When the 77-year-old actor was unable to secure a spot on the Pittsburgh Steelers, he claimed he was contacted by a friend in Youngstown, Ohio.
The 77-year-old actor, who portrayed Jay Pritchett in the sitcom, revealed that when he was “broke” in his 20s, he was tempted to join a gang.
He claimed that he was raised by “gangsters” in Youngstown, Ohio, and that a friend had contacted him following his signing in 1969, only to have him cut from the Steelers.
“In organized crime, I had acquaintances. “Hey, take a ride with me,” said my friend Jim over the phone. “I would like to speak with you,” O’Neill said.
He said, ‘You can do this stuff for me, I’ll protect you,'” the actor continued. I’ll give you simple things. Here, you are the only one collecting. That’s what you do. You sprint, leaving random items behind. It’s possible that you will need to rely on a man, but you are skilled at it. You’re able to earn a respectable living.
“I might be leaving town to pursue this acting thing,” O’Neill told his friend, adding that he would give it some thought.
He went on, “I went home and gave it some thought. What else can I do, I wondered.
“My father, who was on the porch, knew that I had taken a ride with Jimmy even though he was unaware of this.
‘Can I talk to you about something?’ he asked the following day.
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“He remarked, ‘I observed you riding with Jimmy. I have a simple question for you. Would you be able to do time? You realize that jail would be a difficult place to be? “
After rejecting the offer, according to O’Neill, he relocated to New York.
He was speaking on the Dinner’s On Me podcast, which is hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, an actor from Modern Family.
After that, O’Neill portrayed Al Bundy in Married With Children from 1987 to 1997. In 2009, he was cast in the television series Modern Family.
Along with the cast of Modern Family, he received four Screen Actors Guild Awards and was nominated for three Emmys, two Golden Globes, and one Golden Globe.
Characters in the animated films Finding Dory and Wreck-It Ralph have also been voiced by O’Neill.
