Ed O'Neill on Dragnet from WCHS-TV8

		Saturday, Nov 21, 2009 03:17:20 PM

	DRAGNET

	ED O'NEILL as Detective Joe Friday

	ETHAN EMBRY as Detective Frank Smith

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Ed O'Neill
Detective Joe Friday on Dragnet

Best known for his role as Al Bundy on "Married with Children," Ed O'Neill has an impressive array of dramatic stage, television and feature film credits. The show that aired on Fox for more than a decade gave O'Neill two Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a television series.

In the early 1980's O'Neill moved to the bright lights of New York City from Youngstown, Ohio, to pursue his love of acting. He quickly landed his first role as an understudy in the Broadway production of "Knockout." It was kismet and a little bit of luck when the lead actor left the show and O'Neill had his chance to shine. He has acted on stage in many classic productions, including David Mamet's "Lakeboat" at the Long Wharf Theatre, "The Front Page" at the Philadelphia Drama Guild, "Of Mice and Men" at the Hartford Stage, "Gentle People" at Playwrights Horizon and "A Streetcar Named Desire" at Theatre Calgary.

O'Neill's other television credits include playing a New York police detective in the 2001 CBS cop drama, "Big Apple" -- co-starring Michael Madsen -- and where he first worked with "Dragnet" executive producer Walon Green. In 2000 he co-starred with Ann-Margret, Dianne Wiest and Camryn Manheim in the fantasy/adventure miniseries "The 10th Kingdom." He has also starred in the television movies "The Whereabouts of Jenny" and in the action thriller "Popeye Doyle."

O'Neill has also had a very busy career in the feature film world, working with a vast array of Hollywood talent. Recently he worked with John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow in the Nora Ephron-directed film, "Lucky Numbers." The year prior he again played a detective in "The Bone Collector," which also starred Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He and David Mamet came to work together again in the cult hit, "The Spanish Prisoner," starring Steve Martin and Campbell Scott. In 1991 O'Neill co-starred with his "Dragnet" partner, Ethan Embry, in the John Hughes comedy, "Dutch." He was also part of an ensemble cast, along with Rick Moranis, in the family comedy "Little Giants." And, showing his range as a comedic actor, he appeared in both of the "Wayne's World" movies, starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.

O'Neill, who has studied Jiujitzu for more than 10 years with the well-known Gracie family, currently lives in Los Angeles.

PERSONAL INFORMATION
HOMETOWN: Youngstown, OH
BIRTHDATE: April 12

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