The prototypical suburban dysfunctional family that comprised the Bundy Family was an instant hit with American audiences during the show – Married with Children’s – airing. Perhaps because some people who came from dysfunctional family units could easily relate, while others who did not
Much like any show, it would eventually come to an end. The end of it actually came as a shocker for Ed O’Neill, who was on vacation when Fox axed the show and actually read about losing his job in a newspaper. And even Christina Applegate, the vivacious, foxy bombshell mainstay, only learned about the demise of the sitcom after close friends informed her. What follows are a few more things you probably never knew about Married with Children.
- Longest running TV show to never win an Emmy until Baywatch was later canceled in 2001.
- Producers tried a similar show called Unhappily Ever After, which did not fare nearly as well.
- Sam Kinison and Roseanne Barr were initially offered the roles of Peg and Al Bundy (that would have been disastrous).
- Top of the Heap, later renamed to Vinnie & Bobby, was a spin-off that failed epically.
- The opening for the show depicts a cut to a scene from National Lampoon's Vacation, where you can clearly see the brown Ford Crown Victoria station wagon that was driven by the Griswold family.
- That nifty fountain in the opening intro is Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain.
- Ed O’Neill is the only cast member who actually appeared in all 260 episodes of the show.
- The Bundy telephone number was: 555-2878.