Keck's Exclusives: Modern Family Actor's Meaty Award

Modern Family patriarch Ed O'Neill (Jay Pritchett) received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday — but surprisingly, he's more even excited about his customary bonus gift awarded to each recipient — a $9 loaf of pumpkin bread baked by the Dominican nuns of L.A.'s Monastery of the Angels. Why? Ed loves meat. I mean, he really, really loves meat and just can't wait to use the bread for sandwiches. 

"He talks about food all the time," confirms Ed's Modern Family TV son, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell). "We were just in Wyoming for our season premiere and he literally talked about meat for 45 minutes in the car ride to the set. At 9:30 at night he was still talking about meat to our executive producer."

In fact Ed greeted co-star Eric Stonestreet (Cameron) at his Walk of Fame ceremony by informing him that he had a large quantity of souvenir meat in his car for Eric. "I took Eric's beef jerky home for him from Wyoming and told him I'd bring in to set," Ed told me. "Eric cracked up laughing, telling me, 'Why the f--- would you be thinking of beef jerky now?'" 

Besides meat and his Walk of Fame star, which is located in front of the DSW shoe store (a cute nod to Ed's Married With Children shoe salesman, Al Bundy), Ed is also excited about an upcoming Modern Family storyline that finds his Jay once again mentoring step-son Manny. "I'm trying to teach Manny life's lessons by being a good salesman of Christmas wrapping paper," teases Ed. "But it doesn't go well."

Modern Family's second season premieres on DVD  and Blu-ray on Sept. 20, one day before the sitcom's third season premieres on ABC.

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