. He studied history there and was part of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He left after his second year, admitting he spent more time on sports and parties than studying. He also had disagreements with his coach.
He then moved to Youngstown State University. He played as a defensive lineman for their football team from 1967 to 1968. While at Youngstown State, he played against Roger Staubach, a famous football player.
Professional Football Career
In 1969, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Ed O'Neill as a player. This was under their new coach, Chuck Noll. However, O'Neill was cut from the team during training camp. He was competing for a spot with other new defensive linemen, Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood. These two players later became key parts of the Steelers' famous "Steel Curtain" defense in the 1970s.
Years later, on the show Married... with Children, Ed O'Neill's character, Al Bundy, was a former high school football star. Al often talked about his "glory days" at Polk High. He would say, "I once scored four touchdowns in a single game." Before becoming an actor, O'Neill worked as a substitute social studies teacher at his old high school, Ursuline High School.
Acting Career
Early Roles (1979–1986)
After being cut by the Steelers, Ed O'Neill went back to Youngstown State. He was one of the first students in the school's new theater program. In 1979, he acted in a Broadway play called Knockout. He played a boxer alongside Danny Aiello. A critic from The New York Times said his performance was "chilling."
It was during this play that director William Friedkin saw him. This led to O'Neill's first movie role. He played a police detective in Cruising, which starred Al Pacino. In 1985, O'Neill appeared in a commercial for Red Lobster. He also had a small role in the TV show The Equalizer. In 1986, he was chosen to play detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle for a TV series. The character was originally from the movie The French Connection. A two-hour TV movie was made, and O'Neill received good reviews. However, the series was not picked up.
Married... with Children and Other Roles (1987–2008)
In 1984, Ed O'Neill was performing in a play called Of Mice and Men. A casting agent from the Fox television network saw him. They asked him to try out for the role of Al Bundy in a new TV show. This show was called Married... with Children. It was going to be about a family in Chicago that wasn't perfect.
He got the part because during his audition, he simply slumped his shoulders and sighed. He did this as if he was about to walk through the front door of his character's home. Married... with Children was one of the first shows on Fox's primetime lineup. It started on April 5, 1987, and ran for 11 seasons, ending on June 9, 1997.
While working on Married... with Children, O'Neill also acted in several movies. These included family films like Dutch (1991) and Little Giants (1994). He also had small roles in comedy movies like Wayne's World (1992). He appeared as Relish the Troll King in the TV mini-series The 10th Kingdom (2000). He also took on roles in drama films such as The Bone Collector (1999).
In 1994, O'Neill made a brief appearance on the comedy show In Living Color. He played a champion who defeated a challenger played by Jamie Foxx. He also had a cameo on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules. He played the ex-boyfriend of Cate S. Hennessy, who was played by Katey Sagal. Katey Sagal had played O'Neill's wife, Peggy Bundy, on Married... with Children.
In 2003, Law & Order creator Dick Wolf cast O'Neill as Sergeant Joe Friday. This was for a new version of the TV show Dragnet. The show was canceled after its second season. O'Neill then appeared as Governor Eric Baker on the NBC show The West Wing from 2004 to 2005. In 2009, O'Neill reunited with David Faustino, who played Bud Bundy on Married... with Children. They appeared together on Faustino's show Star-ving.
Modern Family (2009–2020)
For eleven seasons, Ed O'Neill played Jay Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. The show aired from 2009 to 2020. Critics praised his performance. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly said O'Neill had a "tricky job" but made his character, Jay, seem both sarcastic and a good person. Gina Bellafante of The New York Times wrote that O'Neill "exquisitely portrays the straight man" to Sofia Vergara's character.
This role earned him three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He was nominated in 2011, 2012, and 2013. O'Neill also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series four times. These wins were from 2010 through 2013, showing how well the cast worked together.
Since 2012, O'Neill has done voice-overs for TV commercials. He has voiced ads for Zyrtec and Walmart's Straight Talk phone service. In 2016, O'Neill voiced Hank the Octopus in the Pixar animated movie Finding Dory. He later said he didn't realize at first that Hank was such a big character in the film. As he recorded more lines, he realized most of his conversations were with Dory.
In 2024, O'Neill starred in the FX on Hulu mini-series Clipped. He played Donald Sterling. Critics praised his performance, saying he understood the character's unique personality very well.
Personal Life
Ed O'Neill is married to actress Catherine Rusoff. They have two children together.
A friend, writer/director John Milius, introduced O'Neill to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. O'Neill has trained in this martial art for 22 years. His teacher was Rorion Gracie. In December 2007, after 16 years of training, O'Neill earned his black belt. In a 2012 TV documentary called I Am Bruce Lee, O'Neill said getting his black belt was "the greatest achievement of my life, apart from my children."
On May 18, 2013, Youngstown State University gave O'Neill an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. This was from his old university.
Awards and Recognition
Ed O'Neill received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 30, 2011. His star is located in front of a shoe store, which is a fun coincidence given his role as a shoe salesman on Married... with Children.
He has been nominated for many awards for his acting.
- He received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor in a TV Series for Married... with Children in 1991 and 1992.
- For Modern Family, he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2011, 2012, 2013).
- He won four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series with the cast of Modern Family (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013). He was also nominated for this award several other times.
- In 2009, he received the Innovator Award at the TV Land Award show for his work on Married... with Children.
Images for kids
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O'Neill at the 2015 PaleyFest for Modern Family
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O'Neill in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Ed O'Neill para niños
