Jay Pritchett (The patriarch)Played by
Ed O'Neill, ka Al Bundy on "
Married... With
Children," Jay is a wealthy retiree and
divorcé
who lives with his sultry, substantially younger, Colombian bride, Gloria (
Sofia Vergara), and her precocious,
pre-teen son, Manny (
Rico Rodriguez).
... more Through his
unconventional new nuclear family, the otherwise uptight Jay learns to embrace
the quirkiness of his neurotic daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen), and her nutty
husband, Phil (Ty Burrell); his gay son Mitchell's
(Jesse Tyler Ferguson) strangely
traditional relationship with macho partner Cameron (Eric Stonestreet); and the
still-forming eccentricities of his three paternal grandchildren: princess-y
Haley (Sarah Hyland), whiz-kid Alex (Ariel Winter) and, er, absent-minded
Luke (Nolan Gould). Unlike his iconic
"Married" character, O'Neill typically plays straight man to the colorful
ensemble, but imbues Jay with a believably gruff sensitivity. Close