Modern Family actor Ed O’Neill recalled his first reaction to his 1987 show, Married… With Children, getting canceled. During his appearance on the MeSsy podcast, the Hollywood actor got candid with the hosts and his co-stars, Christina Applegate and Jamie Lynn Sigler.
During the show run, O’Neill played the role of Applegate’s father. As the actor was taking a stroll on the streets of his hometown, the actor shared that a newlywed couple spotted him and dished out the news to him.
While talking to the co-hosts, the actor said, “I was back in my hometown, and I was at this little bed and breakfast… and it was a beautiful day. It was in the spring, and I came out [side], and they had the gardens, you know, and it was such a nice day.”
He went on to say, “A car pulled in with the ‘Just Married’ things hanging off the back, you know, the tin cans… and I thought, ‘Oh, they, you know, are just married.’ So I was standing there, and they got out of the car, and it was the husband and wife.”
The actor further stated that while the girl was in a gown and her husband was in a tux, they ran to O’Neill and told the celeb they were sorry to hear about the show getting canceled.
As the couple finished their sentence, the Clipped actor stated, “I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And the guy said, ‘Oh my god. He doesn’t know. It’s on the radio. You got canceled.'”
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Further on the episode, O’Neill recalled that even though the news wasn’t a happy one, he met with the couple to celebrate with them and popped up a champagne.
He shared, “They said, ‘Oh, we’re so sorry,’ and I said, ‘I’d rather hear it from you.’ So yeah. I came inside. I love champagne.” It wasn’t only Ed O’Neill; even Applegate stated that she was blindsided by the news. The podcast host shared, “I found out from a guy who knew a guy who worked for my assistant at the time. That’s how I found out. They never called us.”
Ed O’Neill further stated that he had never even received a parting gift from the showrunners or the network. He also joked, “I said, ‘I thought The Golden Girls got Mercedes-Benzes when they did their last show,’ which they did.”
Married… with Children ran on the Fox network for eleven seasons. The series showcased the struggles of a Chicago family that included Al Bundy, his wife, daughter, and a son.
The episodes of the show are available to stream on Prime Video.
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