{"id":3591,"date":"2024-06-30T18:52:26","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T01:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/?p=3591"},"modified":"2024-06-30T19:25:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T02:25:31","slug":"stunning-secrets-from-behind-the-scenes-of-married-with-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/stunning-secrets-from-behind-the-scenes-of-married-with-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Stunning Secrets From Behind the Scenes of \u2018Married\u2026 With Children\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In 1986, on a fledgling TV station known simply as Fox, a show that would become a cultural touchstone during its 10-plus years on the air premiered. Married\u2026 with Children<\/em> was not a roaring success during its first season, or even its second. It would take the work of a \u201cfamily values\u201d activist and some unintended consequences to turn it into a smash TV hit. Who was the activist, and what were the consequences? Hold tight, as those answers and more little-known Married\u2026 with Children<\/em> facts will be revealed. You\u2019ll learn fascinating \u2014 and in some cases, hilariously funny \u2014 tidbits about Al, Peggy, Kelly, Bud, Marcy, and yes, even Buck. Discover these behind-the-scenes Married\u2026 with Children <\/em>facts that you (probably) never knew.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Where do you rank Married\u2026 with Children <\/em>among the all-time great comedy sitcoms? Where does Al Bundy rank among the all-time great television characters? How does Married\u2026 with Children <\/em>compare to The Simpsons<\/em>, the other show that made Fox into the powerhouse it is today? We want to hear from you! Let us know on Facebook and make sure to SHARE<\/strong> this with fellow fans of the Bundys!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Show’s Working Title<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Fox<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The character of Marcy D\u2019Arcy, Peggy Bundy\u2019s best friend and neighbor, was named after an executive producer of The Cosby Show<\/em>. Why, you ask? Well, the working title for Married \u2026with Children<\/em> during production, before the show aired, was Not the Cosbys.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Stealing From ‘National Lampoon?’<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Source: YouTube\/TVStuff2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the original opening sequence, there is a shot of cars on an interstate interchange. That footage is actually from\u00a0National Lampoon\u2019s Vacation<\/em>. The\u00a0Griswolds\u2019 Ford Crown Victoria station wagon can be seen in the short clip. Also, Al\u2019s \u201cmighty Dodge\u201d vehicle in the show is actually a 1972 Plymouth Duster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How About a Little Notice?!<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Source: Fox<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the May 6, 1997 season finale aired \u2014 which would end up being the last episode \u2014 executives at Fox didn\u2019t know if they would cancel the show. They finally decided they would, but didn\u2019t tell the cast of their decision right away. Ed O\u2019Neill was on vacation and overheard a couple at a table next to him discussing the cancellation. He reportedly paid for their meal and thanked them for letting him know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Not an Overnight Success<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Source: Fox<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show was not a huge success on the then little-known Fox network, but fate intervened in a strange way. A season three episode entitled \u201cHer Cups Runneth Over\u201d insulted Michigan \u201cfamily values\u201d activist Terry Rakolta so much that she felt compelled to write to several advertisers, asking them to pull their ads from the show. Several companies did, but the media coverage ended up drawing more viewers to the program, and it soon turned into a major hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show\u2019s cast and crew reportedly sent Rakolta flowers each year after it was renewed, and even spoofed the controversy in the season nine episode \u201cNo Pot to Pease In.\u201d In that episode, the Bundys discover that there is a TV show based on their lives, which gets cancelled because a \u201chousewife in Michigan didn\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Peggy’s Bouffant<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was reportedly Katey Sagal\u2019s idea for Peggy to dress the way she did. When Sagal went in for her audition, she brought her own red bouffant wig. The producers loved it so much that they changed the character\u2019s look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ed O’Neill Wasn’t the First Choice<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Source: Fox<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed O\u2019Neill wasn\u2019t the producers\u2019 first choice, and they didn\u2019t think he\u2019d be able to capture the Al Bundy they were seeking, due to O\u2019Neill\u2019s background in dramatic performances. They changed their minds when he auditioned, though. One of the creators reported that O\u2019Neill was simply supposed to walk through the front door of the Bundy home. As O\u2019Neill walked through the door, though, he exhaled deeply and slumped his shoulders in defeat. Right then and there, the producers knew that O\u2019Neill understood the character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Fiction Meets Reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, Ed O\u2019Neill earned a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fittingly (and hilariously), the star is located in front of a shoe store. (Al played a disgruntled women\u2019s shoes salesman on the show.) Before\u00a0the series went off the air, O\u2019Neill reportedly made about $500,000 per episode, making him one of the highest-paid TV actors at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Fan Calls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Fox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the show\u2019s run, Ed O\u2019Neill agreed to make birthday and holiday phone calls to fans of the show while in character as Al Bundy \u2014 but with one condition. All the calls had to be made collect, in line with Al Bundy\u2019s cheapskate nature. Talk about method acting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

On-Set Troubles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In a 2013 interview, O\u2019Neill revealed that Amanda Bearse (Marcy\u00a0D\u2019Arcy) was the only cast member with whom he didn\u2019t get along. The trouble reportedly started during season three, when O\u2019Neill said that Bearse grew \u201cmore masculine\u201d and \u201csnarky.\u201d O\u2019Neill said that he had been supportive of Bearse\u2019s decision to come out as a lesbian in 1993, but that he and David Faustino were the only cast members not to be invited to her 2010 wedding. Bearse was reportedly worried that the two would laugh at \u201ctwo women in tuxedos.\u201d O\u2019Neill later admitted that he would have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Buck the Dog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Bundy family dog, Buck, was on the show on day one, and stayed until season 10, when he was given a \u201cretirement\u201d from the producers. Buck died on May 25, 1996, at age 13. Eerily enough, this was predicted in the 19th episode of season five, \u201cKids! Wadaya Gonna Do?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1986, on a fledgling TV station known simply as Fox, a show that would become a cultural touchstone during its 10-plus years on the air premiered. Married\u2026 with Children was not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowledge"],"views":621,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3591"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}