BREAKING NEWS
OK LogoENTERTAINMENT

Ed O'Neill Reveals 1989 'TV Guide' Cover Sparked His Longtime Feud With 'Married With Children' Costar Amanda Bearse

ok split taylor
Source: MEGA/@mandyblvd/Instagram

Jan. 21 2024, Published 1:45 p.m. ET

Link to FacebookShare to XShare to Email

Ed O’Neill revealed the truth about he and Married… With Children costar Amanda Bearse's bitter feud.

While on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s “Dinner’s On Me” podcast Tuesday, January 16, the Modern Family star, who played Al Bundy on the ‘80s series, divulged that the pair’s rift began when O’Neill didn’t stand up for Bearse after she was excluded from the cast’s 1989 TV Guide cover shoot.

Article continues below advertisement
ed oneill
Source: MEGA

Ed O'Neill is famous for his role on 'Modern Family.'

"I did a thing on the show that involved Amanda Bearse that I regretted,” he said. “We didn’t get along, but we did for a long time. We were great friends. And I could guess, I don’t want to speak for her, but it started when we got the cover of TV Guide.”

The 77-year-old explained how Bearse, 65, — who played Marcy D’Arcy on Married… With Children — and other costar David Garrison were excluded from the magazine cover as they “were the neighbors” on the show.

Article continues below advertisement

“Because they had a rule: only so many could be on the cover,” O’Neill stated, before noting TV Guide had made some exceptions for other shows.

“Now they violated that for like two shows, I think it was MASH, and Dallas,” he continued. “That was an exception, they weren’t doing it for us.”

amanda bearse
Source: @mandyblvd/Instagram

Amanda Bearse and Ed O'Neill costarred on 'Married... With Children.'

Article continues below advertisement

O’Neill shared Bearse wanted him to fight for her and Garrison to be included, but the Ohio native kept quiet in fear of losing the opportunity.

“We were lucky to get it. It was like the sixth year in or something, and we were thrilled to get the cover of TV Guide. It was big. And Amanda and David came out in unison from their dressing room,” he recounted. “We were on the soundstage, and she said, ‘We expect you to go to [co-creator] Ron Leavitt and tell him this doesn’t work. We’re all on the cover.'”

ed oneill
Source: MEGA

Ed O'Neill played opposite Sofía Vergara in 'Modern Family.'

MORE ON:
Ed O'Neill
Article continues below advertisement

O’Neill also admitted he would have handled the situation differently today. In the end, O’Neill went on to pose for the TV Guide cover in with his co-stars Katey Sagal, Christina Applegate and David Faustino. Married … With Children went on to run for 11 seasons from 1987 to 1997.

As OK! previously reported, while appearing on Ferguson’s podcast, O’Neill revealed he almost started working for the mob because he was "broke" and at a standstill in his career.

amanda bearse
Source: @mandyblvd/Instagram

Amanda Bearse recently starred in 'Bros.'

Article continues below advertisement

"I had friends in organized crime," the actor confessed, mentioning one pal Jim. "Most of them, actually, were not mafia-made guys. There weren't that many made guys in Youngstown. But it was a lot of gangsters in Youngstown. All associated with these made guys. A lot of these guys were called associates."

Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!

Article continues below advertisement
Source: OK!

When Jim proposed the star do a job for him, the dad-of-two told him, "'Let me think about it, Jim. I don’t know. I might be leaving town to pursue this acting thing.'”

Advertisement

Want OK! each day? Sign up here!

Opt-out of personalized ads

© Copyright 2024 OK!. A DIVISION OF EMPIRE MEDIA GROUP HOLDINGS LLC. OK! is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice.