All in the Family changed the course of television comedy. It brought a sense of harsh reality to a TV world which previously had been populated largely by homogenized, inoffensive characters and stories that seemed to have been laundered before they ever got on the air. Its chief character, Archie Bunker, was anything but bland. A typical working-class Joe, he was uneducated, prejudiced, and blatantly outspoken. He was constantly lambasting virtually every minority group in existence. His views on blacks (or, as he often called them, "jungle bunnies" or "Spades"), Puerto Ricans ("spics"), Chinese ("chinks", and any other racial or religious group not his own, were clear and consistent. Archie believed in every negative racial and ethnic stereotype he had ever heard.

Unfortunately, he could never get away from the people he despised. Archie was a dock foreman for the Prendergast Tool and Die Company, and he had to work with a racially mixed group of people. Next door to his small house at 704 Houser Street, in the Corona section of Queens, New York, lived a black family, the Jeffersons. His daughter Gloria had married a Pole. On top of it all, Archie, the bigoted arch-conservative, even had to share his house with his egghead liberal son-in-law, Mike Stivic. (Mike was studying for his degree in sociology, and so was unemployed.) Completing the household was Archie's slow-witted but honest and unprejudiced wife, Edith.

The Jefferson family next door consisted of Louise, one of Edith's closest friends, her husband George, who ran a small-dry cleaning store, and their son Lionel, a close friend of Mike's. Lionel loved to come to the Bunker house to tease Archie about his prejudices, while George Jefferson's brother Henry, who was as opinionated from the black point of view as Archie was from the white, also provided conflict.

Over the years changes took place. Edith's cousin Maude Findlay, played by Bea Arthur, appeared in several episodes, provoking Archie with her loud, liberal opinions. She got her own show, Maude, in 1972. The Jeffersons moved away to Manhattan and into their own show, The Jeffersons, early in 1975, whereupon Mike, who had finally graduated from college, moved into their old house. This allowed Mike to continue to torment Archie, but as a next-door neighbor. Then Gloria became pregnant; the baby, Joey, was born in December 1975. The Lorenzos, an Italian couple, moved in as neighbors for a while. Frank Lorenzo loved to clean and cook (woman's work, according to Archie) while his wife Irene was an accomplished fixer of anything mechanical. Irene also possessed a sarcastic wit, with which she put down Archie regularly. When Archie was temporarily laid off from his job in October 1976, the Bunkers were forced to take in a Puerto Rican boarder, Teresa Betancourt, which provided still another source of irritation.

The 1977-1978 season brought a major change to All in the Family. In the opening three-part story, Archie gave up his job to pursue the American dream of owning his own business. Along with Harry the bartender, he purchased Kelsey's Bar from an ailing Tommy Kelsey, and reopened it as Archie's Place. This season included episodes with some very adult themes, including one in which an intruder attempted to rape Edith. Then at the end of the season Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers announced that they were leaving All in the Family for ventures on their own. The final episode of the season saw Mike, Gloria, and little Joey (played by twins Jason and Dustin Draeger) moving to California, where Mike was to take a teaching position. The episode was a tearful and sentimental farewell, leaving Archie and Edith with an "empty nest." Temporarily, as it turned out, for the fall of 1978, Archie and Edith were joined by little Stephanie Mills, a niece who had been abandoned by her father.

During the 1979-1980 season the program grew even further away from its original format, as the action shifted to Archie's bar. Edith was seen only infrequently--Jean Stapleton, feeling that she had exhausted the potential of her character, wished to be phased out of the series. New regulars were introduced at the bar, as Archie expanded it to include a short-order restaurant and took on a Jewish partner named Murray Klein. Murray's liberal intellectual background was in sharp contrast to, and sometimes in sharp conflict with, Archie's views. The ethnic mix at Archie's Place included Veronica, the sardonic Irish cook, Jose, the Puerto Rican busboy, and a wide variety of customers. Coincident with these changes, in the fall of 1979, the name of the series was changed to Archie Bunker's Place.

Then came a development which in the early days of the series would have seemed unthinkable. Edith died suddenly, of a stroke. This was not treated directly; rather, in the premiere episode of the 1980-1981 season Archie and Stephanie--whom the Bunkers had adopted--were seen grieving over Edith's unexpected death. Life did go on, however, and Archie hired a black housekeeper, Ellen Canby, to help look after his niece. Mrs. Canby was the sister-in-law of one of his neighbors, Polly Swanson. With Edith gone, Archie gingerly moved into the dating scene, for the first time in more than 25 years.

In the spring of 1981, Archie took over sole operation of the bar when partner Murray moved to San Francisco with his new wife (Martin Balsam had tired of his limited role in the series and wanted to bow out). That fall, without the business expertise of his now-absentee partner. Archie got needed financial help from young lawyer/business manager Gary Rabinowitz. Gary's involvement was more than strictly business, however, since he was dating Archie's 18-year-old niece, Billie. She had arrived at the start of the season on a visit, only to become a permanent member of the Bunker household and a waitress at Archie's Place.

Throughout all of these changes All in the Family remained one of the top hits on television. It did not begin that way, however. It took 1971 audiences several months to adjust to the blunt, outrageous humor of the show. There was considerable publicity about Archie's rallying against "spics and spades." and it seemed possible that the show might be canceled. But by the summer of 1971 All in the Family had become a controversial hit, and the number-one program on television--a position it retained for five years. Part of its appeal was based on the fact that it could be interpreted in several different ways. Liberals and intellectuals could cite it as an example of the absurdity of prejudice, while another large segment of the viewing audience could agree with Archie's attitudes and enjoy him as their kind of guy. Like The Honeymooners' Ralph Kramden in the 1950s, the loud-mouthed yet vulnerable Archie Bunker was a man for all audiences.

All in the Family was based on the British series, Till Death Do Us Part.

CBS telecast reruns of All in the Family weekdays from December 1975 to September 1979 and in prime time during the summer of 1991, in the latter instance paired with Norman Lear's new (and decidedly less successful) series Sunday Dinner. Selected reruns also surfaced for a month early the following year.

Series summary from The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh

“This is the Guinness Book of World Records . . . The Encyclopedia Britannica of television!” –TV Guide

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Did You Know?

The US version of Johnny Speight's hit UK TV series, "Till Death Us Do Part" (1965).

Notoriously, the first toilet flush in prime time television was heard on this show.

Archie and Edith's easy-chairs are now on display at the Smithsonian.

With all of its spin-offs included, save "704 Hauser" (1994), _"All in the family" (1971) (qv) ran for fifteen straight years: _"All in the family" (1971)_ , "Maude" (1972) "Good Times" (1974) "Jeffersons, The" (1975), _"Archie Bunker's Place" (1979)_ (qv), "Checking In" (1981) (qv), "Gloria" (1982).

During contract negotiations with Carroll O'Connor one season, the producers planned for Archie Bunker to be murdered at a convention if the negotiations failed.

Sally Struthers sued to get out of her contract in 1974.

Three pilots were shot for 'All in the Family,' the first under the title 'Justice for All,' the second under the title 'Those Were the Days,' and the third as 'All in the Family.' Different actors played the roles of Mike (original an Irish-American), Gloria, and Lionel in the first two. The family name was Justice, not Bunker. Meathead was called Dickie, not Michael, and he was originally Irish, not Polish.

Producer Norman Lear's original choice for Archie was Mickey Rooney.

The New York City home whose exterior (only) was a stand-in for the Bunkers's TV house stands on Cooper Ave. near 89th St. in the Glendale section of the borough of Queens.

In 1979, the series was reformatted as "Archie Bunker's Place" (1979).

During the end credits, the line of "All in the Family was recorded on tape before a live audience" was spoken by: Bud Yorkin (1971), Rob Reiner (1972-1978), and Carroll O'Connor (1979).

The role of Mike Stivic was offered to Harrison Ford who turned down the part because he felt Archie Bunker's bigotry was too offensive.

During development, the title of the show was "Those Were The Days". Before the show was picked up, a song by the same name became a big hit. CBS decided to change the name of the show, yet kept the theme song for a show named "Those Were The Days".

In one episode, Archie Bunker, without knowing it, issued what turned out to be a correct prophecy: During an argument with the "Meathead" in Kelso's Bar, the latter walks out at the end, with Archie yelling out the door after him: "You're gonna get Ree-gan in 1980, wise guy!"

Scott Brady was offered the part of Archie Bunker and even though he turned it down, he later appeared as a different character.

Mike was originally from Chicago.

CBS telecast reruns of All in the Family weekdays from December 1975 to September 1979 and in prime time during hte summer of 1991, in the latter instance paired with Norman Lear's new (and decidedly less successful) series Sunday Dinner. Selected reruns also surfaced in prime time in January 1992.

All in the Family was rated #1 1971 to 1976.

Did You Know? Facts from The Internet Movie Database

Actor Carroll O'Connor Dies at 76

By ANTHONY BREZNICAN, AP Entertainment Writer

CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP; June 21st, 2001) - Carroll O'Connor, whose portrayal of irascible bigot Archie Bunker on ``All in the Family'' helped make the groundbreaking TV comedy part of the American dialogue on race and politics, died of a heart attack Thursday. He was 76.

O'Connor collapsed at his home and was taken to Brotman Medical Center, publicist Frank Tobin said. He said O'Connor died with his wife of nearly 50 years, Nancy, by his side.

The actor had diabetes and had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery in 1989.

Personal tragedy darkened O'Connor's later years. His only child, Hugh, a co-star with his father on the TV series ``In The Heat of The Night,'' shot himself in a drug-related suicide in 1995.

A native of New York, O'Connor had been working for two decades on stage and in TV and movie supporting parts when he was tapped by producer Norman Lear to play a blue-collar worker from New York's borough of Queens with the gift of gab and a big chip on his shoulder.

On Jan. 12, 1971, Archie began spouting off against minorities, liberals and his long-haired son-in-law (whom he called ``Meathead'') and kept at it for 13 years. O'Connor didn't flinch at playing an unlikeable character and deftly brought Archie's intolerance to feisty comic life.

``Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker was a genius at work, God's gift to the world,'' Lear told KABC-TV. ``He is etched permanently in our memories.''

The actor also managed to give Archie a vulnerability that allowed him to be seen as a beleaguered soul, bound by his unthinking prejudices and buffeted by the changes sweeping Vietnam War-era America.

Further softening the character was his love for wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), lovingly known as ``Dingbat,'' and their daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers), and his grudging affection for Meathead Mike (Rob Reiner).

``He didn't ever go for the easy laugh,'' recalled Reiner. ``It was always important for him to maintain the integrity of the characters the honesty and the reality of the characters.''

``All in the Family,'' adapted from the British series ``Till Death Do Us Part,'' shattered the sitcom mold that had produced decades of superficial and bland series featuring, invariably, a wise and kindly paternal figure.

Lear considered other actors for the pivotal role of Archie, but said he found the right combination of ``bombast and sweetness'' in O'Connor, whom he had seen in the film ``What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?''

The sitcom got off to a rocky start. Many found it unsettling and offensive, and tuned it out. Harvard psychiatrist Alvin Poussaint called the show's bigotry ``dangerous because it's disarming.'' Eventually, however, viewers came to embrace Archie and the series as a comedy and a source of debate. It ranked No. 1 for five years, was top-rated for much of its run and gave birth to two spin-offs, ``Maude'' and ``The Jeffersons.''

The show was such a powerful cultural influence that the Smithsonian Institution (news - web sites) in Washington commemorated the program by displaying the living room chairs used by Archie and Edith.

O'Connor moved from ``All in the Family'' (1971-79) to ``Archie Bunker's Place'' (1979-83), which was based in a bar owned by Archie rather than in the Bunker household.

The actor put his controversial character in perspective.

``I have a great deal of sympathy for him,'' O'Connor said of Archie in a 1986 Playboy magazine interview. ``As James Baldwin wrote, the white man here is trapped by his own history, a history that he himself cannot comprehend and therefore what can I do but love him?''

O'Connor and his two brothers were raised by their father, an attorney, and schoolteacher mother in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, a more prosperous section of Queens than Archie would ever know. O'Connor grew up in a life of financial comfort and social tolerance.

``I never heard Archie's kind of talk in my own family,'' he once said. ``My father was a lawyer and was in partnership with two Jews, who with their families were close to us. There were black families in our circle of friends. My father disliked talk like Archie's - he called it lowbrow.''

O'Connor served as a merchant seaman in World War II, enrolling at the University of Montana on his return. Although both his siblings became physicians, O'Connor studied literature and discovered acting.

He met his future wife, Nancy Fields, while appearing in a play.

Captivated by Ireland during a visit in 1950, O'Connor finished his undergraduate studies at the National University of Ireland. Fields joined him and they were married in Dublin in 1951.

O'Connor appeared on stage throughout Ireland and in London, Paris and Edinburgh. Making it in New York proved to be a struggle. He worked as a substitute teacher, earned his master's degree at Montana and, in the late 1950s, finally began getting roles in theater and film.

``Lonely Are the Brave'' and ``Cleopatra'' (both 1963), ``Hawaii'' (1966) and ``Point Blank'' (1967) were among the movies in which he appeared.

Then ``All in the Family'' made him a star and, eventually, a four-time Emmy winner.

``Today's public recognition is something I never wished for or even cared about,'' he said in 1971. ``But now that it is here, I find it wonderful, of course.''

He followed ``Archie's Place'' with a return to New York theater, then came back to TV series in 1988 with ``In the Heat of the Night,'' a police drama based on the Rod Steiger-Sidney Poitier film. O'Connor played Bill Gillespie, police chief of a small Mississippi town; Howard Rollins co-starred as detective Virgil Tibbs.

O'Connor continued with the series through health problems and a network change, from NBC to CBS. His son played a police officer on the show.

O'Connor, who received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year, appeared in the 2000 romantic comedy ``Return to Me.''

The O'Connors adopted their son as an infant in 1962 in Italy, where O'Connor was filming ``Cleopatra.'' Hugh O'Connor battled a longtime alcohol and drug addiction problem.

On March 28, 1995, in several phone conversations, Hugh told his father ``this is a very black day,'' said he had a gun and was going to ``cap'' himself. O'Connor recalled telling him ``you're just saying crazy things'' and advising him to seek a doctor's care.

``So long, I love you,'' his son replied. O'Connor called police, who arrived just as Hugh O'Connor shot himself.

O'Connor turned his grief over the death of 32-year-old Hugh into an anti-drug crusade and a quest for legal vengeance against his son's drug supplier.

``Nothing will help,'' O'Connor said after the man was sentenced to a year in jail. ``Our lives have changed. My wife's and mine, and his widow.''

O'Connor was hospitalized in November at the UCLA Medical Center, where he had a toe amputated because of a circulatory problem related to diabetes.

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Videos:

All in the Family Collection (10 tapes/30 episodes)

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Archie Tells It Like It Is

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Archie Goes to the Big House

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Archie Meets Meathead

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In the Family Way

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Sammy Takes Bunker Hill

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All in the Family 1 - Boxed Set (2 tapes)

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All in the Family 20th Anniversary Special

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Archie Goes to the Big House

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Citizen Archie

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Dingbat's Liberation

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Hot Pants Vs. Meathead

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Rise & Fall of Meathead

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Those Were the Days

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Books:

Archie and Edith, Mike and Gloria : The Tumultuous History of All in the Family

Archie & Edith, Mike & Gloria tells the complete story of "All In The Family," the most widely viewed and perhaps the most controversial sitcom series in the history of television--the series that dared to take on race, religion, politics, and sex and make us laugh at the same time. Photographs. Size C .

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