Truly, first impressions last, and Ed O’Neill proved this. This is how the actor got the role of Al Bundy. O’Neill had appeared in a stage production as Lenny in Of Mice & Men , and a Fox executive remembered seeing how great his performance was, so he was called him in to do a reading. Having already embodied Al’s character, Ed came in with his shoulders drooped, heaved a heavy sigh, and walked lazily towards the casting judges’ seats.
Actor Ed O’Neill is well-known today for playing the role of Al Bundy on Fox’s Married with Children . The way he showed up at the audition was the reason he got the part, because that was exactly how Al Bundy was. The way he took to it so naturally was what won him the role.
Call Me Bob Rooney
Here’s another odd idea from the minds of the Married With Children writers: they insisted the cast had to refer to Bob Rooney with his full name, like all the time! Nobody ever just called him “Bob” or “Rooney,” but always “Bob Rooney.” Surely there must be something significant about this?
Thankfully, this character wasn’t named after E.E Bell, one of the actors who played a No Ma’am club member. He has one of those names that’s a mouthful to pronounce. There definitely would’ve been a whole lot more takes necessary to get that one right every time it came up.
Did You See It?
Inserting random clips between other clips on the show’s opening was sure a great way to stir some excitement in the world of the viewers. This was quite a wise move on the part of the producers. If you were savvy enough to take note of it, the show’s opening sequence included a clip from Chevy Chase’s movie, Vacation. In the opening credits, you can see a scene where cars are driving through the interstate interchange.
The movie clip was from the Griswold family’s first vacation, where they drove down to the Walley World theme park with their green station wagon, with a whole lot of luggage on the top. Yes, that was the opening of the television show, and it was just hilarious! Even though it was not an original shot, it gave a positive impact on the show.
They Were Definitely "Not The Cosbys"
The title of the show was originally going to be Not The Cosbys . This was, in fact, the working title during pre-production, and thee producers were giving it serious consideration, because clearly the Bundys were anti-Cosby! Bill Cosby and the Huxtable clan were a wealthy, hardworking, and decent family, living in the New York suburbs. The Bundys were quite the opposite, but it would be too shallow to call a show that just to demonstrate such an obvious contrast. Given recent events with Cosby (and the fact that there are now porn films bearing the title Not the Cosbys ), we’re sure the producers are relieved they took a different path.
Married With Children was a revolutionary television show at that time, because it portrayed a typical family setting that was far from being perfect. The sitcom displayed a frustrated head of the family, who hates his life for having a lazy wife, a flirty daughter, and an incompetent son. The show allowed people to relax about their less than perfect lives and the contrast to the too-good-to-be-true Cosbys didn’t need to be made so obvious.
Quite The Opposite In Real Life
Ironically, Ed O’Neill is far from the lazy slob he portrayed in the show. Ed was very active in his work and was known to be highly professional. He was the only member of the cast who was in every episode of the show throughout the ten-year run. Imagine that! In all 260 episodes, he was present. Not a single sick day for Ed.
This must be the reason why he took a long pause from acting before agreeing to play a role in Modern Family. You may see O’Neill in the character of a lousy, lazy man with a frustrating life and a career that’s going nowhere, but he is totally the opposite in real life.