Married with Children was a TV comedy series that ran for 11 seasons from 1987 to 1997. The comedy was about a dysfunctional family that lived in the Chicago suburbs. The Fox TV show generated many fans due to it’s original brand of offensive humor. Much of America will never forget this hilarious family, so let’s see what they are up to now a days.
The pilot of Married with Children actually features different actors than the ones we all know and love. The unaired episode actress Tina Caspary played Kelly Bundy and Hunter Carson played Bud. By the time the show would begin though both actors would be replaced. Hard to imagine that Kelly was originally a brunette!
An Episode Aired 13 Years Later
There was an episode of Married with Children that did not air until 13 years after it was made. The episode was originally set to air in 1989 but was found to be too controversial at the time, so it was not shown until 2002. When the episode finally aired it was on the FX channel in edited format.
Both Spin-off Attempts Failed
After Married with Children ended in 1997, there were a few spin-offs that were created, but they never were successful. Since the show had so much success it was only logical to attempt to use it’s success to try and make more, but both spin-off attempts failed miserably. One show only lasted 6 episodes while the other never made it past the pilot episode.
David Garrison
David Garrison played the role of Steve Rhoades on Married with Children. The actor played the role of Marcy’s husband. Garrison would end up leaving the show to return to working in the theater, although he has made quite a few guest appearances on several TV shows. When he decided to leave the role as the neighbor of the Bundy’s it came as quite the shock to most people.
Al Bundy
The character of Al Bundy actually resembled some of the friends and family of actor Ed O’ Neill. The actor used some of his uncles and an old friend from his high school football days as inspiration. Unfortunately for the people he used as inspiration, they were never able to see it as they all lived in areas that did not have the Fox network. Hopefully they got a chance to see the re-runs or purchase them on cassette or DVD.
Ed O’Neil
Ed O’ Neill has made quite the name for himself since staring on the show that launched him to stardom. He has had a few small roles on the big screen and is currently staring in one of televisions most popular TV shows, Modern Family. In that show he get’s to play the husband of the much younger and extremely beautiful Sofia Vergara. Ed is just as hilarious in Modern Family as he was in Married with Children.
Peggy Bundy
Actress Katey Sagal was actually the person responsible for creating the image of Peggy Bundy coming up with the whole idea for her look all on her own. When she showed up for her audition she came looking exactly as she thought the character would look. The actress was able to create a character that fans still love and relate with today.
Katey Segal Earned Her Golden Globe Award
Katey Segal played the role of Peggy Bundy on the show Married with Children and nailed the role. No one will ever forget the voice, hair, or heels that helped make Peggy who she was. Since the show ended Katey has stayed busy with roles on TV shows such as Boston Legal and Futurama as well as a staring role on Sons of Anarchy which earned her a Golden Globe award.
Kelly Bundy
Kelly Bundy was one of the most liked characters on the show, other than Al Bundy of course. Her sexy look and hot fashion sense captured the hearts of many male viewers who came back wanting to see more of her. This role launched Christina Applegate’s career and to this day she attributes her success with Kelly Bundy, saying that “this character helped my career in more ways than one. For that, I am forever thankful.”
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate played the role of the beautiful and ditsy Kelly Bundy on Married with Children. She has since gone on to star in many hit comedy movies such as Anchorman, Anchorman 2, Vacation, and Bad Moms. Applegate has had an extremely successful career since leaving the show and has even overcome a battle with breast cancer in 2008.
Bud Bundy
Every fan remembers the character of Bud Bundy. The young brother who was always trying to hit on his sister’s friends or any girl that came in his path. From his pick up lines to his many attempts at closing the deal, Bud Bundy’s character gave us laughs for many years.
David Faustino
David Faustino played the role of Bud Bundy on Married with Children. After the series ended in 1997 David went on to work in animation. He has also been seen in the show Modern Family where he made a guest appearance, although his character unfortunately never had any interaction with his former father and current cast member of Modern Family, Ed O’Neill. Most of his success however has come from doing voice-overs for networks such as Nickelodeon.
They Bundy Family
Since Married with Children has gone off the air, the entire Bundy family has gone on to have great success in Hollywood with successful movie and TV careers. For over a decade, this family and their pup Buck brought laughs to millions of homes across America. Their re-runs are still aired and watched today and the show will continue to live on as a timeless classic.
Success For All
Since Married with Children has gone off the air, the entire Bundy family has gone on to have great success in Hollywood with successful movie and TV careers. For over a decade, this family and their pup Buck brought laughs to millions of homes across America. Their re-runs are still aired and watched today and the show will continue to live on as a timeless classic.
Peggy & Al
Even though it is difficult for most of us to imagine the roles of Peggy and Al Bundy going to anyone else, originally O’Neill and Sagal were almost not cast for the roles of the married couple. At first it was actors Sam Kinison and Roseanne Barr that were cast for the parts, but they both turned down the roles holding out for a role on the big screen. Everything turned out exactly as it was supposed to cause without these two the show would not have been the hit that it was!
Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Ed O’ Neill’s star on the Hollywood walk of fame ended up being placed in a very coincidental location. Believe it or not, his star is directly in front of a shoe store which many will remember is where the character Al Bundy spent his entire working career as a shoe salesman. And a horrible one at that who was constantly telling fat girls just how fat they were in very hilarious manners. Hos star was honored in 2011.
The Bundy’s
Married with Children originally had a very small budget set for the show. The budget was so small in fact that several of the props used in the show were brought from the homes of the cast members. Actress Katey Sagal used her real hair all the way through the 3rd season. It was not until the 4th and after that she was able to use a wig.
Marcy D’Arcy
Marcy D’Arcy was known as the annoying neighbor who had a strong hatred for Al Bundy. The two could never seem to get along, which made for entertaining comedy. The character of Marcy was a fan favorite as they loved seeing her and Al get into it episode after episode.
Amanda Bearse
Amanda Bearse played the role of Marcy Rhoades on Married with Children. Since playing the role of the next door neighbor of the Bundy’s and Peggy’s close friend, Bearse has become a very in-demand director, directing shows such as Dharma and Greg, Reba, and The Jamie Foxx Show. She also went on to become the first actress to announce publicly that she was gay.
Jefferson D’Arcy
The character of Jefferson D’Arcy was originally portrayed as more of a wuss so McGinley complained until the character was changed to have a more tough demeanor. As a result the character was given the background of a secret agent. It ended up being just what the show needed as it provided a very unique and interesting story line.
Ted McGinley
Ted McGinley played the role of Jefferson D’arcy on Married with Children. He has since appeared on the hot TV series Dancing with the Stars. After Garrison left the show, McGinley was brought in to play the role of Mary’s new and even funnier husband. He quickly became a fan favorite on the show playing on of Al’s closest buds.
Theme Song
The person to sing the theme song at the beginning of every episode of Married with Children was almost sung by none other than Frank Sinatra. The “Love and Marriage” theme song was originally recorded for a show called Our Town and sung by Frankie. The song can be found on the album called This is Sinatra which was recorded in 1956.
Longest Running Show On Fox
Married with Children was the longest running show ever to air on Fox that was a live-action comedy. Fox had no idea how huge of a success the show would be when they first aired it in 1987. The series featured a total of 259 episodes making it the longest live action show ever to air on FOX even till today.
The Russian Version
Russian TV makers made a television show in Russia and remade every single episode of Married with Children. Yes, that is how popular the show was, Russia copied it and didn’t even try to hide the fact. The show was called Happy Together and found a new cast to refilm the entire series but in Russian. The cast as you can see somewhat resembles that of the original cast.
Roseanne Almost Played Peggy!
The Famous Cottage Is Real
The family’s house from the show’s introduction is actually a real house in Deerfield, Illinois 25 miles north of Chicago.
It’s Not A Dodge!
Although Al calls it his “Mighty Dodge” the car in the show is really a 1972 Plymouth Duster.
The Pilot
Kelly and Bud Bundy were originally played by Tina Caspary and Hunter Carson in the unaired pilot, and they were quickly both replaced by Applegate and David before the series went on to air.
Kramer Was Almost Cast
Michael Richards auditioned for the part of Al Bundy. But no one managed to embody the role as well as Ed O’Neill.
Bud Was A Real Life Rapper
Bud Bundy aka Grandmaster B, released an album as “D’Lil Balistyx” in 1992. Also, Bud Bundy’s room in the show was designed by David himself, including all the posters of artists like Nas and Ice Cube.
Jeff Darcey OO7
The actor, Ted Mcginley complained his character was turning into such a pansy, so the writers created a secret agent role for him.
Vinnie Made It To The Top
Matt LeBlanc guest starred as Kelly’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Vinnie. He also starred in the Married With Children spinoff Top of the Heap which failed.
The Cast’s Best Friend
Buck the dog was on the show from the day the show began until the day it ended. Sadly, he passed away at age 13 in 1996
Peg Wore A Wig
Peg’s hair was so large that she wore a wig. I the first seasons though due to the low budget they could not afford a wig and used her actual hair for this hairdo.
The UK Version
The UK also attempted their own version of ‘Married…With Children’. It was called ‘Married For Life’ and it ran for a measly 7 weeks.
A Fitting End
