Those Were the Days With Carroll O' Connor and Jean Stapleton at the Television Academy
Television created a great many iconic images that are forever etched into our collective psyche. None was more indelible than Archie Bunker, a blue collar right-wing bigot, played by O'Connor in the classic series "All in the Family." Stapleton played Archie's wife, Edith, a dim bulb that was nevertheless good-hearted. Sally Struthers played their daughter, Gloria, and Carl Reiner's son Rob played Gloria's husband, Michael Stivic, the liberal foil to Archie's staunch conservatism. Norman Lear took a British sitcom and reworked it to take place in the working class Queens district of New York City. The series created such spinoffs as "The Jeffersons" and "Maude." Another "spinoff," in a manner of speaking, was "Archie Bunker's Place," created by Lear to keep Archie's character going once steam had run out on "All in the Family." The series had Archie running a bar in Queens. Gloria and Michael were long gone from the house, and Edith had died of cancer. Now, this last bit of information is interesting. In Paddy Chayefsky's classic film "Network" (directed by Sidney Lumet), TV pundit Howard Beale (Peter Finch) tells his audience how much bullshit television is. "No one ever gets cancer in Archie Bunker's house," is among the many things he points out to both his studio and TV audience. So, Lear took fellow TV writer Chayefsky up on that matter and had Edith pass away from cancer. After "Archie Bunker's Place" dropped out of sight (due to poor ratings) O'Connor starred in (and executive produced) a TV series version of the classic film "In the Heat of the Night," taking on the role of Gillespie, which Rod Steiger played in the film and won an Oscar for. Stapleton returned to the stage, making the occasional TV and film appearance; Struthers would do public service spots for various social causes; and Reiner would embark on a successful career as a film director, making such classics as "Stand by Me," "When Harry Met Sally," "This is Spinal Tap," and, of course, "The Princess Bride." Those were the days, indeed.
Those Were the Days With Carroll O' Connor and Jean Stapleton at the Television Academy
Television created a great many iconic images that are forever etched into our collective psyche. None was more indelible than Archie Bunker, a blue collar right-wing bigot, played by O'Connor in the classic series "All in the Family." Stapleton played Archie's wife, Edith, a dim bulb that was nevertheless good-hearted. Sally Struthers played their daughter, Gloria, and Carl Reiner's son Rob played Gloria's husband, Michael Stivic, the liberal foil to Archie's staunch conservatism. Norman Lear took a British sitcom and reworked it to take place in the working class Queens district of New York City. The series created such spinoffs as "The Jeffersons" and "Maude." Another "spinoff," in a manner of speaking, was "Archie Bunker's Place," created by Lear to keep Archie's character going once steam had run out on "All in the Family." The series had Archie running a bar in Queens. Gloria and Michael were long gone from the house, and Edith had died of cancer. Now, this last bit of information is interesting. In Paddy Chayefsky's classic film "Network" (directed by Sidney Lumet), TV pundit Howard Beale (Peter Finch) tells his audience how much bullshit television is. "No one ever gets cancer in Archie Bunker's house," is among the many things he points out to both his studio and TV audience. So, Lear took fellow TV writer Chayefsky up on that matter and had Edith pass away from cancer. After "Archie Bunker's Place" dropped out of sight (due to poor ratings) O'Connor starred in (and executive produced) a TV series version of the classic film "In the Heat of the Night," taking on the role of Gillespie, which Rod Steiger played in the film and won an Oscar for. Stapleton returned to the stage, making the occasional TV and film appearance; Struthers would do public service spots for various social causes; and Reiner would embark on a successful career as a film director, making such classics as "Stand by Me," "When Harry Met Sally," "This is Spinal Tap," and, of course, "The Princess Bride." Those were the days, indeed.