Calif., Hawaii now home, but Ed O'Neill still misses Youngstown's Italian food and greenery

YOUNGSTOWN

Everywhere Ed O’Neill’s career has taken him over the years, his roots have always remained firmly planted in his Youngstown upbringing.

“I’ve taken [Youngstown] everywhere,” the star of “Modern Family” and “Married...With Children” said Saturday. “I grew up here, so this place shaped my sense of humor, anything I did athletically came from here, I loved the music here in Youngstown. I took it all with me.”

O’Neill spoke with the media shortly after he’d given the commencement address at Youngstown State University’s spring undergraduate commencement ceremony, during which he received an honorary doctor of arts degree.

He left Youngstown nearly 40 years ago to pursue a career in acting, and doesn’t get to return home as often as he’d like. But even while living the life of a TV star at his homes in California and Hawaii, there still are things he misses about his

hometown.

“I miss the local Italian food here,” he said. “And I miss how green it is here.”

O’Neill said he and his wife, Catherine Rusoff, drove from Poland to Lowellville on Friday and soaked in the local scenery. “It’s beautiful,” he said.

Read more of his observations in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.