If you were around the late '80s and early '90s, you were probably at least a casual
viewer of Fox's beloved series "Married... With Children." Unfortunately, with the show
now decades old, many actors who appeared on the show have sadly passed away.
Joseph Bologna was featured in two episodes of "Married... With Children" and actually
enjoyed a successful career both on TV and in movies. His first role was in "Lovers and
Other Strangers," a play that he co-wrote and co-starred in with his wife, Renée Taylor.
Bologna played Al Bundy's construction worker friend Charlie Verducci on "Married." His
character was joined by his son, Vinny, who was played by a young Matt LeBlanc. They both
appeared in an episode titled "Top of the Heap," which led to a short-lived spin-off
series by the same name.
Bologna passed away in 2017 after fighting pancreatic cancer for three years. Taylor
confirmed his death to the media, noting that her husband had a, quote, "beautiful life
and a beautiful death" and that he passed away only two days after the pair celebrated
their 52nd anniversary. Taylor and Bologna wrote 22 plays together, and worked together
on quite a few programs.
Kathleen Freeman had a curious role in the show. As the voice of Ma Wanker, Peg Bundy's
mother, she never actually appeared on the show.
"Margaret, open the door! It's your mother, and I'm hungry!"
Freeman passed away in August 2001 following a battle with lung cancer.
Freeman's career kicked off in 1948 with "The Naked City," and she went on to have roles
in hundreds of movies and TV shows. She also directed, composed, and acted for Los Angeles'
The Circle and Players Ring Theatre, and was the founder of the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory.
Freeman once told the Conservatory's publication, The Focus, that she was only interested in
doing the best work possible saying -
"I'm not interested in ever showing up without doing my best. I've been trained. You've got
to be great every time, not once."
She also once explained to the Associated Press that making people laugh is her life's
work, saying -
"This will sound very corny and I'm sorry, but I have always had the sense I was put
here to do this: I am somebody who is around to help the world laugh. I have always had
that sense. Corny but absolutely true".
"Married... With Children" featured a running gag: different women would come and go from
Al Bundy's shoe shop. The women all have one thing in common: they consistently make Al
Bundy's life more complicated. Bellamy played one of these women on the show, but actually
also appeared on the show as Kathleen Morgan, who made a pass at Joseph Bologna's Charlie
Verducci and had a third appearance as Shirley, who was the leader of an organization called
Crimes Against Obesity.
Bellamy's real life intersected with her career later in her life. The treatment she received
for cancer interacted with her diabetes and caused her to go blind. She won the role of
Principal Cecilia Show on the WB's "Popular," who was also blind, and maintained a positive
mindset through it all.
Bellamy passed away in June 2001.
Tim Conway starred as Peg Bundy's alcoholic father, Ephraim Wanker, in a handful of episodes
of "Married." Conway also starred on the "The Carol Burnett Show," and many members of the
cast remembered the star fondly when he passed away in May 2019 at the age of 85.
Carol Burnett released a statement following news of Conway's passing.
"I'm heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a
loving human being. I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He'll
be in my heart forever".
In 2012, Burnett was asked in an interview if the team on her show ever worried about
running out of material, but she said they never had to, thanks to Conway.
"No, because we could always count on Tim to go over. So there was always enough show.
In fact, sometimes, because he would get on a roll and do stuff we had never seen before,
so maybe a four-minute sketch would turn into a 10-minute sketch — thanks to Conway — and
we could then bank another sketch that we were going to do that week for another week."
The story goes that the show was inspired by comedians Roseanne Barr and Sam Kinison,
who were each told they could play Peg and Al Bundy if they chose to do so. While both
opted out, Kinison did eventually appear on the show's 1989 Christmas special titled "It's
a Bundyful Life". Kinison played an angel in the holiday episode, which was inspired
by "It's A Wonderful Life." In the episode, Al Bundy sees what life would be like for
his family if he wasn't alive. Kinison is sent to make sure Bundy doesn't kill himself,
even though he wasn't planning to.
"Usually on Christmas, I'd be over at Moses' house. I'd be out by the pool waiting for
the new guy to jump off the board. And then Mo parts the water."
Sadly, Kinison passed away at the age of 38 in April 1992. He was killed in a head-on
collision near Needles, California, and his wife was injured in the same accident. The
New York Times reported -
"On Friday night, he was on his way to perform at the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino in
Laughlin, [Nevada], when his sports car collided with a pickup truck on U.S. Highway 95 about
200 miles east of Los Angeles. His wife, Malika, whom he married only last Sunday, was injured
in the crash and was taken to Needles Desert Community Hospital in serious condition."
Actress Janet Carroll was a living legend, with Variety noting that her role as Tom Cruise's
mother in "Risky Business" propelled her to superstardom. Her IMDb page lists a whopping
104 acting credits overall, and Carroll appeared on "Married... with Children" from 1994 to
1997 as Gary, the owner of shoe company Gary's Shoes, where Al worked. Considering her male-sounding
name, the show played with the idea that Gary was a man to frequently hilarious ends, but
once Carroll actually showed up, it was clear nobody else could possibly be the boss.
Carroll died at the age of 71, after a long battle with an unnamed illness. Born in Chicago,
she began her acting career immediately after finishing high school, quickly graduating
from the stage to the screen after moving to California. Among other productions, she
appeared in "Lady Windermere's Fan," alongside Lynn Redgrave and John Lithgow.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a character name better than "Spare Tire" Dixon but, in
reality, the actor who portrayed him boasted an even cooler moniker — Bubba Smith. Funny
enough, although he played a wannabe football star who frequently sparred with high school
rival Al in "Married... with Children," Smith was actually a former NFL player offscreen.
As The New York Times noted, he passed away in 2011 after suffering with "chronic traumatic
encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma."
Smith enjoyed a lucrative second career as an actor, having said goodbye to football
after the 1976 season. He was most well known for playing Moses Hightower in the "Police
Academy" movies, but Spare Tire was just as beloved a character. In keeping with the former
athlete's lovable reputation on and off the field, the Los Angeles Times detailed that
he actually parlayed a commercial job with beer brand Miller Light into a successful
acting career, with appearances in TV series including "Blue Thunder" and "Good Times"
alongside "Married... with Children."
Alan Thicke actually played two characters on "Married... with Children." In his first
appearance, the legendary Canadian portrayed Henry, who dated Kelly.
"I'm Henry. My other car is a yacht."
He then later played Bruce, who dated Peggy. TMZ confirmed the "Growing Pains" star had
died suddenly, in 2016, reportedly of a heart attack while in the middle of a hockey game
with son Carter. Thicke's elder son, Robin, the pop star behind "Blurred Lines," told
the Los Angeles Times some of his father's last words were, quote, "a compliment to his
son on a nice shot."
Looking back on his father's final moments, Robin explained -
"The good thing was that he was beloved and he had closure. I saw him a few days ago and
told him how much I loved and respected him."
Thicke's career was hugely impressive, with roles in the likes of "The Love Boat" and
"The Bold and the Beautiful" giving way to funny cameos on modern fare such as "How I
Met Your Mother". In one of his final interviews, with The Hollywood Reporter, the beloved actor
opined -
"There's not much that I haven't done in my life, but there's lots of things that I'd
like to do better."
Kevin Curran was a veteran comedy star, but he wasn't known predominantly as an actor.
In fact, Curran's sole onscreen role was in "Married... with Children." He mostly provided
the voice of both the family dogs, first Buck, then Lucky, and only actually appeared as
Buck's human self in Season 6's "Psychic Avengers," no doubt making an impression. He was a writer
and producer on "Married...with Children" too, as well as a writer on "Late Night with
David Letterman," where he provided his talents to the show in different ways. As Variety
noted in a 2016 article about his death, Curran was primarily known for the 15 years he spent
writing on "The Simpsons." He was 59 at the time of his death, which occurred following
a lengthy illness.
Curran was a Harvard graduate, and he actually met future "Simpsons" showrunner Al Jean while
studying at the Ivy League institution, who said about Curran -
"He was one of the funniest guys I ever met. He also had one of the sweetest, biggest hearts.
He really was a terrific guy."
Even if you don't know the name Jean Speegle Howard, you definitely know one of her sons,
prolific filmmaker Ron Howard. In 2006, ABC News reported on the sad death of the legendary
actress, who counted roles in the likes of "Apollo 13," "Cocoon," and, of course, "Married...
with Children" among her impressive slate. Speegle Howard took a break from her theater
career to raise sons Ron and Clint, transitioning to film and TV work once they were both grown.
She was subsequently forced to retire early due to ill health and died as a result of
complications from heart and respiratory illness at the age of 73.
Reflecting on the success of "Apollo 13," 25 years after the film's release, director
Ron admitted he initially didn't think his mother was old enough to play her role, and
was nervous to cast her for the important character, but told ET -
"I'm so happy my dad twisted my arm."
The actress was just as memorable in "Married... with Children," portraying a handful of different
characters over the years.
Many performers are considered character actors, but when it comes to the prolific Steve Susskind,
the moniker is particularly fitting. Over the years, Susskind made his mark on numerous
hit shows, and, naturally, "Married... with Children," in which the actor played Al's
BFF Barney for eight seasons. The Los Angeles Times confirmed his death at the age of 62
in 2005.
Susskind was reportedly killed in a traffic collision, when the limousine he was driving
was hit by another car. Aside from his impressively varied onscreen work, Susskind was also a
seasoned voiceover artist, lending his impressive pipes to the likes of Disney movies "The Emperor's
New Groove" and "Monsters, Inc." among others.
Similar to Bubba Smith, the enigmatic Beckie Mullen had a whole other life before appearing
on "Married... with Children." TMZ Sports broke the news of the former professional
wrestler's death in 2020. She died at the age of 55 after a long battle with cancer.
Known mostly by her moniker, Sally the Farmer's Daughter, Mullen was an original member of
the legendary Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, which was the basis for the Netflix series
"GLOW," as People noted.
Mullen was able to parlay her success in the ring into an acting career, landing roles
in "MADtv," "Renegade," and even Van Halen's music video for "Poundcake." Her appearance
as Yvonne to Pamela Anderson's Yvette in a saucy dream of Al's naturally made a significant
impact on male fans of "Married... with Children."
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