‘Modern Family’ Reunion At SAG Awards Served As ‘Proof Of Life’ For One Cast Member

The cast of Modern Family reunited at the SAG Awards to present the “Ensemble in a Comedy Series” category, which was won by The Bear.

Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Ed O’Neill, Sofía Vergara, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson bantered about what they have been up to after the series ended.

But there was a more serious purpose in the appearance for at least one cast member. Jesse Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom, said during a Friday appearance on The Tonight Show that he talked Ty Burrell into attending the ceremony to ward off rumors among fans who thought he’d died.

“Honestly, on that night, we were all busy,” Ferguson explained about their SAG reunion. “Sofia Vergara was supposed to be doing press, I was supposed to be here in New York, Julie Bowen was shooting a show, Ed O’Neill  had a glass of wine to drink. And so we all canceled those very important things, and we figured out a way to come together because the last time we had a reunion, Ty Burrell wasn’t able to come, and so we posed with a photo of Ty… and then the internet thought he was dead.”

This time, Ferguson wasn’t letting him out of the gig.

“When the SAG Awards happened, [Burrell] was supposed to do something else,” Ferguson said. “I was like, ‘Ty! You can’t miss it again! People will really think you’re dead!’ It’s like, ‘We need to present you to show you that you’re not dead!’ So he made it.”