What Happened To Them?: The Cast of ‘Married…With Children’

The intro to Married With Children used to scare me. Not for any legit reason. I just knew that when the fountain went off and Frank Sinatra’s signature voice hit my ears, I had to either change the channel or run out of the room. Married With Children was one of the two shows my parents forbade me to see. Since I was too young to understand why, I immediately jumped to the worst conclusions. “There must be NAKED people on it.”

Of course there weren’t. I mean, it wasn’t on HBO. Simply put, my parents didn’t care much for the characters, and didn’t think it was appropriate viewing for a child. Maybe that’s why when I started watching reruns in my 20’s, I felt like “an adult”. The show focuses around Al Bundy, a shoe salesman who isn’t very satisfied with his life, and aired for 11 seasons. Currently, Married With Children is the longest-lasting live-action sitcom on the Fox network.

So – Where’s the cast today?

Ed O’Neill as Al Bundy

Al used to daydream about his high school football days, and Ed could probably relate. In 1969, Ed was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was cut in training camp.

Ed has been quite busy since the show wrapped. He was cast as Sgt. Joe Friday in the remake of Dragnet, but the show didn’t get to finish off its second season. The cancellation allowed him to film a few episodes of The West Wing, where he played Governor Eric Baker. In 2007, he was cast in the series John from Cincinnati, which aired for ten episodes. You can see Ed today as Jay Pritchett, the husband of Sofia Vergara’s character on Modern Family. The show started in 2009 and based on the fact that it’s one of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms today, it’ll probably be on air for quite some time.

In between sitcoms, Ed has also done some vocal work. He was featured in the 2012 movie Wreck-It Ralph, and also voiced Orson in The Penguins of Madagascar.

Just recently, he became a spokesperson for Zyrtec – but don’t worry, 1-800 COLLECT. I’m sure Ed still has a place in his heart for you, as well.

Katey Sagal as Peggy Bundy

If you only know Katey from the show, you’ll be shocked at what she looks like outside of the big red wig. Katey’s first major role was as a newspaper columnist in the series Mary, and after a few brief acting gigs, she was cast as Al’s lovable yet annoying wife.

She appeared in a few TV movies in the late 90’s before appearing on a few short-lived sitcoms. She got her start with vocal work in 1997 with the cartoon Recess, and started voicing Leela on the show Futurama from 1999 until today, after a brief hiatus with the show’s production. (In short, it was cancelled and resurrected based on the fact that it’s just too darn good.)

Katey’s voice has always been important to her – In 1973, she worked as a backing vocalist for various singers, including Bob Dylan. She has since released two CDs.

Katey also starred as Cate Hennessey in the show 8 Simple Rules for three years, and then appeared in a few episodes of Boston Legal in 2006. Fans of LOST might have recognized Katey in her brief role as Helen Norwood. After the finale in 2010, she appeared on the TV series Chadam, and then found major success with the show Sons of Anarchy, where she’s currently playing the character of Gemma Teller Morrow.

David Faustino as Bud Bundy

Bud was the sole Bundy to attend college, but labeling him the smartest in the house didn’t say too much. The role was one of David’s first roles, after a few bit parts in other family sitcoms.

David has worked steadily in some capacity ever since. In 2004, he played Adam Ridgeway in the short-lived TV series The Help, and had a bit part in the 2006 stoner comedy Puff, Puff, Pass. Ironically, he might have researched his role a bit too hard, as he was arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana in May of 2007. In 2009, David created the show Star-ving, which was a web series modeled loosely off of his own life. He had better luck in 2011 when he appeared on the show Winx Club: Enchantix. This year, he booked the role of Wendell in the Netflix original series Bad Samaritans.

Oh – and did I mention he’s a rapper? Here’s the video for his one released hit, called “I Told Ya”. And it’s probably not safe for work.

Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy

Christina didn’t wait long to find another sitcom. In 1998, she starred in the TV series Jesse, which focused around the life of a single mother. After the show wrapped, she took on the role of Rachel’s “other” sister on a few episodes of Friends, but really flew back in the spotlight after playing the female lead, Veronica Corningstone, in the Will Ferrell movie Anchorman.

She turned back to television in 2007, by starring in the ABC comedy Samantha Who? alongside fellow funnyperson Melissa McCarthy. In 2011, she played Grace in the movie Hall Pass, and then jumped onto the cast of the NBC show Up All Night, which she left after some weird changes were proposed by production. (Pretty much, the show would be completely retooled after their two semi-successful seasons) She recently lent her voice to the character Catherine the Cat in the 3-D movie Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore – and put blame on her mother when asked why she took the role.

Christina is also a breast cancer survivor, after being diagnosed in 2008. Luckily, it was caught based on early detection, and she’s currently cancer free. Following her diagnosis she appeared on the television special Stand Up to Cancer, designed to raise funds for cancer research.

You can catch Christina in the very much anticipated sequel to Anchorman, called Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Amanda Bearse as Marcy D’Arcy

Not only was Marcy a neighbor, but she was Peggy’s best friend. Amanda was behind the camera as well during the run of the show, directing over thirty episodes. She continued directing after the show ended, on shows like Reba, MadTV, Jesse (yes – Christina’s show!) and Dharma and Greg. She came out as a lesbian in 1993, which made her one of the few “out” celebrities of her time.

In 2011, Amanda was in two episodes of Drop Dead Diva, playing Judge Jodi Corliss. She also appeared on an episode of Charlie Sheen’s show Anger Management this year. She also directed the Logo network’s Big Gay Sketch Show.

Ted McGinley as Jefferson D’Arcy

Marcy wasn’t sure how she ended up with Jefferson (alcohol was a part of the night they met and married) but he stuck around for the end of the series – so while he was seen as a lazy guy who was primarily interested in Marcy’s money, there had to be some love there. Right? Right?! (Maybe not. He did seem kind of mean spirited.)

Ted was cast in his first role as Roger Phillips on Happy Days after being discovered by a casting agent due to his modeling career. Before joining the cast of Married With Children, he played the lead jock in the film Revenge of the Nerds.

In 1998, he was cast on the show SportsNight playing Dana’s boyfriend Gordon, and was also on a few episodes of The West Wing in the early 2000’s. In 2004, he played Charley Shanowskion the TV series Hope & Faith. Since then, he’s starred in a billion TV Movies and was also on an episode of Mad Men. You might remember seeing him on the 2008 season of Dancing With The Stars – but sadly, he didn’t secure a win.

Oddly enough, Ted is known as being the king of “shark-jumping”. That is – when shows bring Ted on board, there’s a good chance they might get cancelled soon. From an article on SheKnows.Com:

What are some of your favorite episodes? Were you also banned from watching as a kid? Are you upset that I included the ellipses in the title, but not the rest of the article? Share your thoughts about this classic show below!

Image Credits: Featured,O’Neill, Sagal, Faustino, Applegate, Bearse,