O’Neill takes lead role in fundraiser for YSU arts, theater

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown native and television star Ed O’Neill will be the featured guest at a fundraising dinner May 17 at Youngstown State University.

Seating is limited for the event that provides the opportunity to meet O’Neill in a small setting.

“An Evening with Ed O’Neill” will raise funds for the YSU College of Fine and Performing Arts and University Theater, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. Tickets are $250. Other sponsorship levels also are available. For tickets and more information, contact Catherine Cala in the Office of University Development at 330-941-2752 or cacala@ysu.edu.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served at 5:30 p.m. in the McDonough Museum of Art at YSU, and dinner will follow at 6:30 next door in the lobby of Bliss Hall. A special performance in Spotlight Theater in Bliss Hall will take place at 8:15.

O’Neill will be the featured speaker and receive an honorary degree at YSU’s spring undergraduate commencement at 10 a.m. May 18 in Beeghly Center. Tickets, required to attend commencement, are available only to graduates and their families.

O’Neill, who attended YSU and performed in productions of the theater department, is the star of the hit TV show “Modern Family.” He previously played the role of Al Bundy on the sitcom “Married ... with Children.”

Other television credits include roles in “Dragnet,” “Miami Vice,” “The West Wing,” “Big Apple” and “John from Cincinnati.” His starring role as the patriarch in “Modern Family” garnered him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He also has appeared in numerous movies, including “The Bone Collector,” “Little Giants,” “Dutch” and “Wayne’s World,” and performed on Broadway in “Knockout,” “Lakeboat” and “Keep Your Pantheon.”