Ed O’Neill was born Edward O’Neill on April 12, 1946 in Youngstown, Ohio. O’Neill attended and graduated from Ursuline High School and went on to teach Social Studies before he pursued acting. He is a practitioner of Brazilian Ju-jitsu and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 although he was later released during training camp. His first acting break came when he was cast in the television series, All My Children and gained further prominence as Al Bundy on the long-running sitcom, Married with Children. O’Neill was also the first actor from the FOX network to be tapped as a host on Saturday Night Live in 1990.
Bill Jacks, played by Ed O’Neill on John from Cincinnati, is a former cop with the Imperial Beach police force. Despite retiring from the force, he remains preoccupied with the department and its operations. He has gone into virtual isolation as a result of his grief over the death of his wife, Lois, and spends his time amidst a cacophony of parrots and cockatoos he keeps in his home. He is a close family friend of the Yosts and does what he can to fill the void Butchie Yost has left in the life of his son, Shaun.
(Photo courtesy of HBO)