Bud Bundy

Background:

“After the show was on for two or three weeks, I went to the mall and I wore my “Married... with Children” shirt, just waiting for someone to say, “Oh, you’re the guy...!” And not one person said anything.” David Faustino on the first season’s terrible ratings

American actor and singer David Faustino has been acting for nearly the rest of his life. Starting at the age of 3 months old, he had had 150 TV, film and TV commercials credits under his belt by the time he was 20. He is probably best remembered by TV viewers for his role as virgin son Bud Bundy on the long-running Fox sitcom “Married...With Children” (1987-1997), where he was handed six Young Artist nominations. He also received Young Artist nods for his efforts in television films 40 Days for Danny (1982), Summer Girl (1983), The Drug Knot (1986) and Mr. Boogedy (1986) and television series “The Love Boat” (1984) and “I Had Three Wives” (1985).

When he is not acting, 5’ 3” tall Faustino put his sights on music and business. A rap singer, he performed under the pseudonym D L’il. He has been featured in a rap album named Balistyx and on a Black & White Records release called “I Told Ya” . On the business side, he operates a hip-hop and funk night club on Sunset Boulevard named Balistyx. Opened in 1991, the nightclub soon became one of the hottest spots on Sunset Boulevard. He also was once the co-owner of “the Central” restaurant on Sunset.

As for his romantic life, Faustino, who once named one of VH1’s “100 Greatest Kid Stars,” is married to Andrea Elmer. Before the marriage, the active member of the “Agape International Spiritual Center” in Los Angeles dated actresses Elaine Hendrix and Juliet Tablak.


D-Faus

Childhood and Family:

In Los Angeles, California, David Faustino, whose nicknames are Dave and D-Faus, was born on March 3, 1974 to Roger Faustino, a tailor/costumer, and Kay Freeman. The third of four siblings, D-Faus’ older brother Randy (born in 1965) used to be an actor, but is now an audio technician who has worked for such shows as “Whose Line is it Anyway?.” His only sister, Nichole (born in 1969), and his younger brother Michael James Faustino (born 1979) are also actors.

D-Faus married girlfriend Andrea Elmer on January 24, 2004 in Las Vegas at the Little White Chapel of the West. Along with his wife, he now runs a hip hop and funk night club on Sunset Boulevard called “Balistyx.”


Failed D L’il

Career:

Born in California to a showbiz family, David Faustino has been acting since he was a baby, first appearing as Lily Tomlin’s child on one of her comedy TV specials when he was only three months old. By age 5, he had started performing in print ads and TV commercials. A year later, Faustino made his television debut in Act of Love, starring Ron Howard, and appeared in an episode of “Little House on the Prairie.” Then in 1982, he moved on to the big screen with Neil Simon’s I Ought to Be in Pictures, playing the son of Ann-Margret. He followed it up a year later with a role as Michael Douglas’ son in The Star Chamber, an action/drama directed by Peter Hyams. Meanwhile, his work on television films 40 Days for Danny (1982) and Summer Girl (1983) brought him Young Artist nominations for Best Young Actor.

Guest spots on several TV shows, including “Family Ties” (1983), “The Love Boat” (earned another Young Artist nod), “St. Elsewhere” and “E/R” (all 1984) as well as performances in television films like Velvet (1984) kept the young actor in public eye before he scored his first series regular as Victor Garber’s son, Robbie, on the CBS summer show “I Had Three Wives” (1985). Though short-lived, the show offered good opportunities for Faustino to demonstrate his acting skills. As a result, he was nominated a Young Artist Award for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor. He further built high-quality reputation by taking home two more Young Artist nominations for his efforts in the made-for-television films The Drug Knot and the Disney Sunday Movie Mr. Boogedy (both 1986).

Faustino, however, did not receive huge breakthrough until 1987 when he won the role of Bud Bundy on the family sitcom “Married...With Children,” opposite Ed O’Neill, Christina Applegate and Katey Sagal. Finely playing the would-be loose and dissolute son, he earned Young Artist nods for Best Young Actor in six consecutive years from 1988 to 1993. The series itself became one of the longest-running sitcoms in TV history, lasting 11 seasons until it came to an end in 1997.

After MWC left the airwaves, Faustino found himself studying acting in New York. He returned to film in 1998 by playing supporting role Cornfed in the drama 12 Bucks, which was followed by costarring roles in the action The Heist (1999), B.J Nelson’s comedy Dirt Merchant (1999), director-writer Max Mitchell’s Get Your Stuff (2000) and the comedy Killer Bud (2001). He maintained his presence on the small screen by making guest starring roles in various shows, including “The New Addams Family,” “Nash Bridges,” “The X Files” and “The Bernie Mac Show.” In 2004, the Californian actor made his return to series TV with a recurring role on the WB comedy “The Help,” playing the eldest son of the wealthy Ridgeway clan, Adam Ridgeway.

Next, Faustino appeared along side Jason Mewes, Lacey Chabert, Andy Dick, Danny Trejo and Edward Furlong in the comedy film Nice Guys, portrayed Paul the P.A. in the black comedy Freezerburn and appeared in episodes of the TV show “One on One” (all 2005). He teamed up with Jon Bon Jovi to star in the independent comedy National Lampoon’s The Trouble with Frank (2006) and acted in a comedy film by director Mekhi Phifer, Puff, Puff, Pass (2006), as Steve. The same year, his voice could be heard as Arthur/Time Skip in an episode of the animated series “Loonatics Unleashed.”

Aside from acting, Faustino was a fruitless rap artist under the stage name D L’il. For a period, he was part of a hip hop group called “The Outlawed Posse.” He has been featured in a rap album entitled “Balistyx”, named after the night club which he owns, and on a 1992 Black & White Records release named “I Told Ya.” His rap career was parodied in “Married... with Children” as Bud’s botched effort to score by being a rapper called “Grandmaster B.”

“Basically, everything that I would do in my outside life ended up in the Married... with Children” script, whether it was my battle with zits, or just growing up.” David Faustino


Awards:
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