Trivia: Rising to fame as American family man Al Bundy on the lowbrow sitcom Married...With Children, actor Ed O' Neill was the physical embodiment of almost every stereotype leveled at lower-middle-class husbands and fathers. Although many sneered at the bathroom humor and questionable taste of the series (O'Neill himself admitted that he thought the show would be canceled after a mere six episodes), his perfection in the role was undeniably effective -- so much so that it was difficult for him to avoid typecasting despite the versatility he displayed in such features as Prefontaine and The Spanish Prisoner (both 1997). Following graduation from Ursuline High School, the Youngstown, OH, native worked a series of odd jobs before studying theater and history at Ohio University College and, eventually, Youngstown State University. A talented football player, O'Neill was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, though was cut from the team shortly thereafter. His early stage auditions weren't much more encouraging, and between minor theater roles, the acting hopeful returned to his former high school to teach social studies. He continued to dream of becoming an actor, however, so moved to New York in 1977 and studied at the famed Circle in the Square. An early break came when O'Neill, an understudy for the lead role in the Broadway play Knockout, was asked to take the stage when the original actor abandoned the production. Although O'Neill had appeared in a brief (one-line), uncredited role in 1972's Deliverance, he had his first real part as a police detective in the Al Pacino thriller Cruising in 1980. As the decade progressed, O'Neill found steady work in made-for-TV features and occasional television guest appearances. In 1986, his performance in the title role in Popeye Doyle (a real-life character memorably portrayed by Gene Hackman in The French Connection) showed him to be a confident and effective lead. During a stage performance as Lenny in Of Mice and Men in Hartford, CT, an executive from FOX happened to be in the audience. After showing the script of Married...With Children to his wife, O'Neill knew that it was not an opportunity to let pass. He landed the role with ease, and his portrayal of the bumbling Al Bundy not only formed the backbone of the series, but created a caricature of American family life which would only be matched by the likes of Homer Simpson. O'Neill appeared in several feature films during the show's ten-year run, including Dutch (1991), Wayne's World (1992), Blue Chips, and Little Giants (both 1994). As the series drew to a close in 1997, the actor began to venture outside the confines of the Bundy family living room in such unexpectedly dramatic turns as The Spanish Prisoner and The Bone Collector. O'Neill later returned to the small screen in Big Apple (2001) and a 2003 remake of Dragnet, playing policemen in both series.He appeared in the David Mamet thriller Spartan in 2004, and worked with the director again on 2008's Redbelt. He was on the short-lived HBO series John From Cincinnati in 2007. However, in 2009 he scored a major career boost as the patriarch in the ABC sitcom Modern Family. His work on the show earned him an Emmy nomination, something that never happened during his days as Al Bundy.

Trivia: A versatile entertainer who first shot to fame as redheaded housewife Peg Bundy on the long-running television sitcom Married with Children, Katey Sagal has since established herself as one of the small screen's most reliable and prolific actresses.It was at the tender age of five that the talented youngster first began to show promise as a singer, and after honing her talent with years of practice, Sagal went on to perform as a Harlette opposite future superstar Bette Midler. After performing as a backup singer for the likes of Etta James, Olivia Newton-John, and Tanya Tucker in the mid-'80s, Sagal made her television debut on the Mary Tyler Moore sitcom Mary. Though that particular show didn't make it past the one-season mark, it did open up a world of opportunity for the aspiring young actress, who would subsequently earn three Golden Globe nominations as gaudily attired suburbanite Peg Bundy on the raunchy Fox Television sitcom Married with Children. A stinging satire of suburban dysfunction, Married with Children's gleefully lowbrow humor earned it as many fans as detractors over the course of the show's impressive ten-year run. When the plug was finally pulled on Married with Children in 1998, Sagal teamed with former Three's Company star John Ritter in the made-for-television romance Chance of a Lifetime before making appearances on such series as That '70s Show and Disney's animated show Recess.While performances in a number of made-for-television movies hinted at dramatic abilities that had never been tapped during her extended stint on Married with Children, it was cartoon voice-over work that would soon prove the bread and butter of her career during the millennial crossover. Despite the fact that it never achieved the popularity of The Simpsons, Matt Groening's animated sci-fi comedy series Futurama did gain a fairly devoted fan base during its four-year run, with Sagal in particular getting a fair amount of laughs in her role as voluptuous one-eyed alien Leela. In 2002, Sagal partnered with former Chance of a Lifetime star Ritter for the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 8 Simple Rules...for Dating My Teenage Daughter, though the tragic and unexpected death of star Ritter -- who collapsed on-set at the beginning of the second season -- brought the show to an untimely end in 2005. A pair of appearances on the phenomenally successful small-screen thriller Lost followed in 2005, and in 2006 Sagal traded barbs with William Shatner and James Spader on Boston Legal. She was a member of the cast of Sons of Anarchy when that show debuted in 2008, and she returned to voicing Leela on Futurama when the show began production again after a multi-year layoff.

Trivia: Best known for her portrayal of Marcy Rhoades D'arcy, the manic, feminist/careerist neighbor on the long-running series Married...With Children, Amanda Bearse is also a prominent spokesperson for lesbian and gay rights in the entertainment industry and a very busy director on television. Born in Winter Park, FL, Bearse came to acting through high school and community theater and later moved to New York, where she studied acting with Sanford Meisner. Her first major acting role was as Amanda Cousins on the daytime drama All My Children from 1982 to 1984. Her early film appearances consisted of small roles in features such as First Affair (made for television), Protocol, Fright Night, and Fraternity Vacation, before Married...With Children came along in 1987. Originally, her portrayal and image were that of a perky supporting player but as the series evolved, the writing for her character did as well and her portrayal became harder, much funnier, and much edgier. Bearse also studied directing at the American Film Institute and U.S.C., and most viewers were less aware of the fact that from the middle of the series' run, she became one of the program's regular directors and also wrote several scripts. During this period she emerged as a spokesperson for gay and lesbian rights, declaring her sexuality openly in October 1993, as part of National Coming Out Day. After the end of the series' run of ten seasons, Bearse concentrated largely on directing, on sitcoms such as Ladies Man, Dharma and Greg, and Two Guys and a Girl, among other programs.

Trivia: Originally famous as the bodacious, brain-challenged Bundy offspring Kelly on Fox's long-running dysfunctional family sitcom Married...With Children, Christina Applegate parlayed her comic talents and sexy image into a parallel movie career. A natural blonde Hollywood baby, Applegate was raised by her actress mother, Nancy Priddy, after Priddy split from Applegate's father, record executive Bobby Applegate. Making her acting debut as an infant with her mother on TV's Days of Our Lives, Applegate subsequently landed her first movie role at age ten when she appeared with Priddy in the low-grade horror flick Jaws of Satan (1981). After playing Grace as a child in the TV biopic Grace Kelly (1983), Applegate guest starred on several TV shows before landing her own permanent series role in the short-lived Heart of the City (1986). Her next series, however, proved the charm. Debuting in 1987 on the fledgling Fox TV network, Married...With Children withstood criticisms about its all-around vulgarity to become one of Fox's first signature hits. During its ten-year run, Married...With Children also spawned the TV movie It's a Bundyful Life (1992), featuring Applegate and the rest of the Bundy clan in a spoof of holiday chestnut It's a Wonderful Life (1946). A bona fide teen heartthrob and star, Applegate attempted to show her serious side as a prostitute and drug addict in the gritty drama Streets (1990). Teen comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) tried to capitalize on Applegate's TV fame while showcasing her as a smart, resourceful, anti-Bundy character. Also during Married...With Children's run, Applegate appeared in the female road movie Across the Moon (1994), mutilated rock musician-drama Vibrations (1995), and as the town whore in Walter Hill's underrated Western Wild Bill (1995). Applegate's Married fame further landed her a small part in the all-star ensemble populating Tim Burton's science fiction parody Mars Attacks! (1996), and wryly shaded her presence in Gregg Araki's Los Angeles teen anomie opus Nowhere (1997), the slickest entrant in his "teen apocalypse trilogy."Ready to leave the TV-bred teen realm behind after Married went off the air in 1997, Applegate co-starred with Mark Wahlberg in the Hong Kong-tinged action comedy The Big Hit (1998) and played the WASP fiancée of a Mob scion in Jim Abrahams' Mafia movie parody Mafia! (1998). She co-starred with her eventual husband, Johnathon Schaech, and erstwhile teen idol Molly Ringwald in the high-school reunion thriller The Giving Tree (1999) as well. Inspired by her experience with her mother growing up, though, Applegate agreed to return to TV to star as a single mom balancing work and family in the sitcom Jesse (1998). Despite choice time slots, however, Jesse was canceled in 2000. Applegate returned to movie comedy co-starring with Jean Reno as a princess and modern gal in the ill-received remake of a French time-travel yarn Just Visiting (2001). Subsequently holding her own opposite some of her more lustrous film peers, Applegate earned far better reviews than the movie itself as Cameron Diaz's levelheaded best friend in the raunchy female bonding romp The Sweetest Thing (2002), and flew the friendly skies with Gwyneth Paltrow in the flight attendant comedy A View from the Top (2003).In 2004, Applegate landed herself leading-lady roles in two of the year's most anticipated films. First, in July, she starred opposite Will Ferrell in the 70s-era comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Then, the following November, she could be seen with Ben Affleck in the holiday film Surviving Christmas.In 2007 Applegate finally found success on the small-screen yet again with the sitcom Samantha Who?, but the actress made headlines in 2008 when she revealed she was fighting breast cancer, an illness she survived. Meanwhile, on the big screen she scored major parts in the comedy The Rocker, and played Jason Sudeikis' long-suffering wife in the Farrelly Brothers comedy Hall Pass.In 2011 she was cast opposite Will Arnett in the sitcom Up All Night which would become her third television program to run for at least two years.

Trivia: Perhaps best known for his long-running role as Bud Bundy, the juvenile delinquent son of shoe salesman Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) and lazy housewife Peg Bundy (Katey Sagal) on Fox's popular blue-collar sitcom Married...With Children (1987-1997), actor David Faustino grew up in Northridge, CA. The son of a Hollywood costume designer and his wife, who guided each of their children into show business, David landed his first role at the age of three, playing a female clown in a Lily Tomlin special, then moved into commercials and landed guest appearances on such series as Family Ties, The Twilight Zone, and Little House on the Prairie, as well as appearances in movies including I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) and The Star Chamber (1983). Faustino was tapped for the Married role in 1987, and rode to fame as the series soared in popularity (and controversy), remaining with the program for each of its ten seasons. By the early '90s, the performer had also branched out into an ambitious musical career; he founded an urban-themed nightspot called Club Balistyx in West Hollywood, where he frequently performed as a rap singer, and in 1992 issued his first audio recording, The Balistyx Album. After Married folded in 1997, Faustino resumed feature roles, with parts in films including The Heist (1999), MacArthur Park (2001), Freezerburn (2005), and National Lampoon's Pucked (2006). He continued to appear on TV, mostly playing himself in cameo roles in shows like Entourage and launched a successful voice-over career, voicing characters in The Legend of Korra and Dreamworks Dragons.

Trivia: Pentecostal preacher-turned-outrageous rock & roll-oriented standup comic Sam Kinison had a cult following and a promising career as one of the next comedy superstars that ended in a fatal car crash. After leaving his church, the charismatic, long-haired, and pudgy comic went wild and based his sometimes envelope-pushing monologues on his exploits with drugs, booze, women, and rock music that were punctuated by plenty of profanity and his trademark screams. At the height of his popularity, Kinison was performing with some of the biggest rock acts in late-'80s America, including Mötley Crüe and Ozzy Osbourne. When his fast-lane lifestyle began extracting heavy tolls upon his life, Kinison left the party-animal life, gave up booze and drugs, and settled down with his beautiful third wife, Malika Souiri. He appeared in one feature film, Back to School (1986), guest starred on television occasionally, notably on Saturday Night Live, was featured in cable comedy specials, and co-starred as the unruly manifestation of a yuppie's mid-life crisis in the short-lived sitcom Charlie Hoover. Shortly after the series' cancellation, Kinison was fatally injured and his wife seriously hurt in an automobile crash. It is ironic, with Kinison's efforts to clean up his personal life, that the driver of the car at fault was drunk.

Trivia: After achieving fame as a child star in the early '90s, Thomas Ian Nicholas graduated to (slightly) more adult subjects in the raunchy teen hit American Pie (1999). During his Los Angeles childhood, Nicholas' mother worked in casting, providing her son with an early entry into the business. The dark-haired boy first appeared on camera at age eight, playing Tony Danza's younger self in an episode of the 1980s sitcom Who's the Boss?. Nicholas moved to films in 1992, in the fantasy-drama Radio Flyer. Nicholas earned his first feature starring role as the miraculously endowed young pitcher in the lighthearted, child-oriented crowd-pleaser Rookie of the Year (1993). Continuing his de facto magical mystery tour, Nicholas starred as a contemporary teen transported to mythic Camelot in A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) and its sequel A Kid in Aladdin's Palace (1997). Shedding his kid persona, Nicholas formed his own rock band T.I.N. Men, releasing its first album in 1997. By 1999, Nicholas revealed that he was definitively over the age of consent (if not out of teen films) in American Pie. As a high-school senior aiming to lose his virginity with girlfriend Tara Reid, Nicholas' Kevin may have been in a better position to do the deed by graduation than buddy Jason Biggs, but his performance anxiety became another source of ribald humor. Nicholas followed his American Pie success with a guest-starring stint on TV drama Party of Five's final season and the inevitable American Pie sequel. Continuing the trend of appearing in teen pics, Nicholas would next turn up in such films as Halloween: Resurrection and The Rules of Attraction (both 2002) before appearing as a young incarnation of Old Blue Eyes in Stealing Sinatra (also 2002). Nicholas kept a lower-profile in the next decade, appearing in films like The Chicago 8 (playing Abbie Hoffman) and Walt Before Mickey (playing Disney himself). He also had a recurring role on the short-lived series Red Band Society.

Trivia: Dividing his time more or less equally between big- and small-screen work, actor Ted McGinley enjoyed a considerably successful tenure as a character player, almost always appearing as beefcake heartthrob types. He began his career in the early '80s, with small roles in Garry Marshall's satirical farce Young Doctors in Love (1982) and the lurid Joan Collins telemovie Making of a Male Model (1983), but achieved his first significant break in the sitcom venue, as English teacher-cum-basketball coach Roger Phillips on the final four seasons of Happy Days (1980-1984). Fortuitously, at about the same time that Days folded, the producers of The Love Boat (on the same network, ABC) tapped McGinley to play photographer Ace Evans -- a last-ditch attempt to save the program from sagging ratings. The strategy ultimately failed when Boat ended its lengthy run in 1986, but in the meantime, McGinley landed what became a recurring role as jock Stan in the first three installments of Revenge of the Nerds. Eventually, McGinley also joined the cast of the long-running Married...With Children from 1991 through 1997, playing chauvinistic layabout Jefferson D'Arcy (second husband of the Bundys' neighbor Marcy Rhoades), and essayed roles in theatrical films including Physical Evidence (1989), Wayne's World 2 (1993), and Dick (1999). The late '90s and 2000s found McGinley evincing a heightened presence in television once again, first on Aaron Sorkin's critically worshipped yet short-lived seriocomedy Sports Night (1998-1999), then as Charley Shanowski on the sitcom Hope & Faith (2003-2006). In 2008 he competed in the reality program Dancing With the Stars, and in 2010 he appeared in the lighthearted, family-friendly Christmas with a Capital C. He would reach pop-culture immortality when the website Jumping the Shark named him as one of the signs that a TV show has run out of ideas.