1. Edward Leonard O'Neill was born on April 12,1946 and is an American actor, comedian, and former football player.
36 Facts About Ed O'Neill
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Ed O'Neill gained stardom for playing a working class father, Al Bundy, on the Fox sitcom Married.
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Ed O'Neill had a career resurgence portraying the family patriarch Jay Pritchett on the award-winning ABC sitcom Modern Family, for which he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series and won four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
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Ed O'Neill portrayed Governor Eric Baker in the drama series The West Wing and Donald Sterling in the FX on Hulu limited series Clipped.
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In cinema, Ed O'Neill made his debut in the William Friedkin crime thriller Cruising.
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Ed O'Neill has since appeared in the Wayne's World film series, Dutch, Little Giants, Prefontaine, The Spanish Prisoner, The Bone Collector, Sun Dogs, and The Last Shift.
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Ed O'Neill has done voice-work for animated films such as the Wreck-It Ralph franchise and Finding Dory.
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Ed O'Neill was born into an Irish-American Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, on April 12,1946.
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Ed O'Neill's mother, Ruth Ann, was a homemaker and social worker, and his father, Edward Phillip O'Neill, was a steel mill worker and truck driver.
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Ed O'Neill was awarded a football scholarship to Ohio University, where he majored in history, and was a member of the Mu chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
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Ed O'Neill admits he spent more time playing sports and partying than studying.
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Ed O'Neill transferred to Youngstown State University, where he lettered as a defensive lineman from 1967 to 1968.
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Ed O'Neill said that his team was penalized 15 yards when he hit Staubach out of bounds.
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Ed O'Neill worked as a substitute social studies teacher at his alma mater Ursuline High School before becoming an actor.
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Ed O'Neill re-enrolled at Youngstown State after being cut by the Steelers and was one of the first students at the school's new theater program.
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Richard Eder of The New York Times described the performance as "chilling" adding, "As Paddy Klonski, the brutal young boxer, Edward Ed O'Neill's towering physique, peaceful smile and empty eyes form a genuinely frightening presence".
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Ed O'Neill made a brief guest appearance in The Equalizer.
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Ed O'Neill received good reviews for his performance, and the pilot received positive ratings, but the series was not picked up for production.
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Ed O'Neill won the part because, during the audition, he simply slumped his shoulders and sighed as he was about to walk through the front door of the home.
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Ed O'Neill had small parts in the comedy films Wayne's World, and Wayne's World 2.
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Ed O'Neill appeared as Relish the Troll King in The 10th Kingdom.
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Ed O'Neill took roles in the drama films Prefontaine, The Spanish Prisoner, and The Bone Collector.
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Ed 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 in 1994.
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Ed O'Neill appeared in the movie The Adventures of Ford Fairlane with Andrew Dice Clay.
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Ed O'Neill went on to appear as Governor Eric Baker, a recurring character on the NBC political drama series The West Wing from 2004 to 2005.
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Ed O'Neill played Bill on HBO's television series John from Cincinnati.
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In 2008, Ed O'Neill appeared in an advertisement for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama as "Al the Shoesalesman".
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For eleven seasons Ed O'Neill played the role of Jay Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family from 2009 to 2020.
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Ed O'Neill won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series four times from 2010 through 2013.
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Since 2012, Ed 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.
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In 2016, Ed O'Neill starred as Hank the Octopus in the Pixar animated film Finding Dory.
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Ed O'Neill starred in FX on Hulu miniseries Clipped portraying Donald Sterling.
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Club stated, "Ed O'Neill gives a skilled performance as a truly reprehensible human being".
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In December 2007, after 16 years of training, Ed O'Neill received his black belt.
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On May 18,2013, Ed O'Neill was the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from his alma mater, Youngstown State University.
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Ed O'Neill received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 30,2011, ironically located in front of a shoe store.