With bills to pay and a career to save, Katey Sagal had to play the role of Peggy. Reading Peggy Bundy’s part for her audition, Katey Sagal proved to everyone that she was worthy of playing the role, as she really got into the character, wearing a huge red wig. She had this image of Peggy Bundy created in her mind beforehand and she pulled it off effortlessly.

There’s no denying that we all fell in love with the redhead! Instead of going there as a regular actor, she went the extra mile in the audition. She was so true to the Peggy character that it showed. Almost the exact same thing happened with Christina Applegate, who also won the hearts of the judges when she pranced in dressed up as the bratty character of Kelly. Her performance as Kelly is one worth taking a trip down memory lane to see!

Did you know that the Kelly and Bud Bundy you fell in love with were not actually the original cast? It was probably because the producers were already short on time during  filming of the pilot episode of the show. The producers did not bring along Ed O’Neill, the dad you know and love, during the original casting of the Bud and Kelly characters.

It was Tina Caspary who first played Kelly, while Bud was originally played by Hunter Carson. However, the producers decided to change the cast. Lack of chemistry between the original actors was the reason for the recast. They had to reshoot all the Bundy kids’ scenes for the pilot episode to be broadcast.

Do you know Cosmo Kramer from the sitcom, Seinfeld ? Yeah, Michael Richards, who played Kramer, took a chance at playing the role of Al Bundy. However, after a few test tapings of the scene from the show’s first episode, the producers realized he was too enthusiastic for the sluggish and shabby character of Al. They wanted someone who looked and acted more tired and grumpy. Ed fit the character like a glove.

In the end though, everything turned out well. Richards got the role of Kramer, which is perfect for his natural character. Richards was not right for the role of Al, as the casting director Marc Hirschfeld said. But, Hirschfeld remembered Richards when he was casting for Seinfeld , and that’s how Richards got the role of Kramer.

The writers of the show originally planned that Al and Peggy really loved Marcy and Steve, their annoying neighbors. But, the real-life issues and true feelings of the actors interfered. There was no way of hiding the real relationship of Ed O’Neill and Amanda Bearse on screen.

Ed O’Neill and Amanda Bearse played neighbors on the show, but talk around the set was that they were not on good terms in real life. Amanda is a lesbian and Ed is not very understanding about this, as the rumor goes. In a beautifully sardonic twist, Ed’s role in Modern Family was that of a gay man’s dad who was very supportive of the LGBTQ community.

Peggy Bundy was played by Katey Sagal, who was actually pregnant in real life not just once, but three times during the 10-year filming of the show. With Katey’s pregnancy popping up during the earlier seasons of the sitcom, the writers included it into the show. In Al’s nightmare in one episode, Peggy and Marcy were pregnant at the same time, and it was the reason for the story to be stretched out.

Sadly, Peggy’s first child was stillborn, arriving six weeks earlier than planned. Katey had to wear a fake pregnancy belly while shooting. A tough sacrifice for the show. Fortunately, Katey’s last two pregnancies were successful. They somehow kept it hidden from the audience. Kudos to the producers and wardrobe consultants as it wasn’t so obvious in the show.

Success happened to Married With Children on the first night it was aired, just like that! The network had to play the first episode repeatedly the night it was first aired because its viewership was so positive. The show was about a not-so-normal Bundy family and this resonated with people. The sitcom is the first prime-time TV series to be broadcasted by Fox, and was absolutely a hit.

If we had the internet back in 1987, imagine how the show would have been a viral sensation overnight. Truly, success can happen overnight! The very first episode was aired on April 15, 1987 and instantly had so many viewers. The dysfunctionality of the Bundy family was so unique and extraordinary it brought in far more success than anyone could have anticipated.

No arguing that Christina Applegate was the one who stole the show. She was just irresistible, and from her first appearance in the show everyone loved her. Her outfits may have helped, but ultimately, it was her high-spirited and humorous personality that made her so adorable. She was always enthusiastic and prepared to do her best for the show to be a success.

Applegate’s talent and charm caught the eyes of the producers and writers, which is why she got ample screen time, exhibiting her abilities. This made a very positive impact on the show, increasing its fandom and viewership on the earlier episodes. People just love the flirty, bratty character of Kelly!

With a sitcom packed with a talented and funny cast, you could expect for there to be constant joking and laughing on the set. Within the ten years of doing the show, one of the greatest jokes around was misspelling the name of Al Bundy. They sometimes spelled it as Al Birdy, Al Bumby or Al Boondy, and so on.

All the characters in the show had their own nicknames then. Everyone on the set just joked about it. The strangest nicknames were definitely that of Peggy and Al. Kelly had a pet name for her brother as well, which Applegate never mentioned behind the scenes.

In some instances, actors had to play different roles at the same time, which required some modifications. They had to go under heavy alterations as they work with different shows simultaneously. Applegate played both the roles of Bud’s silly older sister and Al and Peggy’s daughter in season ten.

Applegate had to wear a blonde wig during that season as well, because she had gone brunette for a character she was playing simultaneously in a movie. Applegate’s portrayal of Bud’s older sister and Al and Peggy’s daughter was a frequent joke throughout the show, because of Kelly’s natural hair color and her being a fake blonde.

Married With Children holds the record of being the longest running live-action television show on Fox. With 11 seasons and 259 original episodes, this TV series was aired from 1987 to 1997. It also ranked eighth in American television history as the longest running weekly comedy series. If you want to watch the crowd favorite reruns of the show, just go to Fox or TBS.

Most other networks, apart from Fox, at that time thought Married With Children was going to be a failure of a program. The series was controversial and incredibly edgy for its time. However, it became one of the most popular sitcoms during the ten years of its show life. It stood the test of time despite some negative reactions from the audience, rejects, and many controversies associated with the sitcom.

Married With Children had its fair share of unpleasantries, right from the start. Angry letters and complaints blew up in the faces of all involved. All the characters were criticized, but Kelly’s character, which was played by Christina Applegate, received the most terrible critics. Kelly was a teenager who was a flirt, wore provocative clothing, and misbehaved all the time.

The criticisms were so bad that the character of Kelly would have been terminated, had the writers listened to them. That was just how Kelly was, and she could never be a good girl. Criticisms were ignored and they carried on with the character. We can only assume this was a good thing, because the show went on to be more popular than ever.

Yes, you read that right! It’s VISTA, not Visa. Visa cards exist, yes, but there is no such thing as VISTA Cards. If you have noticed, there’s a sign that says VISTA cards in Bundy’s shoe shop. You wouldn’t think that the writers and producers of the show made a mistake. Or, do you think they made it on purpose just to make the show more hilarious, indicating that Al’s store was going down the drain?

In reality, this was likely done to avoid lawsuits. The producers didn’t want to get caught up with legal issues any further. But if you were not really focusing on it, you could have read it as Visa. Whatever the reason behind it, it didn’t really matter that much to the viewers.

Do you remember how complex Al was as a character? You might remember that most of his scenes were just him sitting and watching TV. However, he actually had other stuff under his sleeve. He may have appeared to be conservative, but the character had his own blunders.

You may have noticed, Al had a fascination for adult magazines called “the Big ‘Uns.” This demeanor made the character even more funny and spirited. Did he ever wonder how his daughter’s generation might be affected by this? Of course! He didn’t like how flirty she was, but we’ll get to that soon.

At some point, you might have thought that the Bundys have moved from one address to another during the show, because their home address kept on changing. Sometimes it was 9764 Jeopardy Lane, and at others it became 9674 Jeopardy Lane. We’re betting you didn’t even notice this, did you?

It was just one of those tiny, but very funny errors. It makes you think whether they are done on purpose (as Easter eggs for observant viewers) or if they were really just honest mistakes. Jeopardy Lane was a fictional street to begin with, so the street numbers obviously were, too. This little mix up with the street numbers made the show even funnier for those who took notice.

Believe it or not, Peggy’s maiden name, Wanker, is actually a swear word in British and Australian slang. This was, of course, unintentional, because the word was not used that way in 1987 America. The producers would not have used it had they known its common use in other parts of the world.

With the internet and globalization revealing the other shade to Peggy’s Wanker moniker, it’s become a hilariously awkward maiden name for the character to bear. No modern show would use the word as a name. However, this was definitely not the case at the time the show was made. The word only became popular in British slang in the late 80s and early 90s. Knowledge of it didn’t really spread to the States until the advent of the internet.

Ed O’Neill appeared in the 1991 movie, Dutch . A typical comedy-drama film about a working class man who volunteered to drive his girlfriend’s teenage son from his school to his mom’s house, with the intention of getting to know him. The trip led to some mishaps, but later on to bonding, and of course, the two became close.

The movie was pointed out twice on the sitcom Married With Children . It was certainly intentional, in order to promote the movie. One time was when Al was on an airplane, and another when he and his wife Peggy rented a movie to watch together at home.

Married With Children was nominated for an Emmy award, not just once, but seven times. Unfortunately, they never actually took an award home to Jeopardy Lane! It was hard to believe, because the show was very successful. The same goes for Baywatch . These two are the only shows that never won the award despite the fact that they were running for so long.

As a very successful show, Married With Children really deserved an Emmy award. It can be hard to understand why it didn’t take one home, because many people loved the show, and it was consistently popular over its ten year run. It might be because of the controversies? We’ll probably never know for sure.

One episode of season three in 1989, entitled “I’ll See You in Court,” was refused to be broadcast by Fox because it had racy content. Even by Married With Children standards! At the time, Terry Rakolta (Mitt Romney’s sister), who was a Michigan housewife, was attacking the show. She even paid for advertisements telling people not to support the show. The first damage she did was a letter writing campaign that disabled the show’s funding and postponed the banned episode forever.

The producers of the sitcom definitely fought back. Some parts of the episode were changed and, in 2002, the episode was finally released on FX, and the wait was finally over. In case you were wondering, the episode featured a model whom Al Bundy was eyeing.

Much like Visa being displayed as Vista, some of the lesser known facts of the show are just unbelievable. The sitcom had a number of uncanny objects and artifacts which just did not match up to reality. One example of this is that the Bundys’ ‘mighty Dodge’ was not actually a Dodge.

If you look carefully, it’s actually a vinyl top, 1972 Plymouth Duster. On the show, it was always referred to as a Dodge, even though it was a Plymouth. The two cars belong to the same company and, to be fair, they do look pretty much the same, but it still made for a bit of confusion among car-loving fans of the show. Again, we wonder whether it was done on purpose or just an honest mistake.

No matter how talented the actors are, they need inspiration, so they may portray their roles with excellence and as realistically as possible. If you want to create a character and make it your own, the easiest place to search for a good background story is within your family.

This is what Ed O’Neill did to practice and research for his role as Al Bundy. His best inspiration was his very own family. His role model was his Uncle Joe, who had very similar characteristics to Al Bundy. This close family connection helped him interpret the role of Al as naturally and effortlessly as he did.

Now, this is not a surprise for us anymore, because we know how bad the writers of the show are when it comes to choosing the names of the characters—case in point, Peggy’s horrendous maiden name! Although we have to cut them some slack, because Peggy’s maiden name was not intended to offend anybody. They had no way of knowing it was an offensive word at the time.

Bud is the young brother of the Bundy family and his full name was actually Budrick Franklin Bundy. However, it was never really mentioned in its entirety. Today, the name Budrick has become a nickname for boys who have terrible luck with girls. By the way, can you remember Bud’s special nickname?

Considering the ma’am related memes that are popular nowadays, this next Married With Children fact is unbelievable. In the show, Al and his friends had a group called “No Ma’am,” which stands for National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood. As the name suggests, it is an anti-feminist organization. Al and the group formed this organization to put a halt to feminist domination.

Though unique and hilarious at the time, this anti-feminist group of Al’s would have surely attracted many enemies and controversies if the show had been running today. More and more people today are fighting for gender equality, and being more sensitive to real-life groups and movements like “No Ma’am”.

Both Al and Peggy were actually huge fans of the idiot box, but Peggy had a particular love for watching Psycho Mom and The Oprah Winfrey Show . You could hear Oprah’s name pop up a number of times in the course of Al and Peggy’s conversations during the show. Undoubtedly, Oprah is an integral part of the couple’s marriage.

The character of Peggy was depicted as a typical housewife who adores The Oprah Winfrey Show . Peggy, in one of the episodes, had to work part-time, so she could buy a VCR to tape Oprah. However, she ended up quitting and became a lazy housewife again (for the record, we’re not saying all housewives are lazy, far from it! Peggy was certainly not typical).

The character of Bud Bundy always wanted to become a rapper one day. And, believe it or not, David Faustino, who played the role of Bud Bundy somehow absorbed his character’s wishes and became a rapper himself! To be fair, he probably always had the same dream as Bud. Faustino pursued both his and Bud’s dreams in the world of hip-hop.

The actor’s rapper name was D’ Lil and he did become something of a sensation in the world of hip-hop. Launched by his album, Balistyx , which was released in 1992, Faustino’s music career was actually quite a success. So, then it was a ‘wrap’ for a rap career. We guess dreams really do come true, huh!

It was quite common for popular television shows to be somehow ‘benchmarked’ by other states or countries. Although not exactly the same, the story line of the copycat versions are basically similar, the characters as well. The local versions actually had the same concept as the original, but they had to make it in line with their own culture.

Because of its great success, Married With Children was one of these television shows that spawned local versions in other countries. In 1996, a British version of the show, entitled Married for Life, was released. It was unfortunate for the show, however, that it never did last for life. It ended abruptly seven weeks after it was aired.

Here’s more about the show’s character names, and we’re pretty sure this one will be a fun surprise for you. One of Al’s colleagues in the first season was name Luke Ventura, and this was anything but random. The writers of the show were huge fans of Jesse Ventura, aka “The Body.”

Jesse Ventura was a professional wrestler at the time, whose real name was James George Janos. James was not only a wrestler by profession, he was also a politician. He served the state of Minnesota as the 38 th Governor, from 1999 to 2003.

Katey Sagal’s character, Peggy Bundy, was supposed to be Roseanne Barr’s, who was a famous comedian and television producer. Barr was thought of as the ideal match for the hysterical character of Peggy because of her background as a stand-up comedian. However, Sagal wowed the producers and snagged the role. Sagal had a good background in acting and was very familiar with Hollywood because of her father.

Yes, we can’t say that Katey’s luck and hard work was all that got her the role. Her father’s experience and exposure in show business helped her a lot in her acting career, and was a contributing factor to her getting the role of Peggy Bundy. Originally, the producers had chosen Roseanne Barr for that role, but it did not happen for some reason they never revealed. Luckily, the producers did not regret having Sagal instead of Barr, because at the end of the day, who could imagine anyone else as Peggy? Sagal was perfect.

Al sitting on the couch watching television is undoubtedly one of the most unforgettable and iconic scenes of the show. It became the trademark position of the character because it’s the very thing he loves to do! But, did you know that his favorite show was Psycho Dad ? The perfect match to Peggy’s Psycho Mum .

Both shows were an indirect way of the producers to deliver a message to the audience, stereotyping the characters in a way that is not too obvious. Because, while Al was something of an exaggeration, for many households there was a lot of truth in his reality. Many guys, who are fathers and husbands, are just sitting on the couch doing nothing, eyes glued to the television, watching weird shows, oblivious to the drama going on around them.

Yes, we loved Ed O’Neill playing the role of Al Bundy, as he fits perfectly into the character. It was hard to imagine that another actor tried the role of Al other than O’Neill. But it is important in any television show or production to have a number of actors to compare before a decision is made.

Aside from Richards (of Kramer fame), the producers had another actor in mind for the role of Al. You wouldn’t believe that comedian, Sam Kinison, was offered the role of Al first, but yes, this is true.

If you have been following the show, you would know that Al worked in a shoe shop as a salesman. The shop’s name was “Gary’s Shoes And Accessories For Today’s Woman.” Funny how the shop barely makes any sales, though. Al worked there for a long time, on and off, but he never knew that Gary was actually a woman!

The very instance when Al found out that the name Gary in his company’s name was actually a female, is just absolutely hilarious. What made it even funnier was the fact that Al never knew about this although he had been working there for so long already. He found out incredibly late in his employment. What a nice twist of the show (particular considering Al’s Ma’am membership)!

Who on earth does not know who James Bond is? So, if you know him, then you definitely know Sir Roger Moore. He is famous for the role of the sexy secret agent. This British actor actually admitted that he was a big fan of Married With Children . Isn’t it just awesome to have such a huge fan, who is a huge star himself (and probably knew the real meaning of “wanker” right from the start)?

He was also a very close friend of Boris Sagal, the real life father of Katey Sagal, who played the role of Peggy Bundy. Moore and Sagal became close with the 1976 movie, Sherlock Holmes in New York , as Moore starred in the production, while Sagal was the director.

Not every sitcom has the privilege of having a theme song sung by a famous crooner. But the voice behind the theme song for Married with Children happens to be Frank Sinatra’s, who is one of the most legendary singers in the world.

Yes, that’s correct. The sitcom’s theme song was Frank Sinatra’s “Love and Marriage.” The legendary musician originally sang the song in 1955, for a TV production called Our Town . Married With Children had a big debut in 1987 with Sinatra’s song. The song had three versions in terms of the tune, but the original version was released in 1956 on the singer’s album, “This is Sinatra.”

Not all actors on Married With Children stayed the full ten years. One such performer was David Garrison, who played the role of Bundy’s neighbor on the show. After the fourth season, he left Jeopardy Lane to take on another career path.

Garrison went on to enjoy a very successful career in theater. He starred in the musicals Titanic, Wicked, I Do! I Do! , and Torch Song Trilogy . In the last episodes of the show, Garrison returned for four guest appearances, but he did not play his old neighbor character anymore. Instead, he was a different character in each appearance!

Uncle Otto was another iconic character of Married With Children . The original actor intended to play the role was Harris Glenn Milstead, aka “Divine,” who was famous for being a drag queen. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it. In a tragic turn of events, Milstead died of a heart attack before the filming of the sitcom commenced.

Divine was obese and suffered from an enlarged heart. This event was probably the saddest thing that happened in the history of Married With Children . Milstead didn’t even have a chance to showcase his acting talent, as he didn’t even get to complete a single shoot.

Did you hear the spin-off rumors? In 2014, there was talk about having a Bud Bundy spin-off. While it was postponed, it certainly hasn’t been terminated. Some legal issues will just have to be dealt with before the networks can schedule anything. Moreover, it has also been said that once production is ongoing, Netflix will pick up the show.

Even better than that, all the original cast members have apparently agreed to co-star the show, so you can expect to see each of them for at least an appearance. This must be very exciting for Bud’s fans, but we’ll just have to wait for it to happen. The producers have been working on it, but until then, we have to rely on memories of how hilarious the quirky sitcom is.

Here’s another odd idea from the minds of the Married With Children writers: they insisted the cast had to refer to Bob Rooney with his full name, like all the time! Nobody ever just called him “Bob” or “Rooney,” but always “Bob Rooney.” Surely there must be something significant about this?

Thankfully, this character wasn’t named after E.E Bell, one of the actors who played a No Ma’am club member. He has one of those names that’s a mouthful to pronounce. There definitely would’ve been a whole lot more takes necessary to get that one right every time it came up.

Inserting random clips between other clips on the show’s opening was sure a great way to stir some excitement in the world of the viewers. This was quite a wise move on the part of the producers. If you were savvy enough to take note of it, the show’s opening sequence included a clip from Chevy Chase’s movie, Vacation. In the opening credits, you can see a scene where cars are driving through the interstate interchange.

The movie clip was from the Griswold family’s first vacation, where they drove down to the Walley World theme park with their green station wagon, with a whole lot of luggage on the top. Yes, that was the opening of the television show, and it was just hilarious! Even though it was not an original shot, it gave a positive impact on the show.

Truly, first impressions last, and Ed O’Neill proved this. This is how the actor got the role of Al Bundy. O’Neill had appeared in a stage production as Lenny in Of Mice & Men , and a Fox executive remembered seeing how great his performance was, so he was called him in to do a reading. Having already embodied Al’s character, Ed came in with his shoulders drooped, heaved a heavy sigh, and walked lazily towards the casting judges’ seats.

Actor Ed O’Neill is well-known today for playing the role of Al Bundy on Fox’s Married with Children . The way he showed up at the audition was the reason he got the part, because that was exactly how Al Bundy was. The way he took to it so naturally was what won him the role.

The title of the show was originally going to be Not The Cosbys . This was, in fact, the working title during pre-production, and thee producers were giving it serious consideration, because clearly the Bundys were anti-Cosby! Bill Cosby and the Huxtable clan were a wealthy, hardworking, and decent family, living in the New York suburbs. The Bundys were quite the opposite, but it would be too shallow to call a show that just to demonstrate such an obvious contrast. Given recent events with Cosby (and the fact that there are now porn films bearing the title Not the Cosbys ), we’re sure the producers are relieved they took a different path.

Married With Children was a revolutionary television show at that time, because it portrayed a typical family setting that was far from being perfect. The sitcom displayed a frustrated head of the family, who hates his life for having a lazy wife, a flirty daughter, and an incompetent son. The show allowed people to relax about their less than perfect lives and the contrast to the too-good-to-be-true Cosbys didn’t need to be made so obvious.

Ironically, Ed O’Neill is far from the lazy slob he portrayed in the show. Ed was very active in his work and was known to be highly professional. He was the only member of the cast who was in every episode of the show throughout the ten-year run. Imagine that! In all 260 episodes, he was present. Not a single sick day for Ed.

This must be the reason why he took a long pause from acting before agreeing to play a role in Modern Family . You may see O’Neill in the character of a lousy, lazy man with a frustrating life and a career that’s going nowhere, but he is totally the opposite in real life.

When Married With Children was at the peak its of its fame, viewers reached up to 15 million each week. For everyone, it all seemed like the demand and excitement would keep on rising. However, the numbers started to slip and continued their downward slide right into 1997, when the figures were as low as nine million per week. The ratings were at an all-time low when the show was canceled, which was just heartbreaking, especially for the cast.

The producers didn’t directly inform the cast members of the cancellation. Instead, they had to find out the painful news on their own. Ed O’Neill overheard it while on vacation! A couple were reading about the cancellation in a newspaper and talking about it within earshot of Ed. Christina Applegate learned it from her two close friends. Ouch!

During the peak of the sitcom, Ed O’Neill would grant the requests of fans to make birthday and holiday phone calls. A great number of the sitcom’s fans celebrating their birthday used to receive calls from Ed O’Neill. He would call them during his free time on the set.

His calls were from 1-800-collect, and cost him 65 cents per minute. One could easily picture him as the considerate actor, Ed, in real life, or the favorite sitcom dad, Al, in the show. Was it Al Bundy who called or was it Ed O’Neill? Either way, we’re sure the fans were over the moon to hear from him.

You might have missed this, but family members of the cast made some cameos and guest appearances on the show. One example was Catherine Rusoff, Ed O’Neill’s wife, who had two guest spots. Joey Sagal, who was Katey’s brother, and Christina’s mother, Nancy Priddy, also made appearances.

Perhaps the most ironic guest appearances on the sitcom were the two former girlfriends of David Faustino, Elaine Hendrix and Julia Teblak. They each had their individual appearance in separate episodes. Faustino played the role of Bud Bundy on the show, who was known to have no luck with women, but these guest spots suggest it was actually quite the opposite in real life.

Having contributed some amazing performance to the film and television world over the years, Ed O’Neill finally got his star on the walk of fame. But, what really made it so remarkable was that it was placed right in front of a local shoe store chain, as a tribute to the character Al and his dead-end job as a shoe salesman. This hilariously thoughtful gesture was truly uplifting.

As incredible as the star on the walk of fame was, fans showed up and asked for O’Neill’s autograph on the day he received this Hollywood honor. Fans even brought their own favorite pair of shoes for O’Neill to autograph. Now, that was really an awesome way to express fandom!

Of course, who could ever forget about the most adorable member of the cast? Right from the first day of filming, Buck, the family dog, was there, and the professional pup lasted right up until season ten. Buck was the Bundy’s cynical pet Briard dog. He had a knack for cleverly insulting his human masters, of course not verbally, but in his own ways. On the show and in the story line, the family often neglect Buck. He also had a huge and greedy sexual appetite.

Even though the Bundy family viewed him as just a “stupid” dog, Buck is shown to be sneaky in some of the episodes. The production crew gave him a retirement party when he filmed his last episode. How cute is that? The family dog died on May 25, 1996, from natural causes. It is just so heartwarming to know that the cast treated each other like a real family.