Ed O’Neill Wasn’t the First Choice

The show’s producers weren’t sure about Ed O’Neill at first because he usually did serious acting. But when he auditioned, something magical happened. He was just supposed to enter the Bundy home, but as he walked in, he let out a big sigh and looked defeated. That one moment convinced the producers that he was the perfect Al Bundy.

Fiction Meets Reality

In 2011, Ed O’Neill earned a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fittingly (and hilariously), the star is located in front of a shoe store. Before the series went off the air, O’Neill reportedly made about $500,000 per episode, making him one of the highest-paid TV actors at the time.

Fan Calls

Throughout the show’s run, Ed O’Neill agreed to make birthday and holiday phone calls to fans of the show while in character as Al Bundy — but with one condition. All the calls had to be made collect, in line with Al Bundy’s cheapskate nature. Talk about method acting!

On-Set Troubles

In a 2013 talk, Ed O’Neill shared that he didn’t get along with Amanda Bearse, who played Marcy D’Arcy. The issues began in season three when he felt she acted more like a man and was snarky. Ed supported her when she came out as a lesbian in 1993 but wasn’t invited to her 2010 wedding because she worried he’d laugh at women in tuxedos. He later admitted he might have laughed.

Buck the Dog

The Bundy family dog, Buck, was on the show on day one, and stayed until season 10, when he was given a “retirement” from the producers. Buck died on May 25, 1996, at age 13. Eerily enough, this was predicted in the 19th episode of season five, “Kids! Wadaya Gonna Do?”

David Garrison’s Departure

David Garrison, who played Steve Rhoades, wanted to do live theater instead of the show. So, the producers created a storyline where Steve and Marcy’s characters grew apart. He left but came back for one episode each season with a different job. When he left, he took a big photo of himself from a season four episode with the caption, “Gotta sing, gotta dance, gotta starve to death!”