Ed O'Neill - wikipedia Ed O'Neill For other people named Ed O'Neill, see Ed O'Neill ( disambiguation ). Ed O'Neill O ' Neill at the 2015 PaleyFest for Modern Family Edward Leonard O'Neill ( 1946 - 04 - 12 ) April 12, 1946 ( age 71 ) Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. Residence Los Angeles, California Nationality American Occupation Actor, comedian Years active 1967 -- present Known for Married... with Children Modern Family Spouse ( s ) Catherine Rusoff ( m. 1986 ) Children Edward Leonard `` Ed '' O'Neill ( born April 12, 1946 ) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Al Bundy on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes ; and playing patriarch Jay Pritchett on the award - winning ABC sitcom Modern Family, a role for which he has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and won four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 5 Awards and nominations 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Early life O'Neill was born into an Irish American Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio. 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. O'Neill attended Ursuline High School before transferring to Worthington High School and winning a state championship earning the name Ed O'Winner and won a football scholarship to Ohio University, where he majored in history, also having joined the Mu chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. O'Neill left Ohio after his sophomore year ; he spent more time playing sports and partying than studying and also feuded with his coach. He transferred to Youngstown State University ( YSU ), where he was a defensive lineman. While an undergraduate, O'Neill pledged Delta Sigma Phi and was initiated into the Delta Sigma chapter there. Rumors abound that he was an avid partier. O'Neill was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 but was cut in training camp. 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 Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw also made two guest appearances on the show. O'Neill was also a substitute social studies teacher at Ursuline High School before becoming an actor. Career O'Neill re-enrolled at YSU after being cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers and was one of the first students at the school 's then new theater program. In 1979, he played a boxer opposite Danny Aiello in the Broadway play Knockout. It was there that he was seen by director William Friedkin and landed his first movie role, as a police detective in Cruising, starring Al Pacino. In 1985, O'Neill appeared alongside Jeff Kinsland in a Red Lobster commercial 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. In 1986, while playing the role of Lennie in a stage production of John Steinbeck 's Of Mice and Men at the Hartford Theater in Hartford, Connecticut, he was seen by a casting agent from the Fox television network and he was asked to audition for the role of Al Bundy in Married... with Children, an American sitcom about a dysfunctional family living in Chicago. It was the series that led off the first night of Fox 's primetime lineup on April 5, 1987, concluding after 11 seasons on 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 as 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 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, a recurring character on NBC 's The West Wing. 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 ''. In January 2009, O'Neill reunited with David Faustino ( Bud Bundy from Married... with Children ) for two episodes of Faustino 's show Star - ving. 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. Since 2009, O'Neill has played the role of Jay Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, a role that earned him three Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Since 2012, O'Neill has done voice - overs in TV advertisements for the over-the - counter form of Zyrtec, along with Walmart 's store - branded mobile phone service, Straight Talk. In 2016, O'Neill starred as Hank the Octopus in the highly successful Pixar animated film Finding Dory. According to O'Neill, he did n't realize at first that he had a starring role in the film. As his voice recording sessions continued and most of his interactions turned out to be with Dory, he finally began to suspect that Hank was a major character in the film. Personal life O'Neill is married to actress Catherine Rusoff. As of 2016 they have two daughters and live in Los Angeles. 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. In the 2012 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. '' 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 When Your Lover Leaves Mack Sher 1986 A Winner Never Quits Whitey Wyshner 1986 The Three Little Pigs Elvis Presley 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 Spartan Burch 2005 Steel Valley Congressman Cardone Short film 2008 Redbelt Hollywood producer Lost Masterpieces of Pornography Chief Justice Renato Corona Short film 2012 Wreck - It Ralph Mr. Litwak Voice only 2015 Entourage Himself Cameo 2016 Finding Dory Hank Voice only 2017 Sun Dogs Bob Garrity Television Year Title Role Notes 1970 All My Children Unknown episodes 1984 Miami Vice Arthur Lawson / Artie Rollins Episode : `` Heart of Darkness '' 1985 Moonlighting Taxi driver Episode : `` Pilot '' 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 '' 1986 Popeye Doyle James `` Popeye '' Doyle TV Pilot film 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 In the Game Buzz TV pilot 2004 -- 2005 The West Wing Governor Eric Baker 4 episodes 2005 8 Simple Rules Al Bundy Episode : `` Old Flame '' 2005 In the Game Buzz 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 WordGirl Panicking Man ( Uncredited ) Episode : `` The Wrong Side the Law '' 2009 -- present Modern Family Jay Pritchett Main Role 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 '' 2013 Real Husbands of Hollywood Himself Episode : `` Thicke and Tired '' 2015 Family Guy Bud Swanson Episode : `` Papa Has a Rollin ' Son '' Awards and nominations O'Neill received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 30, 2011. Year Award 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 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble 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 Award 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 2013 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Modern Family Nominated 2014 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Modern Family Nominated See also List of Brazilian Jiu - Jitsu practitioners References Jump up ^ Ed O'Neill ( April 3, 2013 ). Ed O'Neill Interview Part 1 of 3 - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG ( Interview ). Beverly Hills, CA : Archive of American Television. Jump up ^ 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. Jump up ^ Pallante, Sally ; Scotty Hanahan ; Jim Dunn ; Paul Miller ; Martin Pallante ; Terry Dunn ( 2004 ). Irish in Youngstown and the Greater Mahoning Valley. Charleston, South Carolina : Arcadia Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 0738532185. Retrieved October 7, 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` Ed O'Neill : Biography ''. TV Guide. Retrieved January 21, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Ed O'Neill - Biography ''. Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved January 21, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2011 Jump up ^ `` It 's Evening in America ''. Vanity Fair. May 2012. Page 156. Jump up ^ `` Red Lobster Commercial with Ed O'Neil ''. Retrieved 16 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Interview with Ed O'Neil ''. Retrieved 8 January 2012. Jump up ^ Al the Shoesalesman Gets a Tax Cut on YouTube Jump up ^ Faustino, David ( 2009 ). Star - ving : The Complete First Season ( NTSC ). Sony Pictures. ASIN B002HMDSOY. Retrieved March 15, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Ed O'Neill ''. Emmys.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012. Jump up ^ Pond, Steve ( July 14, 2011 ). `` Snubs, surprises and favorites for Emmy gold ''. Reuters. Retrieved March 15, 2012. Jump up ^ O'Neil, Tom ( September 14, 2011 ). `` Finally, Emmy jackpot for Ed O'Neill ? ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2012. Jump up ^ Other works for Ed O'Neill ( I ). imdb.com Jump up ^ Snetiker, Mark ( 17 June 2016 ). `` Finding Dory : Ed O'Neill did n't know he was a lead ''. Retrieved 5 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Ed O'Neill ''. Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. April 18, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Al Bundy Gets Black Belt on YouTube Jump up ^ `` Ed O'Neill Practices Jiu - Jitsu With Billy Bush ! ''. Access Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2012. Jump up ^ `` 13 celebrities who fight fat with martial arts ''. Men 's Fitness. the greatest achievement of my life, apart from my children. Jump up ^ http://deadline.com/2016/06/sun-dogs-movie-melissa-benoist-michael-angarano-jennifer-morrison-anthony-tambakis-1201765191/ Jump up ^ 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. Jump up ^ Oldenburg, Ann ( August 30, 2011 ). `` Ed O'Neill gets Walk of Fame star ''. USA Today. Retrieved March 16, 2012. External links Ed O'Neill on IMDb Ed O'Neill interview video at the Archive of American Television Married... with Children Seasons 3 ( `` I 'll See You in Court '' ) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Other Characters Al Bundy Terry Rakolta Top of the Heap Vinnie & Bobby Remakes Casados con Hijos ( Argentina ) Casados con hijos ( Colombia ) Happy Together ( Russia ) Married for Life ( United Kingdom ) Jack Webb / Mark VII Limited Television series Dragnet Noah 's Ark Pete Kelly 's Blues GE True 77 Sunset Strip Adam - 12 The D.A. O'Hara, U.S. Treasury Emergency ! Emergency + 4 Hec Ramsey Escape Chase Sierra Mobile One Project U.F.O. Sam Radio series Dragnet Pete Kelly 's Blues Films Dragnet Pete Kelly 's Blues Red Nightmare The D.I. - 30 - The Last Time I Saw Archie Miscellaneous Dragnet ( theme music ) List of Emergency ! characters Joe Friday St. George and the Dragonet San Franciscan Nights Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series ( 2010 -- 2019 ) Modern Family, season 1 / season 2 ( 2010 ) : Bowen ; Burrell ; Ferguson ; Gould ; Hyland ; O'Neill ; Rodriguez ; Stonestreet ; Vergara ; Winter Modern Family, season 2 / season 3 ( 2011 ) : Anderson - Emmons ; Bowen ; Burrell ; Ferguson ; Gould ; Hyland ; O'Neill ; Rodriguez ; Stonestreet ; Vergara ; Winter Modern Family, season 3 / season 4 ( 2012 ) : Anderson - Emmons ; Bowen ; Burrell ; Ferguson ; Gould ; Hyland ; O'Neill ; Rodriguez ; Stonestreet ; Vergara ; Winter Modern Family, season 4 / season 5 ( 2013 ) : Anderson - Emmons ; Bowen ; Burrell ; Ferguson ; Gould ; Hyland ; O'Neill ; Rodriguez ; Stonestreet ; Vergara ; Winter Orange Is the New Black, season 2 ( 2014 ) : Aduba, Biggs, Brooks, Cox, Cruz, Curtin, DeLaria, Fowler, Freeman, Gardner, Glenn, Golden, Guerrero, Harney, Jeudy, Lake, Lapkus, Leyva, Lyonne, Manning, Marsh Garland, McGorry, Moore, Mulgrew, Myles, Pimentel, Polanco, Reiner, Roberts, Rodriguez, Rosenblat, Sandow, Savage, Schilling, Shulman, Soules, Stone, Toussaint, Tucci, Wiley Orange Is the New Black, season 3 ( 2015 ) : Aduba, Birbiglia, Blake, Brooks, Cox, Cruz, Curtin, DeLaria, Fowler, Glenn, Golden, Guerrero, Harney, Jeudy, Leyva, Manning, Marsh Garland, Moore, Mulgrew, Myles, Peters, Petty, Pimentel, Polanco, Prepon, Rodriguez, Rose, Sandow, Savage, Schilling, Shulman, Soules, Stone, Wiley Orange Is the New Black, season 4 ( 2016 ) : Aduba, Aisenberg, Brooks, Brown, Cruz, DeLaria, Dover, Glenn, Golden, Gómez, Guerrero, Harney, Henke, Jeudy, Lake, Leyva, Lyonne, Manning, McMenamin, Moore, Mulgrew, Myles, Peters, Petty, Pimentel, Polanco, Prepon, Purdy, Rodriguez, Sandow, Savage, Schilling, Shulman, Soules, Stone, Tucci, Wiley Complete list ( 1994 -- 1999 ) ( 2000 -- 2009 ) ( 2010 -- 2019 ) VIAF : 59295446 LCCN : no98107483 ISNI : 0000 0001 1571 8291 GND : 140538453 SUDOC : 086269925 BNF : cb142120791 ( data ) BNE : XX1169448 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ed_O%27Neill&oldid=807797493 '' Categories : 1946 births 20th - century American male actors 21st - century American male actors American football linebackers American male comedians American comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Irish descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu - jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu - jitsu Living people Male actors from Youngstown, Ohio Ohio Bobcats football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Ohio Sportspeople from Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown State Penguins football players Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2016 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles using Template : EmmyTVLegends name Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Bân - lâm - gú Basa Banyumasan Bislama Български Català Čeština Corsu Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Dolnoserbski Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Kernowek Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Napulitano Norsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Volapük Walon Winaray Yorùbá Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 30 October 2017, at 04 : 39. 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Question: who is al bundy married to in real life
Answer: Catherine Rusoff