Al Bundy
Encyclopedia
Al Bundy is a fictional character
from the U.S. television series Married... with Children
. He was played by Ed O'Neill
.
, 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. In one flashback episode Al was revealed as having a overdue Library Book for 30 years; being Al he tries to get out of paying a $2,163.20 Library fine by tricking the Librarian {an old enemy of his} that he had returned it years before-only to have his trick revealed on close circuit TV on Chicago Television!
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-liner
s), 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. In one nightmare episode Al is accidentally poisoned and hovers between life and death-with the grim Reaper being played by his wife! In a reincarnation episode the Bundy's dog dies and comes back as a puppy to live with--the Bundies!
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), barbecue
ing (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 MyBeloved family, have a nice life!". The final episode he appeared in was "How to Marry a Moron, Part 2".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the U.S. television series Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
. He was played by Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
.
Character history
Al is a simple man, and forever regretful of the turns his life has taken since the end of high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, when marriage and a broken leg prevented him from playing college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. The character was so popular that it has left O'Neill somewhat typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
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
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
. Al lives in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and is the proud owner of a Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
(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
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
payment or file for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. 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. In one flashback episode Al was revealed as having a overdue Library Book for 30 years; being Al he tries to get out of paying a $2,163.20 Library fine by tricking the Librarian {an old enemy of his} that he had returned it years before-only to have his trick revealed on close circuit TV on Chicago Television!
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-liner
One-liner
One-liner may refer to:*one-liner joke*one-liner program, textual input to the command-line of an operating system shell that performs some function in just one line of input...
s), 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
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
and "nudie" bars
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
, 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
Bubba Smith
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith was an American professional football player who became an actor after his retirement from the sport. He first came into prominence at Michigan State University, where he twice earned All-American honors as a defensive end on the Spartans football team...
in episode "All-Nite Security Dude"). Another episode "Damn Bundys" featured Al selling his soul to the devil
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
(played by Robert Englund
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...
) in order to lead the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
to the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
as the oldest rookie in NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
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
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
in 1969
1969 Pittsburgh Steelers season
The 1969 Pittsburgh Steelers is what many consider to be the turning point of this once-moribund franchise. 1969 was the first season for Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll, the first season for defensive lineman "Mean Joe" Greene and L. C...
, the first season of Hall of Famers
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
Chuck Noll
Chuck Noll
Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
and "Mean Joe" Greene
Joe Greene (American football)
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
, but was cut in training camp, leading to O'Neill re-enrolling at Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...
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
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
(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. In one nightmare episode Al is accidentally poisoned and hovers between life and death-with the grim Reaper being played by his wife! In a reincarnation episode the Bundy's dog dies and comes back as a puppy to live with--the Bundies!
He is a fan of oldies music, and a fan of westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
. His favorite movie in particular is Hondo
Hondo (film)
Hondo is a movie that was made in 1953 by 3-D Warnercolor western film starring John Wayne, directed by John Farrow. The screenplay is based on the 1952 short story "The Gift of Cochise" by Louis L'Amour...
(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
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
reprised the role of Al showing his support for the then-candidate, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
'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
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
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
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
(he is an extremely gifted bowler), barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
ing (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
Satellite dish
A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive microwaves from communications satellites, which transmit data transmissions or broadcasts, such as satellite television.-Principle of operation:...
, getting shocked by that same dish, and being pulverized by a massive woman wrestler (Big Bad Mama from Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, also known as GLOW or G.L.O.W., was a professional wrestling promotion for women, begun in 1986 and continued in various forms after it left television. Colorful characters, beautiful women, and over-the-top comedy sketches were integral to the series' success...
) in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, to jumping from an airplane without a parachute, and surviving a huge explosion when he accidentally detonates dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
in his own yard trying to kill a rabbit who has been eating his vegetable garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
. 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
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
.
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
Male bonding
Male bonding is a term that is used in ethology, social science, and in general usage to describe patterns of friendship and/or cooperation in men...
: consume beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, indulge in pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, bowl, visit strip clubs, watch sports, etc. However, there have been instances of actual "political activities" such as kidnapping Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
; 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
Eve
Eve is the first woman created by God in the Book of Genesis.Eve may also refer to:-People:*Eve , a common given name and surname*Eve , American recording artist and actress-Places:...
- 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
Sam Kinison
Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
in the 1989 episode "It's a Bundyful Life, Part 2") mentions that at age 60 his stomach gets so ulcer
Peptic ulcer
A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
-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
Joe Nuxhall
Joseph Henry Nuxhall was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 through 2004, and continued part-time up until his death in 2007...
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