Introduced in season 1 Sal Sal (
Elizabeth Banks) is Mitch and Cameron's wild, partying, boozy friend from their younger years in the 1990s. In the episode "
Great Expectations," she becomes very jealous of the attention Lily had been getting and threatens to kill her multiple times. In the episode "
Best Men," she gets married and enlists Cam and Mitch to be the best men at the wedding. However, in the episode, "
The Wedding (Part 1)" she tells them that she got divorced and she is pregnant. Sal had declared herself the officiator of the wedding while Cam and Mitch tried to intervene about her drinking. In "
The Wedding (Part 2)", Sal's water breaks in the middle of the (first) ceremony. She convinces her new boyfriend of four months (who believes he is the father) that when a baby comes so early, sometimes it is black. It eventually transpires (in "
Fight or Flight") that Sal's baby is white, and she is raising the baby alone, having presumably split from the man she saw at the time of Mitch and Cameron's wedding. When Mitch, Cam, Pepper, and friends throw her a baby shower, she is seen as far more mature and responsible due to her baby's birth, despite everyone fearing the worst when she disappears in the middle of the party.
Vincent "Shorty" Vincent "Shorty" (
Chazz Palminteri) is Jay's best friend. A stylish dresser and dancer, Jay says they were best friends for as long as he can remember. When Mitchell was born premature, Shorty visited Jay in the hospital and stayed for two days. In his honor, Jay gave Mitchell the middle name "Vincent". In the episode "
Fifteen Percent," Mitchell tricks Jay by telling him Shorty is gay. As a result, Jay agrees to cover Shorty's $20,000 debt to a bookie. In the episode "
Treehouse," Jay and Gloria are having Shorty and his girlfriend Darlene (
Jennifer Tilly) for dinner, and the next day the couples go Salsa dancing together. Shorty is part of Jay's birthday surprise in "
Bringing Up Baby". In "
Three Dinners", Shorty and Darlene, now married, announce they are moving to Costa Rica. Jay struggles to come to terms with the move and fights with Shorty, but event ually they share an emotional goodbye. Shorty returns in "
Sex, Lies and Kickball" and says he started a successful fruit juice business, but later confesses to Jay that his wife left him and that the business was a failure. Jay reassures him he'll help him get back on his feet. He performs in Jay's birthday roast in the episode "
A Year of Birthdays".
Introduced in season 2 Pepper Saltzman Sherman "Pepper" Saltzman (
Nathan Lane) is one of Mitchell and Cameron's friends. Although he was referred to in the pilot episode and several times after that throughout the first season, Pepper first appeared on camera in the second season. In "Earthquake," both Mitch and Cam hate going to Pepper's yearly party, and they decide to try and skip it this time. Since an earthquake happened, they say that Mitch has a sprained ankle and that stuff is broken all over the house as an excuse. Though none of their property had damaged the earthquake, Pepper invited himself over to their home to help. Not long after Pepper comes in, he starts to feel bad because Mitch told him that he does not want to go to the parties. After all, he gets jealous because of Pepper and Cam. He helps plan Mitchell and Cam's wedding. In "
Boys' Night," he hangs out with Mitch, Cam, Longines, Crispin, and Jay on their "boys' night out." In "Fight or Flight," he, Mitch, Cam, Ronaldo, and Longines organize a belated baby shower for Sal. In "I Don't Know How She Does It," he mentions his first name, Sherman, saying he has not used that name since he left
Lubbock, Texas, decades ago.
Bethenny Bethenny (
Artemis Pebdani) is a friend of Claire Dunphy's. In "Dance Dance Revelation," she helps Claire, Gloria, and other mothers organize Luke and Manny's middle school dance. In "
Go Bullfrogs!" she is seen along with Holly and her friend at Holly's house when Claire gives Luke his retainer. In "Disneyland," it is revealed that she has a nephew, Ethan, whom Claire invites to go to Disneyland with the rest of the family because she wants her daughter Haley to fall for him.
Longinus Longinus (
Kevin Daniels) is a close friend of Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker's. Although he was first mentioned in the "Pilot," he made his first on-screen appearance in "Dance Dance Revelation." He sprays Phil with cologne on the face, and Phil, who is very upset, grabs the cologne bottle and goes off on Longinus with about a dozen good spritzes to the face, even chasing him around the store. In "Boys' Night," he hangs out with Mitch, Cam, Pepper, Crispin, and Jay on their "boys' night out." In "Go Bullfrogs!" he invites Mitch and Cam to a boutique opening, and they go along with Claire, as she needs a fun night out. Mitch and Cam soon leave the place, leaving Claire with a man called Julian. Mitch and Cam believe that Julian is Longinus' date, but Longinus tells them via Mitch's cellphone that he's not his date, he's his trainer, and he's also straight. In "Snip," after Mitch starts thinking that Cam has to search for a new job, Longinus says that he has a vacancy at his clothing store and asks Cam if he wants the job. He finally accepts it, but a friend of Longinus', Jeoux, calls out Mitch and Longinus' devious plan of giving the job to Cam, and he walks out very upset. In the two-part episode "The Wedding," he attends Mitch and Cam's wedding. In "Fight or Flight," he, Mitch, Cam, Pepper, and Ronaldo organize a belated baby shower for Sal.
Crispin Crispin (Craig Zimmerman) is one of Mitchell and Cameron's friends. He has appeared in the episodes "Treehouse" and "Boys' Night," where he mentiones he has a thing for older men and was temporarily infatuated with Jay. In "Fulgencio," he has a boyfriend, Brett.
Walt Kleezak Walt Kleezak (
Philip Baker Hall) was Phil and Claire's next-door neighbor. He first appeared in the episode "Boys' Night," where Luke goes over to his house to retrieve their ball, which had flown into his yard. Phil and Claire find out and are not pleased with Luke because they feel that Walt is not very nice. They then go over to his house to interrogate him, and he snaps at them and tells them to keep Luke. The next morning, Luke reprimands Walt for not being nice to his parents and could not hang out. Walt then makes things up by generously giving Claire and Phil onions from his garden and tells them that he used to be a fireman, so he never hurts kids, and becomes friends with the Dunphys through his friendship with Luke. In "
Lifetime Supply," he comes over to the Dunphy house with Luke to play video games and, upon entering, tells Gloria to win a war some time, and then they (Americans) would start talking like her. He then plays with Luke and beats him due to Phil always staring at Luke. Phil asks Walt if he thinks about death and Walt replies that he's 85 and death is his roommate. He then leaves to change his oxygen tank. In "
Election Day," he comes to attend Claire's election vote as Phil was given the task of driving 50 senior citizens to the polls to vote for Claire, but only managed to bring Walt. He kept needing things: his glasses, a new oxygen tank, food, and to take his pills. This results in the polls closing, and Phil gets only one extra vote for Claire instead of fifty. In "
The Last Walt," it was revealed that Walt died from a heart attack. Luke decided he wants to inherit Walt's television which he does. It was also revealed that Walt had a daughter whom he became estranged from, and he had never fixed his estrangement from her.
Introduced in season 4 Gil Thorpe Gil Thorpe (
Rob Riggle) is Southern California's most successful real estate agent and nemesis/arch-rival of Phil Dunphy. Phil is often seen on camera lamenting over constantly coming second to Gil in many real estate competitions. He is mentioned indirectly in "
Not in My House" "
Diamond in the Rough" and "
Strangers on a Treadmill." He appears for the first time in character in the episode "
Flip Flop" as he attempts to strike a deal for his buyer through Phil on the home renovated by Claire and Cam. He makes his second appearance on the show in the episode "
Career Day," where he shows up for Career Day in Luke and Manny's class during Phil's presentation. Seeing Claire's visible frustration at being a housewife, he offers her a position on his real estate team. He is known for his energetic, lively, and harassing personality as well as his tendency to use his name in replacement of words in conversation (e.g., "Thorpedoed," "Gil Pickles"). In the episode "
Career Day," Gil mentioned he played quarterback at
Texas Tech. It is revealed his daughter is a student in Luke and Manny's class. In "
The Feud," he returns, beating Phil at a real estate contest, but Luke wrestles against Thorpe's son. Luke ends up losing to Gil's son in the wrestling match. In the episode "Kids These Days," Gil was spotted in a gay bar by Phil and Mitchell and reluctantly
admitted to being gay to the pair. He also mentions that he and his wife had divorced.
Introduced in season 5 Andy Bailey Andy Bailey (
Adam DeVine) is the Pritchetts' nanny for Joe. He is amiable, cordial, slightly naive at times, but still smart and refuses to use any "bad language." Gloria took an immediate liking to Andy upon meeting him. Still, Jay disapproved of his overly friendly nature, saying, "He's a weird man. He's like Phil; only I have to pay for him." He often butts heads with Haley as she is rude and breaks the rules, and she makes fun of him for his overly amiable nature. He talks about his long-time girlfriend who is in the Coast Guard in Utah, but she breaks up with him in "
The Wedding (Part 1)". Haley discovers that she has been keeping Andy "on the hook" for the last seven years as they have been on-again-off-again, and she does not treat Andy the way he treats her. His father died of cancer when he was 14, as explained in "The Help." Haley begins to appreciate Andy's demeanor and treatment of women in "
Other People's Children" and tries to perhaps start a relationship with him in the two-part episode "
The Wedding." However, Alex convinces Haley that she is not that into him. She stops her pursuit as Andy was ready to jump into it. Afterward, Andy drives away, perhaps to his flight to see his ex-girlfriend. Andy also becomes a quick friend to the Dunphy family. In the Season 6 episode "
The Cold," Andy and Haley discuss their relationship. They agree that they should stay friends. However, Haley gets upset when Andy claims that if they had kissed, she wouldn't get over him. To try to prove him wrong, Haley kisses him. Andy is unaffected by this, but Haley has a smitten look afterward. In the episode "
Queer Eyes, Full Hearts" Haley helps Andy get a job as Phil's assistant, and Andy helps her prepare for an interview with a fashion designer. During the episode, they seem completely platonic, and it is also revealed that Andy is back together with Beth. In "Rash Decisions," Luke becomes distant from Phil, and Andy becomes his right-hand man. In the episode "
Connection Lost," Claire assumes by mistake that Haley and Andy had gotten married. In "
Closet? You'll Love It!", Andy ends up at the hospital due to appendicitis which had Haley worried enough to visit him but arrived at him a bit too groggy with the drugs the doctors had given him, leading her to tell his sleeping form that he had a shot with her, unbeknownst to Haley that he had heard everything she said. Andy decides to talk to her about her hospital visit in "
Grill, Interrupted", but Haley's new boyfriend interrupts them before Andy could bring it up. At the end of the episode, Haley mentions to Andy that she wasn't looking for a serious relationship at the moment, which appeared to disappoint him. In the Season 6 finale "
American Skyper," Andy reveals to Phil that he already had the engagement ring that he had been saving up for, but is hesitant to propose to Beth because he's still confused about the feelings he has for someone else. Phil advises him to propose to Beth but later finds out that Andy had feelings for Haley, who was also in love with Andy. The episode ends with Phil attempting to tell Andy and Haley that they loved each other but failing to do so, as Andy leaves the house to propose to Beth at a beach he liked. As of "White Christmas" in Season 7, Andy and Haley are in a relationship. In season 8, he and Haley broke up because of a long-distance relationship.
Ronaldo Ronaldo is Pepper Saltzman's assistant and later boyfriend. He has mentioned he is from Guatemala. However, it is unknown if he was born there.
Rhonda Rhonda (
Arden Belle) is a friend of Luke and Manny. In "iSpy," she, Luke, Manny, and some other friends of theirs (mostly boys) make a movie about zombies. In "Spring-a-Ding-Fling," Luke has a date with Rhonda for the spring dance in their high school. Claire wants to help him score with her, so she helps Rhonda dress more like a girl and be beautiful, as she always wears filthy and manly clothes. Luke is not happy because he preferred her the way she was and asks Claire to "fix" her. However, the two are later seen dancing together, so he may like the new Rhonda.
Introduced in season 6 Earl Chambers Earl Chambers (
Jon Polito and
Robert Costanzo) was Jay's former best friend and longtime enemy. Many years before the events of "
Won't You Be Our Neighbor," Earl and Jay worked together. They had formed their closet company, Closet-fornia, and the business became successful. One day, Jay came into work, and Earl's desk had been cleared out. He had badmouthed Jay to half their Rolodex, and Jay had to start all over. In the present, it turns out Manny met Earl's granddaughter Sophie in his theater group, and she is now his new girlfriend. This makes Jay mad when he finds out that his rival is her grandfather after showing a new idea of his for work. Gloria organizes a dinner for the two men to work things out, but they soon start disputing again. Earl is also angered to hear that his granddaughter is groping his rival's stepson. Earl goes to Jay and Gloria's house because he thinks the rivalry between him and Jay is getting way out of control and wants to work it out. Manny then enters and introduces himself; Earl asks if this is "the stud who's been groping [his] Sophie," Manny tries to assure him that there's nothing untoward between Manny and Sophie. Earl laughs and tells Manny he "believes" him (maybe, maybe not). Earl sees the box that Jay had shown earlier to Manny, Gloria, and Sophie, and Earl says he thinks he will call it the Sock 'n Roll, takes the box, and leaves. Jay shouts at him, "The hell you are!" Earl reappears in "
The Closet Case" where Mitchell has been called to work for him in a consultant job. Earl tricks Mitchell into thinking that Earl wants to bury the hatchet with Jay. A van pulls up in front of Jay's house, and Jay sees what has happened. That night, Jay and Mitchell break into Earl's office, and Earl catches them; Mitchell is disgusted at Earl for tricking him. Earl and Jay start fighting again, and later in Jay's car, Mitchell returns his father's old Rolodex to him. This gesture makes Jay very happy; Mitchell snuck it out of Earl's office while he and Jay had their ten-minute fight. Earl reappears in "
The Cover-Up" where it turns out that he is leaving horrible comments on Jay's new web show. Jay and Manny track Earl down to his house and, with help from Alex, find out that he's the one doing it. After a brief fight, Earl suggests that he and Jay could make their collective show, to which Jay refuses. Earl decides to make his show instead and deactivates comments – much to Jay's wrath – so Jay won't be able to troll him back. Earl briefly reappears in "
Halloween 4: The Revenge of Rod Skyhook" (now played by Robert Costanzo, because Jon Polito died), dressed as the Devil. He fights with Jay, dressed as Jesus, and asks Manny to steal a picture from Earl's mansion. The two start fighting until Jay looks at his reflection in the mirror and gives up on trying to take the picture. In "In Your Head," it was revealed that Earl has died and left his ashes, along with a note, for Jay to complete a mind game to locate where he has to spread his ashes.
Ronnie LaFontaine Ronnie LaFontaine (
Steve Zahn) is a man who moves next door to the Dunphys with his wife, Amber, and their children, Ronnie Jr. and Tammy. He and his wife both turn out to be loud and obnoxious, and the Dunphys dislike them. Their rivalry soon ends in "Knock 'Em Down" when they share a mutual dislike of a pornographic statue in their neighborhood, and they soon go out to dinner and discover the Dunphys and the LaFontaines have many things in common, and later that same night, they are drinking wine together in their neighborhood.
Amber LaFontaine Amber LaFontaine (
Andrea Anders) is a woman who moves next door to the Dunphys with her husband, Ronnie, and their children, Ronnie Jr. and Tammy. She and her husband both turn out to be loud and obnoxious, and the Dunphys dislike them. Their rivalry went from their first meeting until the episode "Knock 'Em Down," when they share a mutual dislike of a pornographic statue in their neighborhood, and they soon go out to dinner and discover the Dunphys and the LaFontaines have many things in common and later that same night they are drinking wine together in their neighborhood.
Ronnie LaFontaine Jr. Ronnie LaFontaine (
Finneas O'Connell) is the son of Ronnie and Amber LaFontaine and the brother of Tammy LaFontaine. They move in next door to the Dunphys. He likes to play music, plays the drum kit, and is currently studying in New York.
Tammy LaFontaine Tammy LaFontaine (
Brooke Sorenson) is the daughter of Ronnie and Amber LaFontaine and the sister of Ronnie LaFontaine Jr. In "
The Big Guns," Luke develops a crush on Tammy; however, every time he tries to flirt with her, she insults him and blows him off. At the end of the episode, Luke passes Tammy without even glancing at her and pretends he no longer cares about her, which bothers Tammy enough that she wants him to come back and talk to her, and it turns out Alex gave Luke this advice.
Beth Beth (
Laura Ashley Samuels) is Andy's ex-fiancée. She was first seen in "Closet? You'll Love It!" to visit Andy in the hospital. She reappeared in "
American Skyper" where she seemed to have been responsible for setting Haley's hair on fire and was last seen in "Summer Lovin," where she makes a cameo and she and Andy walk in the park. He proposes to her, and she accepts. Thus, they become engaged and are being watched by Haley and Claire. She reappeared in "The More You Ignore Me," where she and Andy meet Haley and Dylan at the movies, and in "White Christmas," she comes to the cabin where the family is with Andy, and she admits to him that she has been cheating on him behind his back and it looks like they end things.
Sanjay Patel Sanjay Patel (
Suraj Partha) is Alex's former academic rival and ex-boyfriend. While they had still been at school, Alex and Sanjay had been competing against each other nonstop. Sanjay had only been mentioned in "Our Children, Ourselves," "See You Next Fall," "Career Day," "Under Pressure," "Sleeper," and "Integrity." He eventually made his first appearance in "Patriot Games," where he and Alex were tied in the first position for valedictorian and only didn't have gym grades completed. Principal Brown organized a race for the two, and the one who did fours laps first wins. Sanjay goes to Alex's house and tells her that he likes her and that she is the reason he can attend Stanford University because she was always pushing him to study more and become better. But when the race happens, Sanjay forfeits it to prove to Alex that he was telling the truth and the two of them end up in a passionate kiss in front of their parents, much to their delight except Sanjay's mother, Nina. Sanjay and Alex are eventually named co-valedictorians of 2015. Sanjay reappears in "Summer Lovin'," and he and Alex are now dating. They go up to Alex's room after he asks her to test him on the periodic table, and later, they would break up when Sanjay leaves for school, but in the end, they decide against it. However, in "The Closet Case," Alex reveals that Sanjay broke up with her because he sees someone new.
Introduced in season 7 Erica Erica is a teacher who works at The Learnin' Barn. She is Tommy and Joe's teacher and is known to be a hippie. Jay is not very fond of her at first, but Gloria convinces him to let Joe stay at the Learnin' Barn. Jay also points out that he doesn't like the name of the school, although Gloria does. Erica and Jay don't get along very well, but since Erica is a hippie, she is thrilled to pretend she likes him. Jay tells the Feelings Table that he wants to break the table over "a hippie" (referring to Erica.) as she was annoying him with his happiness.
Introduced in season 8 Rainer Shine Rainer Shine is a weatherman that Phil and Haley meet in "Weathering Heights." Phil tries to make friends with Rainer but accidentally invites him to ask Haley out on a date that ends in Rainer and Haley dating, much to Phil's displeasure. In "Five Minutes," Rainer proposes to Haley. She accepts, but the engagement lasts less than five minutes since they both start having doubts after Rainer realizes that he was wrong about that night's weather forecast.
Introduced in season 9 Arvin Fennerman Dr. Arvin Fennerman (
Chris Geere) is a teacher at Alex's school,
The California Institute of Technology a.k.a. Caltech. Arvin first appears in "In Your Head" when Haley sneaks into Alex's class to get her to read over her writing sample before she goes to an interview at Nerp. Haley ends up interrupting the class before Alex rushes her out. Arvin later finds both of them in the schoolyard and tells Haley that the two of them will get married one day, that he doesn't understand it, but he just knows because of all the probability scenes he's been running in his head end up with the two of them marrying. Haley later uses a similar speech to get the job she's applying for and later accepts his contact request. It's unclear whether Arvin believes this or if it's just a clever pick-up line. Arvin is a two-time Vanderscoff Grant winner, one for philosophy and one for geometry. He and Haley begin dating but break up in "Torn Between Two Lovers" when Haley decides to get back together with Dylan. Eventually, Arvin begins dating Alex, when the two of them begin working together in the series finale.
Bill Bill (
Jimmy Tatro) is a firefighter that meets Alex when she burns a bagel bite in the microwave in her dorm room after overindulging in a pity party over her sister Haley dating her school professor and crush, Arvin. Bill wakes her up and gets her out of the smokey room. Bill and Alex start dating soon after that. They break up in "The Last Halloween" when Bill is upset that a creepy colleague steals his identity to seduce Alex.
Introduced in season 10 Jerry Jerry (
Ed Begley Jr.) is DeDe Pritchett's second husband and her widower, and Claire and Mitchell's stepfather. In "Putting Down Roots," Jerry comes to town to bequeath her possessions to the family. Mitch and Claire receive a little more of DeDe than they know what to do with, and Jay and Gloria feel sorry for Jerry and invite him to stay with them while he is in town. Jay, Mitchell, and Claire all watch as Jerry comes up the driveway full of items and knickknacks- DeDe's possessions. Jay receives a jar of sand, Mitchell a box of jewelry, and Claire DeDe's old sports car. Jerry then informs the three that DeDe's ashes were infused into a tree to give to her children. Claire refuses, leaving "DeDe" with Mitchell. Jay, alongside Jerry, heads to Mitchell's house to talk to "DeDe." While Jay apologizes for being so headstrong, Jerry yells at the tree all the anger he's kept inside. Mitchell overhears his father's apology and decides to do the same to Cam. Mitch agrees that when they need to, they'll all move to the farm. As Cam begins to list everything a farmer has to do and watch out for, Mitchell begins regretting his decision. In "Tree's a Crowd," Jerry pays a visit to Phil and Claire and meets Dylan's mother, Farrah. == Guest stars who appeared on one or two episodes ==