"Modern Family" will ring in 2013 with a New Year's Eve-themed episode, and one of the guest stars is out of this world!
The show that is known for its clever holiday-themed episodes skipped over Thanksgiving and Christmas this season, but they're throwing a one-of-a-kind New Year's bash. According to TV Line, "Star Wars" legend Billy Dee Williams will play himself in the Jan. 9 episode, titled "New Year's Eve," which has the Pritchetts and Dunphys spending the New Year's holiday in Palm Springs. Even more far out? Jay (Ed O'Neill) will engage in a celebrity poker game with the star and another famous face, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" actress Lainie Kazan.
In an interview with "Access Hollywood," actress Sarah Hyland said that her character, Haley, "will get a taste of being a parent" in the episode.
Ty Burrell added, "We're shooting [the episode] in an old hotel where Jay has taken us, because it was a place he loved, but it hasn't been remodeled since he was there in the '70s."
Julie Bowen revealed that she will be naked in the episode. "It will be ABC naked…pixilated…but I will be naked," she revealed. She also said, "Gloria's still pregnant and falling sleep everywhere, and we have a special guest appearance by Billy Dee Williams."
Billy Dee's cameo is just the latest in the hit sitcom's long run of big name guest stars. Greg Kinnear, Ellen Barkin, Matt Dillon, Matthew Broderick, Elizabeth Banks, and Nathan Lane have all appeared on the show. (Banks and Lane will reprise their roles again later this season). And Ed O'Neill's former TV son -- "Married With Children" alum David Faustino -- will also guest star on the show.
Of course, the real-life stars of "Modern Family" didn't hang out with a smooth talker from Cloud City on New Year's Eve. But a few of the sitcom stars kicked off the New Year with some high drama.
Sofia Vergara, who plays Gloria Pritchett on the show, and her fiancé Nick Loeb made headlines following a New Year's Eve brawl that had them kicked out of a Miami club. (Sofia's dress was even ripped during the scuffle!)
And according to the New York Post, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitchell Pritchett on the show, got into a ruckus at St. Barts' airport after attempting to board a fashion designer's chartered jet in a last ditch effort to get off the island before sunset. After being booted off the plane, Ferguson and his entourage allegedly did the walk of shame back to the terminal, with a witness comparing the embarrassing incident to an episode of "Modern Family."
Meanwhile, a promo for the second half of the "Modern Family" season teases storylines that will include a first kiss (Manny!), a mother-in-law (played by Elizabeth Pena), a wedding (Cam and Mitch -- finally!), and the miracle of life (starring Gloria, who will no doubt provide the most entertaining childbirth scene since…. well, ever).
" Modern Family" airs on Wednesdays at 9 PM ET on ABC.
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