Modern Family Star Ed O'Neill Reveals He Almost Joined Organized Crime Before Hollywood Fame

Ed O’Neill, known for his stint in ABC sitcom Modern Family, recently talked about the other career option he thought about getting into before Hollywood fame. The actor revealed that he nearly pursued a career in organised crime when he was 23 years old. He disclosed he was looking for a job in his hometown, Youngstown, Ohio, in 1969 when he was offered an “illegal” job. 

Ed O’Neill shared an anecdote

During his appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson‘s Dinner’s On Me podcast, Ed O’Neill talked about the time he was persuaded to get into a mob. He recalled the time when he went on a drive with his friend who offered him a job. 

O’Neill stated, “He says, ‘I’m looking for this kid, his name is whatever, Demko, his name is Jimmy Demko, do you know him?’ And the guy says, ‘No, it doesn’t ring a bell.’… So he gives him 20, and he says, ‘Look, he’s an old friend of mine, I haven’t seen him in years, you know, I’m looking to reconnect, but I’d like to surprise him. So if he comes in again, you can call this number. You can reach me.’”

It ended with a job offer. “We left and he said, ‘You can do this kind of stuff for me, you know, I’ll protect you,’” he said. “‘I’ll give you easy stuff. Just you collect here. You do that. You run, you drop something off here and there.”

Ed O’Neill’s father’s advice stopped him from committing crimes

The decision wasn’t easy, O’Neill said. He consulted his father on the job. “He said,’ I saw you take a ride with Jimmy… I just want to ask you a question. Can you do time?’” O’Neill responded: “No.” 

“He said, ‘You couldn’t do time. You’d have a hard time being in jail, right?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t think I could do time. He said, ‘Okay.’” That ended that, O’Neill said. “I went, and then I called Jimmy, and I thanked him, and I said, ‘I’m going to New York. Yeah. I’m going to try this, this other thing.’”