He Played Steve on "Married…with Children." See David Garrison Now at 69.

The actor left the sitcom after just four seasons, but he had a good reason.


For the first four seasons of Married… with Children, David Garrison famously played Al Bundy's friend and neighbor Steve Rhoades. Tetapihe left the show in 1990, not because there was any trouble on set or behind the scenes drama, but because he wanted to return to doing theater work. Before Garrison joined the Married…with Children cast, he starred in another show called It's Your Move sepertiJason Bateman and was already a distinguished, Tony-nominated stage actor. He would return to the Bundy family's lives a few times before the comedy ended, and, after that, continue acting on stage and on screen. Read on to find out what Garrison is doing now.

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He brought a little Broadway to Married… with Children.

Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, Christina Applegate, David Faustino, Amanda Bearse and David Garrison in 1989
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Garrison said in an interview with getTV that doing the hit sitcom only made him miss theater more, which is why he decided to end his run. "​​I was basically commuting from New York to shoot the show in Los Angeles, and I missed my life in Manhattan, as well as my theater career," the actor explained. "The first rule of show business is 'leave them wanting more,' so after four seasons, I felt it was time to exercise some other muscles. I left on good terms, and returned as a guest on the show in subsequent seasons."

Garrison also revealed that some of his character Steve's quirks also came from his love of the stage. He said in the same interview that Steve's proclivity for humming and singing Gilbert and Sullivan tunes was all his idea. "I came from the New York theater, and much of my work on and off-Broadway was in musicals," he said. "[Married…with Children creators] Ron [Leavitt] danMichael [Moye] liked to tease me about that, and so the notion that Steve Rhoades was a Gilbert and Sullivan fan was just geeky enough to please them."

He toured with a blockbuster musical.

David Garrison in 2005
L. Cohen/WireImage

After leaving the sitcom, Garrison indeed focused on his stage career. Some of the productions he's appeared in include Raksasa!, Bells Are Ringing, danSaya bersedia! Saya bersedia!Most notably, he played the role of The Wizard in the original touring company of the massive hit musical Jahat. Garrison went on to join the Broadway company and later the Chicago and Los Angeles companies. So, if you've seenJahat in any of those cities or on tour, it's likely it was Steve from Married… with Children playing that role.

He continues to work on stage, with recent roles in Candide, Selamanya, The Cradle Will Rock, danThe Great Society.

He still pops up on TV.

David Garrison and Amanda Bearse
Walter McBride/Getty Images

While the theater might be where Garrison feels most comfortable, he still takes on the occasional TV role. He's made guest appearances on shows including Madam Secretary, Istri yang baik, Law & Order, dan30 Rock.His most recent onscreen role was in a 2017 episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

Though he departed Married… with Childrenbefore the show ended, he stayed close with Amanda Bearse, who played Steve's wife Marcy on the sitcom. In a 2020 interview with The Fayetteville Observer, Bearse said she was "still very good friends" with Garrison, and the two even had a red carpet reunion at an Off-Broadway play opening in 2018 (pictured above).

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He (reluctantly) sits in the director's chair.

David Garrison in 2019
Walter McBride/Getty Images

Garrison has dabbled in directing, too. In 2021, he helmed a one-act opera for the Merola Opera Program, which is located in San Francisco. In 2020, Garrison said in a Merola Opera masterclass that though it made sense for him to start to direct, he still primarily sees himself as a performer. "I've never said those immortal words, 'What I really want to be is a director,'" he explained. "But I think that having a love of both opera and theater and having done a lot of—I hesitate to use the word 'masterclass,' because I'm not a master—but having worked with opera singers in terms of building acting chops, this was the next logical progression for me."

READ THIS NEXT: LihatMarried… with Children Star Ted McGinley Now at 63.


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