Characters

Al Bundy

The head of the Bundy family, Al (Ed O'Neill) is doomed to fail in all aspirations because of the 'Bundy curse'. Once a promising fullback for fictional Polk High School (his proudest moment in life was running for four touchdowns in a single game), he was on his way to college on a scholarship until he impregnated his girlfriend, married her, broke his leg, and ended up a shoe salesman at Gary's Shoes in the New Market Mall. Al often spends time attempting to recapture his glory days but is usually undermined in spectacular fashion by bad luck and poor judgment. He considers his family to be the cause of his failures, and his resentment of them (and fear of having sex with his wife) provides much of the show's humor. However, Al is still devoted to them, given that he protectively beats up Kelly's boyfriends, once threatened a male stripper that "if my wife loses anything down your pants, so will you," once gave his entire paycheck to Bud to enjoy his eighteenth birthday at the nudie bar, and holds down a lousy job to put food on the table. Despite his yearning for "the touch of a beautiful woman," he always passes on those rare temptations, once explaining, "I actually kinda like my family." He frequents "nudie bars" and strip joints with his friends. The only thing that seems to consistently put him in the mood for his wife is watching her do manual labor, which virtually never happens. It is mentioned in a Season 5 episode, aired in 1990, that Al is 43, which means his age pays homage to his real-life self, Ed O'Neill, who was also 43 at the time. Al has extremely severe foot odor, prefers the escapism of television and bowling over his dysfunctional family and life of drudgery and starvation (as Peg refuses to cook, she claims that she is allergic to fire, despite the fact that she smokes.), and is often seen in his trademark couch-potato pose — seated on the sofa with one hand stuck under the waistband of his pants. The foot odor is not his only health problem, for once in 1983 he had a bad case of dandruff. He also has terrible teeth, as noted in the episode "Tooth or Consequences" where his extremely poor dental hygiene (green, black, bleeding and loose teeth amongst them) leads to a trip to the dentist with typical bad luck results.

Al's favorite television series, the fictional Psycho Dad, was a source of joy and entertainment that Al seemingly at times wanted to emulate. He would hum the words to the theme song and pretend to "shoot" his fictional gun while watching the show. Much like Al's family, "Psycho Dad" was tormented by his family and was stated to kill his wife and get revenge on his children in the opening credits and during various fictional "airings" of the episode though no video was ever shown. His other joys were Westerns, often John Wayne films, most notably "Hondo" where Peg's family ruined his recording of the movie by taping over it with a song dedicated to Peg. He has also referenced "Shane" where the Wanker clan ruined his enjoyment of that movie.

Al also has his "faithful" Dodge that invariably had bad brakes, no brakes, constant break-downs and numerous other problems associated with its age. At the time of the fourth season at least, Al was still paying it off, despite it being over 20 years old and by the eighth season, had passed one million miles.

The producers originally wanted to cast comedian Sam Kinison as Al Bundy. However, they ultimately chose not to, due to the profaneness of Kinison's comedy routines. Kinison would later play Al's guardian angel in the episode "It's a Bundyful Life", spoofing Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. The producers also considered Michael Richards for the role.

Peggy Bundy

Margaret "Peggy" Bundy (Katey Sagal) is Al's very lazy high school drop-out housewife. She refuses to cook or to clean the house, and prefers shopping for new clothes to washing them and does not even think of having a job. During the day, she likes to watch all the daytime talk shows, sitting on the beloved family couch and eating tons of bonbons (without getting fat, amazingly enough). Her favorite TV shows are Oprah and The Phil Donahue Show, but also enjoys watching the Home Shopping Network. Peggy is a red-head with the bouffant hairdo and usually wears 1960s-styled fashion with tight pants and stiletto heels, which makes her walk in a unique way.

Despite her inappropriate behavior, she generally appeals to men, including Al whenever she does work. Like Al, she would never cheat on her partner -- but unlike Al, enjoys marital sex. She frequents strip joints with male dancers, causing some of them to establish the "Bundy rule" -- where women can no longer go into the back rooms to meet the dancers. Her maiden name is Wanker, and her family hails from the fictitious rural Wanker County, Wisconsin, where "As Einstein put it, everyone's relative." At Peg and Al's high school reunion one rival muttered "Peg, Peggy Wanker don't bother to thank her." What is never made clear is how she managed to go to high school with Al when her parents apparently never left Wanker County. During Season 6, Katey Sagal got pregnant in real-life so it was written into the show. Sadly, Katey delivered a stillborn child so in true 'Dallas' fashion, the writers made the whole storyline into one of Al's nightmares. Katey was pregnant again twice in the series' run, but instead of writing her pregnancies into the show, the producers either used camera shots from above the stomach or wrote episodes without the character of Peggy.

The producers originally wanted Roseanne Barr to play Peggy Bundy, but she declined and the producers cast Katey Sagal.

Kelly Bundy

Kelly (Christina Applegate) is the oldest child in the Bundy family, born in approximately 1972 or 1973 on November 27 or sometime before February 19 as noted in "Peggy Turns 300," where Kelly says her birthday is in February but erroneously refers to herself as an "Aquarium" instead of Aquarius. "Pumpkin," as Al often calls her, is a promiscuous bimbo and stereotypical "dumb blonde." She may have inherited her behavior from her mother, known as "The Big Easy" in high school. Peg has attempted to convey some of her other "values" to Kelly, most notably advice on how to avoid working.

During the series' run, Kelly got progressively more stupid. Intially, she was not the stereotypical dumb blonde bimbo she eventually becomes known for being. In one episode, a flashback to Kelly's childhood reveals her to once be a prodigious reader until she banged her head during a road trip, instantly changing her personality to prefer focusing on her "shiny, shiny shoes." The show hints to her amazing intrinsic intellectual ability, which only exhibits itself on those rare occasions when she is not preoccupied with her social standing or the opposite sex. For instance, she can predict the next number drawn on a roulette wheel, but only after letting her mind go blank. When properly motivated, she is able to solve complex mathematical equations, such as her calculation of the trajectory to shoot garbage bags into the D'Arcys' yard from a self-built catapult. It has been demonstrated that she can absorb a limited amount of information very well, but will forget something that she learned in the past once her limit is reached. She is also known to display excellent hand-eye coordination when playing pool or performing archery.

Kelly's comedic function tends to include blatant displays of naïvete and ignorance, with the typical response by the family of willfully allowing her to remain ignorant. Bud in particular likes to sow misconceptions in her mind. For example, she asks Bud to help her with her book report on Robinson Crusoe but ends up reviewing Gilligan's Island instead. Her family is surprised to learn that she earned her high school diploma in 1990 -- but when she receives her diploma through the mail after finishing summer school, she asks her mother to read it to her. She then worked as a model and waitress. She had become a bottle-blonde at an early age at her mother's encouragement after a boy at school liked a natural blonde more than Kelly. (Years afterward, neither can remember their own natural hair-color). She is obsessed with boys, hair bleach and the telephone. Kelly was not allowed to have sleepovers or birthday parties from age eight to age sixteen, thanks to an experience she had at age eight, where "the judge wanted to trial [her] as an adult!"

Though she often pokes fun at her younger brother Bud for being an underdeveloped, pubescent horndog, she usually seems to be proud of him whenever he manages to get an attractive date. On at least one occasion, she has also avenged Bud by humiliating a girl that humiliated him. For a short time, Bud is her official agent, entitled to 80% of her earnings. Kelly is very fond of her pets, even when unable to sufficiently care for them. Buck, the family dog, was generally considered to be hers, and she was the most upset when he died. However, when Buck was to be neutered, Al (not wanting to have Buck fixed) says "Buck is Bud's dog and we have to get Bud's permission." But Peg asks Bud if it is ok to neuter "his" dog, Bud does not seem to care and simply says "sure".

Her favorite comic strip is Garfield. Her less-than-stellar reading skills led to many comedic situations in which she would read the Garfield comic aloud, mispronouncing lasagne as "luh-SAG-nee." She also watches cartoons such as Looney Tunes under the impression that it is a nature show.

The show, and specifically Christina Applegate's character, is referenced in the movie Donnie Darko.

Bud Bundy

Budrick Franklin "Bud" Bundy (David Faustino) is the second child, born around 1974. He was named after Al's favorite beer, Budweiser. The first word Bud spoke was "hooters." He believes himself to be attractive, sexy and smooth, but often is typically caught in sexually humiliating scenarios. He is also shorter in stature than his sister, and a lot shorter than his mother. He does not appear to know how to impress women upon meeting them and is often rejected. It is unclear when he actually lost his virginity, as it was depicted that he may have bedded women as far back as age 14, but in the fourth season it is mentioned that he is still a virgin. Later in the series, he manages to have one-night-stands, including one with his cousin's fiancee, played by Joey Lauren Adams. He tries to get girls with the help of various alter-egos, including street rapper 'Grandmaster B' -- a persona often ridiculed by his family with the epithets 'Bed-wetter B', 'Cross-Dresser B', 'Grandma B', 'Grand bastard', 'Grand Marshall B', "Buderace", etc. (Interestingly, David Faustino has actually been featured in a few rap albums in real life, and manages a nightclub.) Another alter-ego is 'Cool Bud', Bud's sexual, suave side with which he eventually 'merges', prompting him to become more 'cool'. Bud has been known to fail at romance, as those attracted to him are often undesirable (such as fat hotel guests, dowdy college librarians, and male hotel workers). Bud also takes an interest in Marcy; when Steve leaves her, he actively pursues her. After playing a trick on Kelly to prove her stupidity, Kelly proves not to be so foolish by making Bud and Mrs Rhoades falsely believe they spent the night together. (Bud asks Marcy, "You are on the pill right?" In response, Marcy looks nervous).

Out of the Bundys, Bud seems to be the most ashamed of the family as he often pretends to not know them. He is also arguably the most academically intelligent. He ridicules Kelly as a promiscuous dimwit, and although he quite frequently uses her ignorance to his benefit, he occasionally feels obliged to defend her when others exploit her foolishness -- but he is known to scheme against his own family. He makes honor roll throughout high school, and gets himself through college (and even earns scholarship money which his family spends without his consent). During his college years, Bud is portrayed as the leader in his social circle (most of whom are stereotypical "losers"), as he appears to be the only one with the least bit of self-confidence. He is also Kelly's agent, receiving 80% of everything she makes.

Although he is occasionally bullied and beaten by bigger men, Bud has inherited his father's talents for fistfighting, once teaming up with Al to singlehandedly beat up an entire gang of teenage punks while helping Peg's father find a bear from Wanker County on the loose in Chicago. In two episodes, he has also assisted his fellow Bundys when they brawl with another family -- Al beats up the father, Peg beats up the mother, Kelly beats up the daughter and Bud beats up the son. On his eighteenth birthday, Bud also helped Al at a strip club brawl.

Buck

Buck (voiceover by writer Kevin Curran; on special episodes Buck is voiced by Cheech Marin) is the family dog. He is often "heard" by the audience through voiceovers that tell what is on his mind. He is just as disgusted with the family as the others. Peggy dotes on him, sometimes even cooking for him. Though extremely lazy, Buck has a huge, insatible sexual appetite, having at one point impregnating all the female dogs in the neighborhood. He died at one point in the series to allow the ten-year-old Briard that portrayed him to retire, although he was immediately reincarnated as Lucky.

Lucky

A character whose voiceovers were performed by writer Kevin Curran, Lucky is the spaniel that the family gets after Buck dies. He is the reincarnation of Buck, but no one in the family ever realizes this. In the episode "Lez Be Friends", the Bundy kids have difficulty entertaining a depressed Lucky; it is revealed that Lucky is gay, with a leather-clad pit bull as a companion.

Seven

Seven-year-old Seven (Shane Sweet) is adopted by the Bundy family after being abandoned by his own parents, cousins of Peggy from Wanker County (Linda Blair, Bob Goldthwait). True to the Bundy name, he quickly proves himself to be manipulative, conniving, and good in a fist fight. Although the character was intended to generate fresh storylines, the show's writers ultimately found it difficult to work the boy into the show’s adult-themed scripts. The character was abruptly dropped to the delight of the viewers. (A poll showed that more than 80% of the viewers did not like that character). His final appearance was in the episode "Peggy And The Pirates" where Peggy sends him off to bed so that she can make love to Al. The character was never to be mentioned again, except for three occasions in Season 8. one in which his face appears on the side of a milk carton over the words, “Have you seen me?” Another instance is when Marcy and Jefferson comes over to inform the family that Seven has been staying with them, and has learned to chant "Kill the Bundys" with the neighborhood. In episode 0823 ("Kelly knows Something"), when Al is teaching sports trivia to Kelly we see numerous (many essential) facts leaving her brain as she is learning. A picture of Seven flows out of her brain, indicating that she will no longer remember him. During Seven's time on the show the title was changed to "Married... With More Children." See also: Jumping the Shark.

Peggy's mother

Heard only in frightening voiceovers by Kathleen Freeman and ground-shaking gags (making her an unseen character), she lives with the Bundys in later seasons. There are vague and comical references to her gigantic weight. This woman is mostly the victim of Al's abrasive, behind-the-back, and hatred-filled insults. She was set to be played by Divine, who died before production. She works a phone sex line under the moniker "Butter."

Peggy's father

Ephraim Wanker, Peggy's father, was played by Tim Conway, appearing occasionally in the last three seasons. It is implied that he was drunk and held a shotgun to Al's head at Al's and Peggy's wedding. (He calls Peggy by her true name "Margaret"). Unlike many other sitcoms, where the father-in-law usually disapproves of the husband having married his daughter, Peg's father approves of Al so much so that he held a gun to Al's head to force him to follow through on the marriage Al had drunkenly proposed to Peg, although Ephraim implied in "The Joke's on Al" that the gun wasn't loaded at the time.