Married… With Children is one of few shows that could find success with such a dark comedic plot line. It followed the life of the Bundy family, most specifically Al Bundy. Al is a miserable women’s’shoe salesman. Al’s wife, Peggy, is lazy, while his son Bud is dysfunctional and his daughter Kelly is dim-witted. The show gave us a fairly dated trope, where the husband blames his wife for his miserable life. Despite that, it also gave us someone of the most memorable families on TV and some of the best television actors.
To this day, Ed O’Neill is still going strong on our TV screens and he’s even gotten less cranky as time goes on! Katey Sagal has gone on to have a fairly prolific career, proving she can play more than just a lazy housewife. See what the cast of Married… With Children is up to now! And can you believe it has already been 20 years since this show aired its final episode in 1997? Insanity.
Christina Applegate Then:
Married… With Children Character: Kelly Bundy
Christina Applegate really did a great job playing into Kelly Bundy’s worst traits. Kelly was considered “the dumbest Bundy” and was notoriously promiscuous. It was suggested she got her stupidity from her father and her promiscuity from her mother. Like most teenagers, she very verbally displayed her hatred of her family. She even claimed being called a Bundy was a “fightable offense.” Though she often said she hated her family, she would put her own popularity in jeopardy to save them if they needed. Kelly Bundy was also known for her love of the Garfield comic strip.
Christina Applegate Now:
Since her days playing a dumb blonde, Christina Applegate has had a very successful film career. Some of her most notable film work being The Sweetest Thing, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Vacation, and Bad Moms. Along with working in film, she has also appeared on TV several times over the years, though none of her new shows like Jesse, Samantha Who?, or Up All Night have lasted much longer than a season. But she has managed to voice a famous chipmunk, Brittany, in the Alvin and the Chipmunk movies. In 2008, Christina revealed she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer and made the decision to get a double mastectomy.
David Faustino Then:
Married… With Children Character: Bud Bundy
What a name… Bud Bundy. Unfortunate name aside, he actually seems to be one of the only Bundy’s not impacted by the family curse, as he’s a smart kid. He was even smart enough to graduate high school (which was a big feat in the family) and then went on to attend college and even graduated from there too! Bud was even among a select few to have a chance to meet U.S. President George H.W. Bush. But he lost out when Al gave the money he needed for the trip to Kelly so she could buy a new dress. Despite his smarts, apparently, Bud Bundy’s first words as a baby were “Playboys! Hooters!”
David Faustino Now:
David Faustino grew up in front of our eyes on the show, only being 13 when the show first started. He went from a cute little boy to a full-fledged adult on the show. Since his days as Bud Bundy, David has been busy and predominantly on TV. A vast majority of his work has been voiceover, with him providing voices for characters on Winx Club, Dragons: Riders of Berk, The Legend of Korra, and much more. He recently appeared (shirtless!) on The Young and the Restless as Howard Green in 2017. David Faustino is also the host of Old Scratch Radio Sundays on Skee 24/7 on Dash Radio.
Ed O’Neill Then:
Married… With Children Character: Al Bundy
Al Bundy is one of those TV dads you never can quite forget. Maybe it is how he relentlessly tells his wife she’s part of the reason he’s unhappy (not cool) or maybe it was his constant moaning about the Bundy Curse. Either way, Ed O’Neill played Al Bundy with ease. Though, hopefully, he didn’t have the same hatred for women as his character did.
Al Bundy created the anti-feminist organization ‘NO MA’AM’ and recruited many of his friends. Al is best known for his complaining, as well as his constant reminiscing about the “good old days” when he played football in high school. Most specifically, he couldn’t stop retelling the story of when he scored four touchdowns in one game.
Ed O’Neill Now:
It comes as no surprise then that Ed has been busy playing another memorable patriarch on a new show. Since 2009, Ed O’Neill has been playing Jay Pritchett on Modern Family. Jay and Al have their differences, the biggest one being that Jay is rich and happily married. But Ed is great at playing a cranky dad, which is where Al and Jay are similar. Nowadays, Ed is just as well known for being Jay as he was for playing Al. Ed O’Neill has also worked on some critically acclaimed animated films, providing the voice for Mr. Litwak in Wreck-It-Ralph and Hank in Finding Dory.
Katey Sagal Then:
Married… With Children Character: Peggy Bundy
Unlike her TV husband, Peggy Bundy was a much more positive character. Though she was known for being lazy and having expensive taste, she did still try to be a caring mother and loving wife (but she still insulted her husband any chance she got). Peggy refused to cook or clean for her family. According to her, her laziness is part of her family’s tradition. She did sometimes work over the course of the 11-season show, but no career ever seemed to stick with Peggy. Katey Sagal has had a fairly legendary career since Married… With Children ended in 1997.
Katey Sagal Now:
Since the show ended 20 years ago, she has gone on to be a TV mom again several times and voiced a one-eyed alien. She was the voice of Turanga Leela on Futurama from 1999 to 2013, along with providing the character’s voice for all of the video games and shorts associated with the show. As a matriarch, she played Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules for three years (2002 to 2005) and Gemma Teller Morrow on Sons of Anarchy for six years (2008 to 2014). She also worked on her narrating skills, providing narration for the show A to Z in 2014 to 2015. Most recently, she’s played the mom of Andy Samberg’s character on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Randy DeLuca on Superior Donuts.
Amanda Bearse Then:
Married… With Children Character: Marcy D’Arcy
The best thing about Marcy is the fact she was Al’s nemesis. We all know that sometimes husbands and their wives’ best friends just don’t get along. Al and Marcy were worse than oil and vinegar. Though originally Marcy did think she was better than the Bundy family, she often stooped to their level too. When Marcy was first on the show, she was apparently a sweet and happy newlywed, but living next to the Bundys completely warped her personality. Understandably so, she hated Al because of his chauvinistic and misogynistic attitude toward women.
Amanda Bearse Now:
Since the show ended, Amanda Bearse hasn’t been up to much. But she did appear in 260 episodes of Married… With Children, so she deserved the break! She has appeared in a handful of episodes on different TV shows over the years, like Nikki, Here! Family, Drop Dead Diva, and Anger Management. She is set to appear in the 2018 film, Sky Sharks, as Marjorie Phelps. While she was on Married… With Children, Amanda Bearse began directing. She directed 31 episodes of the series. She later worked with Rosie O’Donnell for The Big Gay Sketch Show.
Ted McGinley Then:
Married… With Children Character: Jefferson D’Arcy
Every man needs a best friend and Jefferson was that for Al Bundy. The man married Marcy one night after she got drunk and to her horror, she woke up to find out her name was Marcy D’Arcy. But while he is a good friend, he really wasn’t a great husband. Marcy hated just how close Jefferson and Al are. While his wife often bossed him around, he pretended to listen to her, but behind her back, he would make fun of her and often gloated that he was even cheating on her. He worked many jobs, but every new job he worked at, he had a pretty coworker that made Marcy jealous and he had to quit.
Ted McGinley Now:
Before he was on Married… With Children, Ted McGinley was busy in film and TV in the ‘80s. He was on Happy Days and played the antagonist in Revenge of the Nerds. He even was on The Love Boat!
After Married… With Children, he played an Army Major in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor. He was on the show Hope & Faith from 2003 to 2006, where he portrayed Charley Shanowski.He has also worked as a voiceover artist on Justice League and Transformers: Robots in Disguise. He recently finished filming The Landlord, in which he plays a creepy landlord that is watching over the tenants in his apartment without their knowledge.
David Garrison Then:
Married… With Children Character: Steve Rhoades
Steve Rhoades was the first man on Married… With Children to get tangled in Darcy’s web. Seeing as everyone on the show had a bit of a warped moral compass, Steve fit right in. Steve is self-centered, which is what attracted Marcy to him in the first place. While he appeared on Married… With Children for 80 episodes, he is actually better known for his work on the stage! He was written out of the show after the fourth season, as David Garrison didn’t want to be tied to a weekly show and he also wanted to avoid being typecast.
David Garrison Now:
David Garrison is a theatrical actor, who has appeared in stage productions like I Do! I Do!, Twelfth Night, Middletown, The Visit, and most recently, Kid Victory. He has done a bit of work in film and TV over the years as well, playing Dr. Carlock on 30 Rock and Professor Walter on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Most notably out of all his recent work, he originated the role of The Wizard in the touring production of Wicked, the Broadway musical about the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz.
Harold Sylvester Then:
Married… With Children Character: Griff
Looking at the big picture, Griff didn’t actually show up on Married… With Children until the show had been on for quite a while. In the series’ 11 season run, Griff didn’t first appear until nine. Griff is a coworker and friend of Al’s and he’s also apart of the very dated anti-feminist group founded by Al, ‘NO MA’AM.’ While he feels similarly to Al when it comes to work ethic and women, Griff isn’t nearly as rude to women or his own boss. He also isn’t very callous and he often had a hard time going along with one of Al’s many schemes.
Harold Sylvester Now:
After appearing on the show for 44 episodes, Harold Sylvester has continued to work on TV. He played Col. John Henchy on The Army Show in 1998, then Wendell Loman in 2000 on City of Angels. Since the early 2000s, he hasn’t done quite that much, most recently appearing in the 2015 short films Guiltless and Raise the ToyGantic. He did have two guest spots on TV as well, playing two different characters on CSI: Miami in two separate episodes, one in 2004 and one in 2009. He also played John Davenport in the series How Men Become Dogs in 2013.
E.E. Bell Then:
Married… With Children Character: Bob Rooney
Bob Rooney is one of Al Bundy’s best buddies from Al’s high school football days. Everyone called him Bob Rooney, even his own wife! Much like Griff, Bob didn’t appear on Married… With Children until the show was in its later seasons. Bob was married to Peggy Bundy’s best friend, Louise. He came onto the show in season eight, his first episode being “No Ma’am.” He was the treasurer of NO MA’AM when it existed. Bob’s character is known as the DIY, fixer-upper among his friend group, always expected to know how to fix whatever is broken.
E.E. Bell Now:
E.E. Bell has done an extensive amount of TV work over the years, yet he hasn’t really gotten anything to stick for long. Most of his TV work has been guest spots here and there over the years. He played a sheriff on Hart of Dixie, a mayor on House, and a manager on The Mentalist. He even has done work on Disney Channel shows, like Sonny with a Chance and Good Luck Charlie. He also appeared on an episode of Glee. E.E. Bell has also done some work in film, appearing as Cecil the Barker in Water for Elephants with Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. Most recently he was a bartender in Hail, Caesar!, starring in a scene with Channing Tatum.