Spare may refer to:

Spare (bowling)

Austin Osman Spare

Spare part (logistics)

*Spare tire

Spare rib

Spare bus driver

ja:スペア

name	Wong Fu Productions
residence	Los Angeles, California
birthname	Wesley Chan ()April 27, 1984Ted Fu ()October 26, 1981Philip Wang ()October 28, 1984
yearsactive	2001–present
alma mater	University of California, San Diego
headquarters	Alhambra, California
website	http://www.wongfuproductions.com/ }}

Wong Fu Productions is an Asian American filmmaking group composed of Wesley Chan (born April 27, 1984), Ted Fu (born October 26, 1981), and Philip Wang (born October 28, 1984). The trio met at the University of California, San Diego in 2004 and produced a number of music videos and short films released on their website and later YouTube before establishing a professional media company, Sketchbook Media, after their graduation. Their works have been featured at a number of national and international film festivals, including the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.

As of August 2011, Wong Fu Productions' YouTube channel has over 900,000 subscribers, more than 18 million channel views, and over 100 million upload views. They are the 18th most subscribed directors on YouTube, 53rd most subscribed YouTube partners, and the 55th most subscribed of all time.

History

According to Philip Wang, Wong Fu Productions was unofficially established in 2001 during his high school junior year. Wang mainly utilized his family's digital camcorder to film school projects in collaboration with classmates. In his first year as an undeclared freshman at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Wang and his friends released a music video of Justin Timberlake's song "Señorita". It was the first music video produced by Wang and, although he did not actively promote it, the video was quickly circulated among other fellow college students. The video was circulated in its original computer file format because it was released prior to the advent of the video sharing website YouTube.

In 2004, Wang met classmates Wesley Chan (graduated from Mills High School in 2002) and Ted Fu through a school production, and the trio began working on small scale projects in their spare time and for class assignments. They did not originally consider filmmaking as a career when they entered university; Chan explored an interest in animation, Fu had been a student in mechanical engineering and Wang considered a career in economics. After graduation in 2006, the three moved to the Los Angeles area and continued their venture under the professional name Sketchbook Media.

Notable productions

Wong Fu Productions was initially known for its independent music videos of contemporary hit songs such as Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning" and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours". Wong Fu released its first major short film called ''Yellow Fever'' on January 25, 2006. The film, which satirized the topic of interracial dating between Asian Americans and White Americans, brought Wong Fu into recognition among many college students in the United States.

''A Moment with You'', the group's first feature-length film, premiered on June 3, 2006, at their alma mater. It was also screened at the San Diego Asian Film Festival on October 18, 2006. The film revolves around two neighbors who share similar romantic situations, in which one person in each relationship cannot let go of his or her past. "A Moment with You" was promoted through a screening tour at high schools and universities around the United States and Canada. In a review for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's student newspaper ''The Tech'', Tina Ro wrote, "Despite its large Asian fan base, Wongfu's [''sic''] movie has a cast of equal numbers of Asians and Caucasians. Furthermore, all the characters were shaped by their own characteristics rather than by their race, a refreshing concept for a movie." According to ''The Daily Texan'''s Katherine Fan, ''A Moment with You'' featured a "more mature, introspective mood than their previous work."

Following the success of ''A Moment with You'', Wong Fu was approached to create a second film called ''Sleep Shift''. However, the project was abandoned after producers disagreed with casting an Asian male in the film's lead role. Since the end of its first tour, Wong Fu has created music videos for rising artists and continued producing short films. The group's merchandise line, which included original T-shirt designs, was launched in conjunction with the 2007 film ''Just a Nice Guy''. The short film ''The Spare'' was featured at the 2008 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, and two additional short films—''At Musing's End'' and ''A Peace of Home''—were shown at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival Short Films Corner. In September 2009, Wong Fu released the short film ''Poser!'', a mockumentary on the history of the peace sign.

As of November 2009, Wong Fu Productions has created more than 130 short films and music videos. Because the group does not require a fee to view its films, it gains a salary from being a YouTube partner, draws profits from merchandise sales, public speaking on university campuses, and music video production for rising Asian American artists.

International Secret Agents

In addition to the group's filmmaking career, Wong Fu Productions has organized a series of multidisciplinary concerts in California. The concert series, International Secret Agents (ISA), featured musical disciplines from urban dance to deejaying with Asian American guest artists such as Far East Movement. Additional guest performances included ''America's Best Dance Crew'' champions Quest Crew and Poreotics and singers–songwriters David Choi and Kina Grannis. According to Chinese American rapper Jin, "ISA is about self-branding and viral marketing — using YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and the Internet to promote yourself as an artist." He asserted, "We as artists are aware of this and make ourselves available [on these mediums]." Far East Movement member Virman Coquia said, "We want to give back to the community to show that Asians can have an influence today in the U.S." Additionally, Coquia believed that ISA presented the opportunity to present Asian American talent as cool and mainstream.

The first ISA concert was held in September 2008 at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in Los Angeles. A second concert was held in March 2009 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and both events were attended by a sold-out crowd. The concert returned to Los Angeles in September 2009 and was sponsored by department store J. C. Penney. In 2010, ISA was held in New York City for the first time. Wong Fu has also expressed interest in holding future ISA concerts in Washington, D.C. They also had another ISA concert in Los Angeles on September 5th. Playing up the name "International Secret Agents," The LA leg of the 2010 ISA Concert was filled with surprises as secret guests like Nick Cannon showed up to join the performers on stage.

Impact

Short films released by Wong Fu Productions have received, cumulatively, millions of views, and the group has several thousand fans. According to Wang, the group's website received 5,000 daily hits in 2009. He expected the audience size to grow "as online video becomes part of everyday life for the up-and-coming generation of movie-watchers" but believed that movie theaters will not become obsolete. University of Southern California digital media expert David Wertheimer also believed that "Wong Fu's use of new media to tell their community stories and build a business is the wave of the future." The group's success has allowed for growth in the popularity of Asian American comedians who promote themselves primarily through YouTube, such as Kevin Wu (KevJumba), Ryan Higa (Nigahiga), Christine Gambito (HappySlip), and David Choi. Although grateful for the group's success and popularity, Wang said, "Some people who go to film school, they'll make something great but it's only seen by like, two hundred people [...] It's kind of not fair."

In a feature by CNN, newscaster Ted Rowlands reported that Wong Fu's primary audience were "young Asian Americans who often can't find accurate depictions of themselves in mainstream media". Through its films, Wong Fu Productions hoped to break the different stereotypes of Asian Americans.

Despite this goal, Wong Fu's films were inspired by the members' life experiences rather than racial experiences. The group also does not promote political messages through their works but, rather, raises "many APA issues that we feel would fit our brand and image." They are often considered role models for Asian Americans aspiring to enter the entertainment industry. In response to this, group member Ted Fu said, "We actually didn't set out to be the 'heroes' of Asian Americans. It just happened by accident. But now that we're given this huge responsibility, almost, I feel like it's our duty to take it seriously." Wong Fu presented "one of the most antipicated workshops" on sustaining an independent production company at the 2008 Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association Midwest Conference. They were also the keynote speakers at the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association 2010 West Coast Conference, which was hosted at their alma mater, UC San Diego.

Notes

References

External links

Wong Fu Productions official website

Wong Fu Store

Sketchbook Media official website

Category:American film directors of Asian descent Category:American Internet personalities Category:Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Category:Companies established in 2006 Category:Entertainment companies of the United States Category:Film production companies of the United States

name	Andrew Bird
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
born	July 11, 1973Chicago, IllinoisUnited States
instrument	Voice, whistling, violin, guitar, glockenspiel
genre	Indie rock, indie folk, folk rock, baroque pop
occupation	Musician, Songwriter
years active	1996–present
label	Rykodisc, Righteous Babe, Fat Possum, RCRD LBL, Bella Union, Earwig Music, Waterbug, Carrot Top, Delmark
associated acts	Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Kevin O'Donnells Quality Six
website	andrewbird.net
notable instruments	}}

Andrew Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

History

Early life and the Bowl of Fire (1973–2002)

Trained in the Suzuki method from the age of four, Bird graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1991 and Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in violin performance in 1996. That same year he self-released his first solo album, ''Music of Hair''. Vastly different from his later work, this album showcased his violin skills and paid tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues. Following this, his initial commercial exposure came through collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers, appearing on three of their albums (''Hot'', ''Sold Out'', and ''Perennial Favorites'') between 1996 and 1998.

Taking on the role of bandleader, Bird released ''Thrills'' on Rykodisc in 1997 with his group Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, shortly followed by second album ''Oh! The Grandeur'' in 1998. Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz, and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument, as well as providing vocals along with his trademark verbose lyrics. The Bowl of Fire featured musicians from Bird's home town of Chicago, including Kevin O'Donnell, Joshua Hirsch, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins, Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn, and Ryan Hembrey. During this period, Andrew Bird was a member of the jazz group Kevin O'Donnells Quality Six, for which he was the lead singer and violinist and contributed to arrangements and songwriting for the albums ''Heretic Blues'' (Delmark 1999) and ''Control Freak'' (Delmark 2000) (both Delmark albums were produced by Raymond Salvatore Harmon).

In 2001, the Bowl of Fire released their third album, ''The Swimming Hour'', a dramatic departure from their previous recordings. It featured a mixture of styles, from the zydeco-influenced "Core and Rind" to more straightforward rock songs such as "11:11". Due to this eclectic nature, Bird has often referred to it as his "jukebox album". Although gaining critical praise (''The Swimming Hour'' received a 9.0 from indie music website Pitchfork), the band failed to attain commercial success or recognition, playing to audiences as small as 40 people. In 2002, Bird was asked to open for a band in his hometown of Chicago, but fellow Bowl of Fire members were unavailable for the date. The reluctant Bird performed the gig alone, and the surprising success of this solo show suggested potential new directions for his music.

Early solo career (2003–2005)

The Bowl of Fire unofficially disbanded in 2003, and Bird went on to radically re-invent himself as a solo artist. His two subsequent albums were released on Ani Difranco's Righteous Babe Records label. 2003's ''Weather Systems'' (originally released on Grimsey Records) was a sparse record with a dramatic change in musical direction. It featured the tracks "Skin" and "I", proto-versions of songs that would later become "Skin Is, My" (''The Mysterious Production of Eggs'') and "Imitosis" (''Armchair Apocrypha'').

''The Mysterious Production of Eggs'' (2005) continued a progression towards an eclectic indie–folk sound, and both records formed a stark stylistic break with Bird's earlier work, swapping the lush backing of a full band for carefully layered samples of sound constructed using multitrack recorders and loop pedals. As his sound changed, Bird made increasing use of guitar, glockenspiel, and whistling in his songwriting, in addition to his traditional violin and vocals.

Bird is noted for improvising and reworking his songs during live performance, as can be seen in his series of self-released live compilations entitled ''Fingerlings'', ''Fingerlings 2'', and ''Fingerlings 3'', the first of which was released in 2002. Each ''Fingerlings'' EP was released prior to a studio album, and presented a mixture of live performances from different shows, including old tracks, covers, and previously unreleased songs, some of which have since appeared on studio albums. ''Fingerlings 3'', released in October 2006, also featured studio outtakes. Fingerlings 2 provided Bird with an unexpected boost in recognition in 2004 when it was named album of the month by ''Mojo''.

In 2005, co-collaborator Martin Dosh joined Bird's line-up, adding percussion and keyboards to his sound. Jeremy Ylvisaker was later added to the group on bass and backup vocals.

Signed to Fat Possum Records (2006–present)

In September 2006, Bird signed to Fat Possum Records, and in March 2007 he released his third post-Bowl of Fire album, ''Armchair Apocrypha''. The album was recorded in collaboration with electronic musician Martin Dosh, and includes a track composed by Dosh (with lyrics by Bird) entitled "Simple X". This song first appeared without Bird's lyrics as "Simple Exercises" on Dosh's 2004 release ''Pure Trash''. The album was produced by Ben Durrant (who had worked on Dosh's ''The Lost Take''), and also featured Haley Bonar and Chris Morrissey. In advance of the March release date, ''Armchair Apocrypha'' was leaked to the Internet in January 2007. The album went on to sell over 100,000 copies.

As publicity for ''Armchair Apocrypha'', Bird made his network television debut on April 10, 2007, performing "Plasticities" (from the new album) on the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. He also appeared on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on June 14, 2007, performing "Imitosis" from the same album. In April 2007, he did a ''Take-Away Show'' acoustic video session shot by Vincent Moon. These appearances were accompanied by an extensive tour, which ended with sell-out performances at the Beacon Theater, New York and the Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles.

In January 2007, Andrew Bird made an appearance on the Noggin television network's ''Jack's Big Music Show'', playing the part of Dr. Stringz and appearing in order to mend a character's broken dulcimer. Bird sang a brief song called "Dr. Stringz", written specially for the show. He now often plays it live as an introduction to the song "Fake Palindromes".

On May 20, 2007, National Public Radio aired a live concert by Bird from Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club He also worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for his 2007 spring tour.

Five of his songs — "Banking on a Myth" from "The Mysterious Production of Eggs," a medley of "I" from ''Weather Systems'' and "Imitosis" from "Armchair Apocrypha," and "Skin" and "Weather Systems" from ''Weather Systems'' — have been licensed for use by Marriott Residence Inn.

Since March 2008, Bird has contributed to "Measure for Measure," a ''New York Times'' blog in which musicians write about their songwriting process. In it, he has charted the development of the song "Oh No," previewing samples at various stages of development through to the finished album recording. He also discussed the conception of the song "Natural Disaster," the recording of instrumental piece "Hot Math," and previewed "Master Sigh." The first two songs were later released on Bird's 2009 album "Noble Beast," whilst the latter two appeared on its bonus disc "Useless Creatures."

In December 2008, Bird appeared in the second series of Nigel Godrich's ''From the Basement'' alongside Radiohead and Fleet Foxes. His performance included a preview of new song "Section 8 City," a ten minute re-imagining of "Sectionate City," which originally appeared on the "Soldier On EP."

Bird's fifth solo album, "Noble Beast," was released on January 20, 2009, and contained fourteen new songs, with bonus tracks available for download from iTunes and eMusic. "The Privateers" is a re-imagining of a very early song entitled "The Confession" from 1999's "Oh! The Grandeur." A limited deluxe edition of the album included alternate packaging and artwork, as well as an all-instrumental companion disc entitled "Useless Creatures." The entirety of "Useless Creatures" was made available via Bird's website during the run-up to the release. "Noble Beast" has been met with generally favourable reviews, receiving a score of 79 out of 100 from review collation site Metacritic.

In 2009, Bird contributed a cover of the song "The Giant of Illinois" to the HIV and AIDS benefit album "Dark Was the Night" produced by the Red Hot Organization. On May 11, 2009, Bird released the EP "Fitz and the Dizzy Spells." It contains "Fitz and the Dizzyspells" from "Noble Beast," as well as other songs from that album's recording sessions. Some of the songs on the EP were previously available for download from iTunes and eMusic as bonus tracks to "Noble Beast."

In 2010, Bird recorded with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, contributing vocals and violin on a cover of "Shake It and Break It" on "Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program."

Influences

Growing up, Bird was surrounded by classical music. As a child, he was interested in Irish tunes and bluegrass. He also cites English and Scottish folk music as an early influence. His early jazz influences were Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, and Fats Waller. He has also had a number of classical influences such as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Bela Bartok. Other influences included jazz, swing, calypso, and folk. Bird has stated that, at 22, he found a lot of indie rock and pop music repetitive and boring, but now understands it better.

Discography

Bowl of Fire albums

''Thrills'' (1998)

''Oh! The Grandeur'' (1999)

''The Swimming Hour'' (2001)

Solo albums

''Music of Hair'' (1996)

''Weather Systems'' (2003)

''Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs'' (2005)

''Armchair Apocrypha'' (2007, Fat Possum) #76 US

''Noble Beast'' (2009, Fat Possum) #12 US

Live albums

''Fingerlings'' (2002, Grimsey Records)

''Fingerlings 2'' (2004, Grimsey)

''Fingerlings 3'' (2006, Grimsey)

''Live In Montreal'' (2008, Bella Union)

''Fingerlings 4'' (2010, Wegawam Music Co.)

EPs and singles

''The Ballad of the Red Shoes'' (2002)

''Sovay'' (2005, Fargo Records) – single

''Live at Bonnaroo Music Festival'' (2006, Live at Bonnaroo Music Festival) – Live EP

''Soldier On'' (2007) – European tour EP

''Fitz and the Dizzy Spells'' (2009)

''Anonanimal'' (2009) – single

Other album appearances

Kiltartan Road – ''Joy to the Morning'' (1995)

Kat Eggleston – ''Outside Eden'' (1996, Waterbug Records)

Lil Ed and Dave Weld with The Imperial Flames – ''Keep On Walkin''' (1996, Earwig Music)

Andrew Calhoun – ''Phoenix Envy'' (1996, Earwig Music)

Charlie Nobody – ''Soup'' (1996)

Squirrel Nut Zippers – ''Hot'' (1996, Mammoth Records)

Squirrel Nut Zippers – ''Perennial Favorites'' (1998, Mammoth)

Rose Polenzani – ''Dragersville'' (1998, The Orchard)

Pinetop Seven – ''Rigging the Toplights'' (1998)

Extra Virgin – ''Twelve Stories High'' (1999)

Kevin O'Donnell – ''Heretic Blues'' (1999, Delmark Records)

Andrew Calhoun – ''Where Blue Meets Blue'' (1999, Waterbug)

Sally Timms – ''Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos'' (1999, Bloodshot Records)

Squirrel Nut Zippers – ''Bedlam Ballroom'' (2000, Hollywood Records)

The Blacks – ''Just Like Home'' (2000, Bloodshot)

The Handsome Family – ''In the Air'' (2000, Carrot Top Records)

Devil in a Woodpile – ''Division Street'' (2000, Bloodshot)

Kevin O'Donnell – ''Control Freak'' (2000 · Delmark Records)

Neko Case – ''Canadian Amp'' (2001)

The Verve Pipe – ''Underneath'' (2001, RCA Records)

Jenny Toomey – ''Antidote'' (2001, Misra Records)

Kelly Hogan – ''Because It Feel Good'' (2001, Bloodshot)

Sinister Luck Ensemble – ''Anniversary'' (2002, Perishable Records)

Abandon Jalopy – ''Mercy'' (2002)

''WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances'' - "Core and Rind" (2002)

Kristin Hersh – ''The Grotto'' (2003)

The Autumn Defense – ''Circles'' (2003, Arena Rock Recording Co.)

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – ''Sings Greatest Palace Music'' (2004, Drag City)

Bobby Bare, Jr. – ''From the End of Your Leash'' (2004, Bloodshot)

Nora O'Connor – ''Til the Dawn'' (2004, Bloodshot)

Ani DiFranco – ''Knuckle Down'' (2005, Righteous Babe Records)

My Morning Jacket – ''Z'' (2005, ATO Records)

Bobby Bare – ''The Moon Was Blue'' (2005, Dualtone Music Group)

Emily Loizeau – ''London Town'' (in French and English) (2006)

Dosh – ''The Lost Take'' (2006, anticon.)

Candi Staton – ''His Hands'' (2006, Astralwerks)

Magnolia Electric Co. – ''The Black Ram'' (2007, Secretly Canadian)

KFOG Live From the Archives Volume 14 – (2007)

''Song of America'' - "How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down On the Farm" (2007, Split Rock Records/Thirty One Tigers)

Charlie Louvin - "Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs" (2008, Tompkins Square)

Todd Sickafoose - "Tiny Resistors" (2008, Cryptogramophone)

Dosh – Wolves and Wishes (2008, anticon.)

Final Fantasy – ''Plays to Please'' (2008, Blocks Recording Club)

Dianogah – ''Qhnnnl'' (2008, Southern Records)

Loney, Dear - ''Dear John'' (2009)

Dark Was the Night – "The Giant of Illinois" (Red Hot Organization, 2009)

Live at KEXP Vol.5- ''Oh No'' (2009)

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - ''Know Better Learn Faster'' (2009, Kill Rock Stars)

Dosh – Tommy

Twistable Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to Shel Silverstein - ''The Twistable, Turnable Man Returns'' (2010, Sugar Hill Records)

''Muppets: The Green Album'' - "'Bein' Green'" (2011, Walt Disney Records)

References

External links

Official site

Andrew Bird collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

TED talks

Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:American fiddlers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American rock guitarists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:Old Town School of Folk musicians Category:People from Jo Daviess County, Illinois Category:Fat Possum Records artists Category:Retro-swing musicians Category:Whistlers Category:Righteous Babe artists Category:Bienen School of Music alumni Category:Living people Category:1973 births Category:Rykodisc artists Category:Live Music Archive artists

de:Andrew Bird (Musiker) es:Andrew Bird eo:Andrew Bird fr:Andrew Bird ga:Andrew Bird it:Andrew Bird he:אנדרו בירד no:Andrew Bird pl:Andrew Bird pt:Andrew Bird sv:Andrew Bird tr:Andrew Bird

colour	#DEDEE2
name	Al Bundy
first	"The Pilot"
last	"How to Marry a Moron, Part 2"
gender	Male
vital dates	1947-2007
occupation	Women's shoe salesman
family	Father (deceased)Mother (died during series)
spouse	Peggy Bundy (married in 1971)
children	Kelly Bundy (daughter, eldest child) Bud Bundy (son, youngest child)
relatives	Jimmy (nephew)Uncle Stymie (uncle)Seamus McBundy (ancestor; deceased)Eugene Bundy (cousin)
portrayer	Ed O'Neill
creator	Michael G. MoyeRon Leavitt }}

Al Bundy is a fictional character from the U.S. television series ''Married... with Children''. He was played by Ed O'Neill.

Character history

Al is a simple man, who finds himself constantly downtrodden by life and forever regretful of the turns his life has taken since the end of high school, when marriage and a broken leg prevented him from playing college football. The character was so popular that it has left O'Neill somewhat typecast since the series ended production.

Al Bundy is married to Peggy. He mistakenly asked her to marry him after he got drunk. He has two children: Kelly, a promiscuous and dumb (albeit gorgeous) blonde, and Bud, an intelligent but perpetually horny and unpopular weasel named after a brand of beer. Al lives in Chicago and is the proud owner of a Dodge (the particular model is never mentioned, although in one episode it is revealed that "The Dodge" is constructed out of assorted parts of other broken-down, destroyed Dodges). He works as a shoe salesman at the fictional Gary's Shoes and Accessories for Today's Woman in the fictional New Market Mall. Al hates his job, loses it several times throughout the series, yet always ends up coming back to it. There is a running joke throughout the show that Al makes minimum-wage. However, in one episode, Al is offered early retirement and given a year's pay: $12,000. In "My Mom, The Mom", Al states that he earns a 10% commission on each sale. The family also brought in income through game-shows, theft, various absurd schemes and mooching off of the Rhoades and D'Arcy's wealth throughout the series.

Throughout the series, Al is continually saddled with massive debts caused by everything from the various disasters he becomes involved in to his wife's extravagant spending habits. However, he never appears to miss a mortgage payment or file for bankruptcy. The "Bundy Will", passed down from generation to generation as a punishment, indebted the "benefactor" with these debts that Al Bundy has incurred.

In flashbacks, it is revealed that Al's mother may have been an alcoholic. While pondering his shortcomings over a toothpaste sandwich, he relives a moment where his mother tells him he can become anything while audibly saying "Yeah right, Mom, try saying that when you're sober!". In another similar situation, he asks her if she wants her Bloody Mary.

Most of the show's running gags concern Al. Aside from his bad luck, Al also maintains a "do-it-yourself" attitude whenever something in the house needs repair; combined with his creativity, poor judgement, and lack of skill, this usually produces absurd results, and often in physical injury to Al. Al is also frequently described as being careless about hygiene: he is often told he smells bad, and whenever he goes to a public restroom, he overflows the toilet. He is often seen leaving restrooms, even public ones, with a newspaper tucked under his arm, to the sound of a toilet flushing. A running gag is that Al showers or even brushes his teeth as rarely as he has sex, which is extremely infrequent, as he continually rejects Peggy's advances.

Al is not very well liked by his neighborhood. In "Route 666" Marcy D'Arcy said that when they thought Al had died, they all started dancing and singing "Ding Dong, the shoe man's dead" and called it a "cruel, cruel hoax" when they learned it was a false alarm — as usual, Al had survived his latest misadventure. Other people pay little to no attention to him and, as a result, his name often ends up misspelled on paychecks, parking spots, etc. (e.g., "Bumby", "Boondy" or "Birdy").

Despite being a somewhat phlegmatic and slow person, Bundy has a sarcastic and cynical sense of humor; he also has a definite love for his family, though that can still be traded for a fair amount of money. On the rare occasions when he enjoys luxury and money, Al indeed expresses love for his family. An example can be seen in one episode where Peggy and Al receive free first-class plane tickets to New York City from Marcy and are seen sipping champagne and singing "I Got You, Babe" together. In another episode, Al's Dodge turns up missing and he wants it back to recover an item in the trunk. The item turns out to be a picture of Al, Peg, Bud and Kelly together. This suggests that his distaste for them is spawned merely by his blaming them for his poor quality of life.

Al dislikes fat women (repeatedly insulting them to their faces with one-liners), his job, the prospect of having sex with his wife, his feminist neighbor Marcy D'Arcy, and the French. He loves nudie magazines, free beer, bowling and "nudie" bars, and often cherishes the glory moment of his past: scoring four touchdowns "in a single game" while playing for the fictional Polk High School Panthers in the 1966 city championship game versus fictional Andrew Johnson High School, including the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds against his old nemesis, “Spare Tire” Dixon (played by Bubba Smith in episode "All-Nite Security Dude"). Another episode "Damn Bundys" featured Al selling his soul to the devil (played by Robert Englund) in order to lead the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl as the oldest rookie in NFL history; Al scores the touchdown and ends up in hell with his family and neighbors for 200 years. (In real life, O'Neill tried out for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, the first season of Hall of Famers Chuck Noll and "Mean Joe" Greene, but was cut in training camp, leading to O'Neill re-enrolling at Youngstown State University and starting his acting career there). In the season 8 episode "Dud Bowl II", a scoreboard at Polk High's football stadium was to be dedicated to Al, but Marcy had it arranged for it to instead be named after Terry Bradshaw (who says later in the episode that he never played football while attending Polk High) out of malice; but after hearing from Kelly how much it would mean to her father if the scoreboard honored him, Bradshaw decides to let the scoreboard to be named after Al. Al did not know this and arranged to have Jefferson and Bud blow up the scoreboard, he found out at the dedication and rushed to prevent the marching band's cymbalist from crashing his cymbals (Al was unsuccessful and the cymbals were crashed into his head, injuring him); Jefferson and Bud blew up the scoreboard on that cue.

He is a fan of oldies music, and a fan of westerns. His favorite movie in particular is ''Hondo'' (which he missed once in the episode "Assault and Batteries", after having been knocked unconscious when a cash register he threw at an automatic door in frustration over being locked in a store bounced off the door and hit him in the head), and his favorite sitcom is the fictional ''Psycho Dad'' (he led an unsuccessful protest to have the show put back on the air after it was canceled due to its violent content, leading Al and his NO MA'AM organization members to go to Washington, D.C.). Politically, Al can be classified as apolitical, but later in an homage to his time as Al Bundy, Ed O'Neill reprised the role of Al showing his support for the then-candidate, Barack Obama's tax plan. The plan was said to give "Al the Shoe Salesman" a $1,000 federal tax break. Bundy's favorite magazine is ''Big'uns,'', though an early episode used an issue of ''Playboy'' instead. He enjoys watching sports and adult movies on television, with his right hand tucked into his waistband (he switches to his left hand on Sundays). Though he almost always resists Peggy's frequent amorous advances, he is shown to have a particular fondness for her breasts, which she refers to as "the guys."

Al's talents include bowling (he is an extremely gifted bowler), barbecueing (while wearing an apron that says "Kiss the Cook, Kill the Wife"), and getting into and winning fistfights. He can survive incredible injuries ranging from falling off his roof while installing a satellite dish, getting shocked by that same dish, and being pulverized by a massive woman wrestler (Big Bad Mama from Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) in Las Vegas, to jumping from an airplane without a parachute, and surviving a huge explosion when he accidentally detonates dynamite in his own yard trying to kill a rabbit who has been eating his vegetable garden. Al also has an encyclopedic knowledge of sports trivia, which usually demonstrates how he has little interest in anything else. He does however serve his country by joining the U.S. National Guard in which Al receives the 'Bronze Dumpster' for service during a garbage strike.

In season 8, Bundy and his friends found NO MA'AM, the "National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood". Its "political goals" are to fight the increasing power of women all over society, but the organization tends to just be a social club for several neighborhood men to bond: consume beer, indulge in pornography, bowl, visit strip clubs, watch sports, etc. However, there have been instances of actual "political activities" such as kidnapping Jerry Springer; countering a breast-feeding sit-in organized by Marcy with a Beer Belly dance-off; causing a riot over a proposed beer tax; going to Washington to appeal to Congress when ''Psycho Dad'' is canceled; and even forming a short lived misogynistic religion, whose chief theology is blaming all the world's problems on Eve - the first woman. Al shows great leadership skills, being the lead organizer/instigator of many of NO MA'AM's activism and authoritatively breaking NO MA'AM members' squabbles with "Focus gentlemen, focus!"

Since there was no final-episode special to provide an epilogue, it is unknown what would happen to Al in the end. However, his guardian angel (Sam Kinison in the 1989 episode "It's a Bundyful Life, Part 2") mentions that at age 60 his stomach gets so ulcer-ridden that he dies from all the stress of living his life. {A 1990 episode revealed Al is 43-making his vital dates 1947-2007} According to his family funeral plans in the episode "Death of a Shoe Salesmen", he would be buried next to his favorite television actor Fuzzy McGee. When his wife Peggy dies, due to a loophole in his original burial plans, she will be stacked face-down on top of him, much to his dismay. In the episode "I Who Have Nothing," according to his will, he'd be buried with all his prized football possessions, leaving just his worthless Joe Nuxhall baseball card to his only-begotten son Bud. To the rest of his family he'd leave a picture of him, posing in his jersey with his football, that would read "To My Beloved family, have a nice life!". The final episode he appeared in was "How to Marry a Moron, Part 2".

Reception

Al and Peg were named the 59th best TV characters by Bravo.

References

External links

Al Bundy Blog - latest Married… with Children news

The Bundy Principle - media notes inspired by Al

A tribute to Al's Ferguson

Bundy, Al Category:Sitcom characters Category:Fictional players of American football Category:Fictional characters from Chicago, Illinois Category:Fictional baseball players Category:Fictional salespeople

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