The recent death of Deliverance actor Bill McKinney made me remember how that movie features one of the most infamously false rumours of a “Before They Were Stars” appearance. For many years, it was believed that Ed O’Neill made his film debut with an uncredited bit part as a deputy near the end of Deliverance, and some sources (including Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide) still claim this as fact. However, in his DVD commentary track for the movie, director John Boorman clarified that the man playing the deputy was some local guy and NOT Ed O’Neill, so his false credit for Deliverance has since been removed from the IMDb. I honestly don’t know how the rumour got started in the first place, and while I can definitely see a resemblance, I’m pretty sure this guy is not Al Bundy.
Anyway, I’ve instead posted a REAL “Before They Were Stars” clip of Ed O’Neill chewing down some seafood in this 1983 commercial for Red Lobster.