Actor Ed O'Neill has described a bitter on-set feud with his longtime co-star.
O'Neal played Al Bundy on the sometimes controversial “Married…with Children” for 11 seasons. “It was also the kind of show that no one wanted to admit they liked,” he told his friend Jesse Tyler Ferguson, his co-star on the sitcom Modern Family, which also ran for 11 seasons, on the podcast. He spoke at
Looking back on his time on the show, O'Neal, now 77, admitted he regrets his feud with Amanda Bearce. “It wasn't that we weren't good friends, but we were good friends for a long time. We were great friends. And I hate to say it for her, but… it was on the cover of TV Guide. It started when I decorated it.”
'Married…with Kids' star David Faustino says reboot still on hold
Ed O'Neal says he regrets his feud with his “Married…with Children” co-star Amanda Bears. (Anna Pocalo/IndieWire/Penske Media via Getty Images)
O'Neill said Bears and David Garrison, who played supporting roles Marcy Darcy and Steve Rhodes, were not scheduled to appear. “They were told they couldn't be on the cover because they had a rule: There's only a limited number on the cover.” [that] “You can be on the cover,” he said of TV Guide's restrictions, explaining, “They violated that policy on a couple of shows, I think it was 'M*A*S*H' and 'Dallas.'” .
“That was an anomaly. They didn't make it for us. And we were lucky to get it. It was like the sixth year or something. ,” he said of the July-August 1989 cover. This show premiered in 1987. “We were so happy to be on the cover of TV Guide. It was such a joy. And then Amanda and David came out of the dressing room all at once. We were on the soundstage, and she said, I said, “I'm looking forward to you.'' [co-creator] Tell Ron Leavitt this won't work. We're all on the cover. ”
“If I had been diplomatic, I should have said, 'Okay, I'll talk to him about it,'” O'Neill suggested.
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The Bundy family, starring Ed O'Neill as Al, Katey Sagal as Peggy, Christina Applegate as Kelly, and David Faustino as Bud, appeared on the cover of TV Guide in 1989. (Tony Costa/TV Guide/Courtesy of Everett Collection)
“But instead I said, 'No, I'm not doing that. It's too bad you guys aren't on the cover. I really am! I'm not doing that. I wish I had! But there's nothing we can do about it. “You want me to lie and tell you that you know I'm going to bat for you?” I’m not like that,” he recalled thinking.
“That's my regret,” Mr. O'Neill told Mr. Ferguson, admitting that in retrospect he would have acted differently.
On the left is a photo of the Bundy family from “Married…with Children.” On the right, additional characters Amanda Bears and Ted McGinley play Jefferson and Mercy Darcy, along with the Bundy family. (Getty Images)
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Representatives for Bears did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Amanda Bears has reportedly asked Ed O'Neill to insist that she and co-star David Garrison be featured on the cover of TV Guide. (Jerrod Harris/Georgia/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
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“Married with Children” ended in 1997 after 259 episodes.
Rumors of reboots and spinoffs have been circulating Hollywood, but nothing has come to fruition.
