Modern Family Cast Wishes 'Legend' Ed O'Neill a Happy 74th Birthday After Series Finale Airs
Happy birthday, Ed O’Neill!
Several of the actor’s Modern Family costars celebrated his 74th birthday on Sunday with tributes on social media. Sofia Vergara, who played O’Neill’s on-screen wife in the ABC sitcom, shared a photo of the pair on Instagram.
“Feliz Cumpleaños Ed O’Neill!!🎉🎉🎉🎉 miss uuuu already!❤️❤️” the actress, 47, captioned the shot.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who portrayed O’Neill’s son on Modern Family, shared a photo with his real-life husband Justin Mitika and his on-screen dad.
RELATED: Modern Family: Breaking Down the Emotional Series Finale — and How the Show Ended After 11 Seasons
Feliz Cumpleaños Ed O’Neill!!🎉🎉🎉🎉 miss uuuu already!❤️❤️
A post shared by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara) on Apr 12, 2020 at 1:58pm PDT
Happy Birthday to this legend. No not me. No not @justinmikita. No not @barbrastreisand.
A post shared by Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) on Apr 12, 2020 at 12:20pm PDT
RELATED: Ed O’Neill on Introducing Leonardo DiCaprio to His Daughter: ‘She Was, Like, Comatose’
“Happy Birthday to this legend,” Ferguson, 44, wrote alongside the photo, joking, “No not me. No not @justinmikita. No not @barbrastreisand.”
Meanwhile, Eric Stonestreet, who played O’Neill’s on-screen son-in-law, dedicated a tribute post, writing, “Happy birthday to the master of the 3 word sentence. No one can get more out of 3 words in a scene than the great Ed O’Neill. He and I worked together on a show from 2009 to early 2020 called Modern Family. Happy birthday Ed.”
“Happy birthday to Ed! I’ve learned so much from this guy and I’m grateful,” wrote Jeremy Maguire, 8, who played O’Neill’s youngest son in Modern Family. “I hope he has the best blessed day! #mytvdad #happybirthday.”
Modern Family premiered in 2009 and has won five Emmys for outstanding comedy series. In February 2019, ABC announced that the 11th season of the hit sitcom was the series’ last.
A post shared by Eric Stonestreet (@ericstonestreet) on Apr 12, 2020 at 11:59am PDT
A post shared by Jeremy Maguire (@superjmaguire) on Apr 12, 2020 at 10:05am PDT
During a recent visit to the Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss Modern Family‘s conclusion, O’Neill shared an anecdote from another holiday.
The Married … with Children alum told the story of introducing his daughters to Leonardo DiCaprio one Father’s Day.
RELATED: Modern Family Cast Honors Show’s End with Emotional Social Media Tributes: ‘So Much Love’
Sarah Hyland/Instagram Cast of Modern Family
“We had just ordered and she was on her phone,” said the actor. “And then I saw her look up and all of a sudden it was like she was stricken. I mean, I really thought something was wrong with her. I said, ‘What’s the matter?’ and she said (whispering), ‘Shut up!’ ”
“And then I turned around and I saw a party coming in, and they sat near us. And it was Leo DiCaprio,” O’Neill told Ellen DeGeneres. “Now, my daughter has had a crush on Leo since Romeo + Juliet, so she freaked out.”
O’Neill said that ultimately, DiCaprio came over to say hi, and at the end of their meal told his daughter, ‘Sophia, it was really nice meeting you, sweetheart.’ ”
The actor joked that the interaction left his daughter “comatose.”
