He is best-known as Joey Tribbiani in the award-winning sitcom, Friends. However, before winning his best role to date, Matt LeBlanc made his acting start on Married With Children in 1991. Still very much the ladies man, LeBlanc was cast for the recurring role as Kelly’s on and off boyfriend, Vinnie Verducci. LeBlanc was also cast for both of the spinoff series to Married With Children called, Top of the Heap, and Vinnie and Bobby. However, both shows were short-lived and failed to secure much success.

Ted McGinley appeared as Jefferson D’Arcy on Married With Children from 1989 to 1987. However, during his time on the show, McGinley became bothered that his character was not as tough and manly as he would have hoped for him to be and mentioned this to the writers. Fortunately, the writers listened to his complaint and decided to give the actor a secret agent role in the show. It was implied that D’Arcy had a past life as a former spy/CIA operative.

Ed O’Neil was the real star of the show, playing the character of the women’s shoe salesman and father of the family, Al Bundy, and the actor certainly took his role seriously. O’Neil was the only actor from the cast of Married With Children to be in every single episode from when it first aired in 1987. That means he was in a total of 11 seasons and a staggering 259 episodes! It is no wonder that everyone can remember Al Bundy when they think of the show.

Peggy’s character could not have been played by anyone other than Katey Sagal. That is because Sagal was the one who came up with Peggy Bundy’s style. The actress had turned up to her audition for the role with her own style for the character in mind and showed up dressed as a cocktail waitress. It was the vibe that Sagal was giving off, and had the style she had picked, that won the casting team over. Just like that, Sagal was the chosen woman for the job!

Alongside Ed O’Neil, there was another loyal character that showed up to work every day. While he may not have been considered as part of the leading actors, his presence cannot be forgotten. This was, of course, Buck, the dog. Buck showed up to work every single day and was loyal to the very end, not missing a single day till the tenth season. As he got older, however, it was clear that it was time for Buck to retire, and Buck sadly died in 1996 at the age of 13.

We could not quite possibly imagine another cast fulfilling the role of The Bundy family, but that was nearly the case when it came to the characters of Kelly and Bud Bundy. In the unaired pilot of Married with children, these characters were initially played by Tina Caspary and Hunter Carson. The producers could not have been too happy with the episode since the actors were then replaced with Applegate and David for when the series eventually aired on-screen.

The youngest son, Bud Bundy, also known as Grandmaster B, released an album in 1992 titled, “D’Lil Balistyx.” The actor who played Bud was David Faustino, and since the show was very interested in input from the cast, they allowed Faustino to design the character’s bedroom. Faustino was true to his character and his passion, so he decorated his bedroom with posters of rap artists such as Ice Cube and Nas. All the signs of a true aspiring musician.

When you picture the character of Kelly in Married With Children, there is no missing out the fact that she was the blonde beauty. For that reason, the hair and make-up team had Christina Applegate, the actress who played Kelly, wear a blonde wig for most of season 10. The reason was because the actress had dyed her hair red for her role in the film, Nowhere. There was no way writers could fathom having Kelly with red hair in Married With Children, so a wig it was!

When Kelly revealed the number of the Bundy household, many fans thought they would try their luck at calling the phone number. To much surprise, the number was actually 555-2878, and many lucky fans managed to get through to the Bundys. Her reveal meant that the number got a ton of calls, and it is most likely that production had to change the phone number or disconnect their phone! Now you know, sometimes not everything is just for the script!

Just as the phone number was real on Married With Children, so was the famous cottage in which the Bundys lived on the show. The family’s house can be found in Deerfield, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. With such a big fan base, the house has become a spot favorite for fans of the show, and many visit the cottage. Similarly, the gorgeous fountain featured in the opening credits is actually the Buckingham Fountain in downtown Chicago that diehard fans always visit.

While it was a devastating day for many fans upon discovering that Married With Children had been canceled after 11 seasons, it came as more of a shock to the actors on the show. Ed O’Neil only found out about the cancellation of the show while on vacation and overheard a couple discussing the announcement in the newspaper, which explained the show was ending. Meanwhile, Christina Applegate found out through friends! It seems like the show forgot to mention the important news to their actors.

As the show became increasingly popular as the years went on, it became apparent that it would cost more for television stations to run the show. By the eleventh season, rerunning the show would cost TV stations a whopping $1 million per episode, and this was not feasible at the time. Ed O’Neil figured it was this high cost that is what led to the eventual cancellation of the show. Since it was so unexpected, this made the most sense.

Just as Married With Children was so popular, so was the theme tune for the series. Anyone who knows the show would also know the song “Love And Marriage.” However, many may not know that this was originally recorded by none other than Frank Sinatra. It was released on the 1956 record, This Is Sinatra, and was later chosen to become the theme song. Not too bad to have a Sinatra song as your show’s theme tune for the opening credits.

Christina Applegate became widely known as Kelly Bundy after her role on Married With Children, but it seems the actress shared something in common with her on-screen character. In fact, Kelly and Christina share the same birthday! Their birthday is November 25, 1971, but it is unknown if this is a coincidence or if Applegate requested it. After all, Applegate must have got called Kelly many times during and after this role, so she may as well have something similar to her.

Ed O’Neil must have got quite the surprise when on vacation and discovering that Married With Children was canceled. However, he faced the reality head-on and even came up with an ending for the show. He requested that the show finishes with the Bundy’s winning the lottery and then getting hit by a tornado. After all, this was a perfect reflection of their time on the show, having been so lucky with being cast for their roles, but then having it suddenly taken away from them!

The cast of Married With Children liked to get their family in on the action, and some family members got the honor of guest starring alongside their loved ones in some of the episodes. Ed O’Neil’s wife Catherine Rusoff guest starred on the show a couple of times throughout the series and came back as a different character each time. Christina Applegate’s mother, Nancy Priddy, also guest starred in an episode of the series in 1989 as Mrs. Whiteman.

Originally first broadcasted in April 1997, Married… With Children has remained a true television classic. Having ended in 1997, it marked the longest-lasting live-action sitcom on Fox, but there were some secrets the show kept from their dedicated audience. We knew Al Bundy had a daughter called Kelly and a son named Bud, but we rarely heard Bud’s full name during the show. His full name was, in fact, Budrick Franklin Bundy. You could probably count yourself a true fan if you knew that one.

David Garrison landed his best-known role as Steve Rhoades on Married With Children in 1987. His character was the next door neighbor of the Bundy family, and Garrison was actually the first cast member to be signed to the show. However, after four seasons the actor realized he missed performing live in theater and chose to leave the show. His exit meant he was the only original cast member to leave the show. However, he left on good terms and returned four times.

After just three episodes, family values activist Terry Rakolta created an entire campaign against the show as she was so offended by the show’s content. Although she hoped his campaign would drop funding, it actually received so much attention, that the ratings went up! To show their gratitude for how his work helped their show, the producers would send Terry a bouquet of flowers every year when the show was renewed for yet another season.

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You would think that any animosity on-screen between actors was on purpose and written into the script for the sake of the show. However, this was not the case for Ed O’Neil and Amanda Bearse who played the Bundy’s neighbor, Marcy Rhoades D’Arcy. In fact, while the characters on the show did not like each other very much, the actors themselves did not get along very well off-screen either. This means their angry scenes were pretty natural!

They are the famous Bundy family who are known by name after appearing on our screens for so long during the 90’s. However, there is meaning behind the Bundy name used for the famous characters on the show. While many fans believe the Bundy family were named after the serial killer, Ted Bundy, this could not be farther from the truth. In fact, the famous family was named after wrestler, King Kong Bundy, who even guest starred in two episodes of the series.

While filing for Married With Children, many of the show’s stars had other acting gigs on the side, including movie roles. During his time on the show, Ed O’Neil was also cast to star in the film Dutch, and the Married With Children writers decided to include mention of this in the show. While playing Al Bundy, and not the character from Dutch, the film was mentioned twice on Married With Children. A great marketing ploy by the actor there!

According to the LA Times, Married With Children was meant to have a different name. During pre-production, the title was originally, Nod To The Cosbys, as a tribute to the well-adored show at the time. Considering it was a completely different series and not a spin-off show, it is good they went with their own name so that it was not affiliated with the other sitcom. Fortunately, the show managed to get their own fans without having to rely on Cosby fans.

With the overall success of Married With Children with its 11 seasons running, it is no surprise that other producers tried to have their own version of the hit show. The United Kingdom tried their own version and called it, Married For Life. You may be wondering why you probably had not heard of this version, and that is because, and unsurprisingly, it was not nearly as successful. Rather, it ran for only seven weeks before it became apparent that it was not going to work out.

You might choose not to believe this, but we swear it is true! David Faustino, who plays Bud Bundy in the show, actually had a short phase as a rap artist. Not only did he release an album called Balistyx, but he also co-founded a nightclub of the same name. According to him, the club was “the first hip-hop/funk club on the Sunset Strip. The club officially capped off with a 1993 New Year’s Eve Party at The Roxy.

You might not realize it, but Peggy Bundy herself, Katey Sagal, is actually a huge philanthropist. One of her most recent charitable efforts came in June 2016 during the tragic Orlando nightclub shooting. As part of a group effort, Sagal helped release a Human Rights Campaign to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting. A total of 49 celebrities took part in the video, which also included the likes of Kerry Washington, Chris Pine, Lady Gaga and Lea Michele, to name a few.

Believe it or not, but Steve Rhoades has been spending a lot of time outside of Married…With Children performing spells and creating potions! That’s right, David Garrison was the first performer to portray The Wizard in the classic theater production Wicked, when it first began in 2005. It was only a year before the show ended up on Broadway and Garrison reprised his role as The Wizard. He has performed on touring companies in Chicago, L.A., and San Francisco as well.

He might seem like a big old softy, but Ed O’Neill is actually a pretty lethal individual. His friend John Milius ended up introducing the actor to the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And just like that, O’Neill was obsessed and has been training under the tutelage of Rorion Gracie for over 22 years. It’s been over a decade now since O’Neill earned his black belt. He called it “the greatest achievement of my life, apart from my children.”

Married…With Children became such a huge show at one point, that people wanted to decorate their houses with posters of the show! An absolute ton of merchandise came out during the show’s heyday and you can still find stuff online. Everything from board games and books to action figurines and comics was in heavy circulation when the show had its highest viewership. You could kick back, drink your coffee from your Married…With Children coffee cup while reading the comic!

The leading actress of the show, Katey Sagal, was pregnant three times during the filming of the show, but the viewers would have no idea. When she first became pregnant, it was written into the storyline, but unfortunately, Sagal miscarried, and writers changed the script to make her pregnancy seem like it was a dream. Her following two pregnancies were purposely not included in the script after her previous stillbirth, and her pregnancies were hidden from the audience. Meanwhile, Sagal had given birth to children Sarah Grace and Jackson James.

It is no surprise that production nearly went with the former title for the show considering much of those working on Married With Children were serious Cosby fans. Since the shows were around at the same time, The Cosby Show certainly had an impact on them, and they decided to name one of the characters in the series after a former Cosby affiliation. The character Marcy D’Arsy was named as a tribute to the Executive Producer of The Cosby Show called Marcy Carsey.

For such a successful sitcom, it may come as a surprise that the budget for the show started off extremely low. In fact, it was so low that even the cast and staff on Married With Children had to buy items for the show as opposed to production providing it. This was the case in one of the early episodes when Buck went shopping, and it was fellow cast members that covered the bill. This would never be the case for a successful TV sitcom these days!

As one of TV’s favorite sitcoms, even over twenty years later, it is hard to believe that Married With Children never received an Emmy during its years on the air. Even as the longest standing sitcom on the Fox network, it was never awarded the honor of an Emmy. This title was taken from them by Baywatch in 2001 who became the longest running show without ever receiving an Emmy Award. We’re not entirely sure who to blame for this exactly, but we think there were some serious errors in judgement made.

Katey Sagal may have played the best Peggy Bundy we could have imagined, but she was not the initial choice. In fact, FOX had originally offered the role to another leading lady, which was none other than, Roseanne Barr. Probably a good thing that she turned it down, however, since a year later, her own show, Roseanne, premiered and ran through the entire time Married With Children was on the air. Now that is a show we would not have liked to have missed.

While we do not even want to put the image in your mind that anyone other than Ed O’Neil could have played Al Bundy on Married With Children, the reality is that it could have been someone else. In fact, Sam Kinison was initially supposed to play the character on the show, but the role eventually, and thankfully, went to O’Neil. Rather, Married With Children ended up casting Kinison as Al’s guardian angel in a few episodes on the show.

While you may argue you knew everything there is to know about Married With Children, including famous scenes and lines, there are some things that writers and producers kept secret from their audience, as well as their cast members!

We knew Al Bundy had a daughter called Kelly and a son named Bud, but we rarely heard Bud’s full name… It was, in fact, Budrick Franklin Bundy. You could probably count yourself a true fan if you knew that one!

According to the LA Times, Married With Children was meant to have a different name. During pre-production, the title was originally Nod To The Cosbys, as a tribute to the well-adored show at the time. Considering it was a completely different series and not a spin-off show, it is good they went with their own name so that it was not affiliated with the other sitcom. Fortunately, the show managed to get their own fans without having to rely on Cosby fans.

Just as Married With Children was so popular, so was the theme tune for the series. Anyone who knows the show would also know the song “Love And Marriage.” However, many may not know that this was originally recorded by none other than Frank Sinatra. It was released on the 1956 record, This Is Sinatra, and was later chosen to become the theme song. Not too bad to have a Sinatra song as your show’s theme tune for the opening credits.

It is no surprise that production nearly went with the former title for the show considering much of those working on Married With Children were serious Cosby fans. Since the shows were around at the same time, The Cosby Show certainly had an impact on them, and they decided to name one of the characters in the series after a former Cosby affiliation. The character Marcy D’Arsy was named as a tribute to the Executive Producer of The Cosby Show called Marcy Carsey.

While filming for Married With Children, many of the show’s stars had other acting gigs on the side, including movie roles. During his time on the show, Ed O’Neil was also cast to star in the film Dutch, and the Married With Children writers decided to include mention of this in the show. While playing Al Bundy, and not the character from Dutch, the film was mentioned twice on Married With Children. A great marketing ploy by the actor there!

After just three episodes, family values activist Terry Rakolta created an entire campaign against the show as she was so offended by the show’s content. Although she hoped her campaign would drop funding for the show, it actually received so much attention that the ratings went up! To show their gratitude for how her work helped their show, the producers would send Terry a bouquet of flowers every year when the show was renewed for yet another season.

Peggy’s character could not have been played by anyone other than Katey Sagal. That is because Sagal was the one who came up with Peggy Bundy’s style. The actress had turned up to her audition for the role with her own style for the character in mind and showed up dressed as a cocktail waitress. It was the vibe that Sagal was giving off and the style she had picked, that won the casting team over. Just like that, Sagal was the chosen woman for the job!

Ted McGinley appeared as Jefferson D’Arcy on Married With Children from 1989 to 1987. However, during his time on the show, McGinley became bothered that his character was not as tough and manly as he would have hoped for him to be and mentioned this to the writers. Fortunately, the writers listened to his complaint and decided to give the actor a secret agent role in the show. It was implied that D’Arcy had a past life as a former spy/CIA operative.

Ed O’Neil was the real star of the show, playing the character of the women’s shoe salesman and father of the family, Al Bundy, and the actor certainly took his role seriously. O’Neil was the only actor from the cast of Married With Children to be in every single episode from when it first aired in 1987. That means he was in a total of 11 seasons and a staggering 259 episodes! It is no wonder that everyone can remember Al Bundy when they think of the show.

Alongside Ed O’Neil, there was another loyal character that showed up to work every day. While he may not have been considered as part of the leading actors, his presence cannot be forgotten. This was, of course, Buck, the dog. Buck showed up to work every single day and was loyal to the very end, not missing a single day till the tenth season. As he got older, however, it was clear that it was time for Buck to retire, and Buck sadly died in 1996 at the age of 13.

With the overall success of Married With Children with its 11 seasons running, it is no surprise that other producers tried to have their own version of the hit show. The United Kingdom tried their own version and called it, Married For Life. You may be wondering why you probably had not heard of this version, and that is because, unsurprisingly, it was not nearly as successful. Rather, it ran for only seven weeks before it became apparent that it was not going to work out.

The youngest son, Bud Bundy, also known as Grandmaster B, released an album in 1992 titled, “D’Lil Balistyx”. The actor who played Bud was David Faustino, and since the show was very interested in input from the cast, they allowed Faustino to design the character’s bedroom. Faustino was true to his character and his passion, so he decorated his bedroom with posters of rap artists such as Ice Cube and Nas. All the signs of a true aspiring musician.

As the show became increasingly popular as the years went on, it became apparent that it would cost more for television stations to run the show. By the eleventh season, rerunning the show would cost TV stations a whopping $1 million per episode, and this was not feasible at the time. Ed O’Neil figured it was this high cost that is what led to the eventual cancellation of the show. Since it was so unexpected, this made the most sense.

They are the famous Bundy family who are known by name after appearing on our screens for so long during the ’90s. However, there is meaning behind the Bundy name used for the famous characters on the show. While many fans believe the Bundy family were named after the serial killer, Ted Bundy, this could not be farther from the truth. In fact, the famous family was named after wrestler, King Kong Bundy, who even guest-starred in two episodes of the series.

He is best-known as Joey Tribbiani in the award-winning sitcom, Friends. However, before winning his best role to date, Matt LeBlanc made his acting start on Married With Children in 1991. Still very much the ladies man, LeBlanc was cast for the recurring role as Kelly’s on and off boyfriend, Vinnie Verducci. LeBlanc was also cast for both of the spinoff series to Married With Children called, Top of the Heap, and Vinnie and Bobby. However, both shows were short-lived and failed to secure much success.

Just as the phone number was real on Married With Children, so was the famous cottage in which the Bundys lived on the show. The family’s house can be found in Deerfield, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. With such a big fan base, the house has become a spot favorite for fans of the show, and many visit the cottage. Similarly, the gorgeous fountain featured in the opening credits is actually the Buckingham Fountain in downtown Chicago that diehard fans always visit.

When you picture the character of Kelly in Married With Children, there is no missing out the fact that she was the blonde beauty. For that reason, the hair and make-up team had Christina Applegate, the actress who played Kelly, wear a blonde wig for most of season 10. The reason was that the actress had dyed her hair red for her role in the film, Nowhere. There was no way writers could fathom having Kelly with red hair in Married With Children, so a wig it was!

While it was a devastating day for many fans upon discovering that Married With Children had been canceled after 11 seasons, it came as more of a shock to the actors on the show. Ed O’Neil only found out about the cancellation of the show while on vacation and overheard a couple discussing the announcement in the newspaper, which explained the show was ending. Meanwhile, Christina Applegate found out through friends! It seems like the show forgot to mention the important news to their actors.

Ed O’Neil must have got quite the surprise when on vacation and discovering that Married With Children was canceled. However, he faced the reality head-on and even came up with an ending for the show. He requested that the show finishes with the Bundy’s winning the lottery and then getting hit by a tornado. After all, this was a perfect reflection of their time on the show, having been so lucky with being cast for their roles, but then having it suddenly taken away from them!

For such a successful sitcom, it may come as a surprise that the budget for the show started off extremely low. In fact, it was so low that even the cast and staff on Married With Children had to buy items for the show as opposed to production providing it. This was the case in one of the early episodes when Buck went shopping, and it was fellow cast members that covered the bill. This would never be the case for a successful TV sitcom these days!

As one of TV’s favorite sitcoms, even over twenty years later, it is hard to believe that Married With Children never received an Emmy during its years on the air. Even as the longest-standing sitcom on the Fox network, it was never awarded the honor of an Emmy. This title was taken from them by Baywatch in 2001 who became the longest-running show without ever receiving an Emmy Award. We’re not entirely sure who to blame for this exactly, but we think there were some serious errors in judgment.

David Garrison landed his best-known role as Steve Rhoades on Married With Children in 1987. His character was the next-door neighbor of the Bundy family, and Garrison was actually the first cast member to be signed to the show. However, after four seasons the actor realized he missed performing live in theater and chose to leave the show. His exit meant he was the only original cast member to leave the show. However, he left on good terms and returned four times.

The leading actress of the show, Katey Sagal, was pregnant three times during the filming of the show, but the viewers would have no idea. When she first became pregnant, it was written into the storyline, but unfortunately, Sagal miscarried, and writers changed the script to make her pregnancy seem like it was a dream. Her following two pregnancies were purposely not included in the script after her previous stillbirth, and her pregnancies were hidden from the audience. Meanwhile, Sagal had given birth to children Sarah Grace and Jackson James.

The cast of Married With Children liked to get their family in on the action, and some family members got the honor of guest-starring alongside their loved ones in some of the episodes. Ed O’Neil’s wife Catherine Rusoff guest-starred on the show a couple of times throughout the series and came back as a different character each time. Christina Applegate’s mother, Nancy Priddy, also guest-starred in an episode of the series in 1989 as Mrs. Whiteman.

Christina Applegate became widely known as Kelly Bundy after her role on Married With Children, but it seems the actress shared something in common with her on-screen character. In fact, Kelly and Christina share the same birthday! Their birthday is November 25, 1971, but it is unknown if this is a coincidence or if Applegate requested it. After all, Applegate must have got called Kelly many times during and after this role, so she may as well have something similar to her.

We could not quite possibly imagine another cast fulfilling the role of the Bundy family, but that was nearly the case when it came to the characters of Kelly and Bud Bundy. In the unaired pilot of Married With Children, these characters were initially played by Tina Caspary and Hunter Carson. The producers could not have been too happy with the episode since the actors were then replaced with Applegate and David when the series eventually aired on-screen.

Katey Sagal may have played the best Peggy Bundy we could have imagined, but she was not the initial choice. In fact, FOX had originally offered the role to another leading lady, which was none other than, Roseanne Barr. Probably a good thing that she turned it down since a year later her own show, Roseanne, premiered and ran through the entire time Married With Children was on the air. Now that is a show we would not have liked to have missed.

While we do not even want to put the image in your mind that anyone other than Ed O’Neil could have played Al Bundy on Married With Children, the reality is that it could have been someone else. In fact, Sam Kinison was initially supposed to play the character on the show, but the role eventually, and thankfully, went to O’Neil. Rather, Married With Children ended up casting Kinison as Al’s guardian angel in a few episodes on the show.

When Kelly revealed the number of the Bundy household, many fans thought they would try their luck at calling the phone number. To much surprise, the number was actually 555-2878, and many lucky fans managed to get through to the Bundys. Her reveal meant that the number got a ton of calls, and it is most likely that production had to change the phone number or disconnect their phone! Now you know, sometimes not everything is just for the script!

You would think that any animosity on-screen between actors was on purpose and written into the script for the sake of the show. However, this was not the case for Ed O’Neil and Amanda Bearse who played the Bundy’s neighbor, Marcy Rhoades D’Arcy. In fact, while the characters on the show did not like each other very much, the actors themselves did not get along very well off-screen either. This means their angry scenes were pretty natural!