In the “All in the Family” episode “Gloria Sings the Blues” (March 2, 1974), Archie (Carroll O’Connor) wakes up Michael (Rob Reiner) so that they may leave for a fishing trip. In his usual cantankerous fashion, Archie berates Michael for sleeping in and begins to explain the importance of leaving on time. Michael idly puts on his shoes … but something is awry. Archie stops Michael, noticing that he has put a sock and a shoe on his left foot before putting a sock on his right foot. Archie is perturbed. This faux pas will not stand. “Don’t you know,” he says, “the whole world puts on a sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe?” Defensively, Michael says “I like to take care of one foot at a time!”
They then have a whole conversation as to whether or not “sock-sock-shoe-shoe” is “correct,” or if “sock-shoe-sock-shoe” is correct. It’s a nitpicking conversation about a completely insignificant piece of footwear etiquette, but it becomes hilarious over how passionate Archie and Michael get on the matter. What if there was a flood? Would you want one shod foot to hop on, or two evenly protected sock feet? The bit ends with Archie realizing that they were supposed to be in a hurry.
According to a 2020 interview Reiner had with Sirius XM, that entire scene was improvised. This was in the fourth season of “All in the Family,” and Reiner had developed a good comedic chemistry with O’Connor, allowing them to simply ramble for several minutes about a sock and a shoe. Because “All in the Family” was filmed before a live audience, the laughter is genuine, and the actors were able to time their performances accordingly.
Reiner said that, even decades after it aired, fans will approach him saying that the sock-shoe scene remains their favorite “All in the Family” moment. He recalled the bit well, relating the dialogue. Reiner said:
“Most people come up to me — after over 200 shows! — they’ll say the scene I remember most is when you and Archie discussed how you put socks and shoes on. We had this scene that just happened. It was improvised. I was I was putting my socks and shoes. He walked in and he goes ‘What are you doing?’ This was all improvised. He said ‘What are you doing? You don’t put your socks and shoes on like that. I says ‘What are you talkin’ about? He says ‘You don’t put a sock and a shoe and a sock in a shoe! You put a sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe!’ […] And we just improvised the whole thing.”
Watching the scene, it’s hard to tell that it was improvised. Reiner and O’Connor speak in a quick, extemporaneous fashion, but they speak with such clarity and confidence, that one might swear that it was scripted. Reiner went on to explain how they shot “All in the Family” in front of a live audience, and how, by the end of the series, everything clicked. Each member of the central cast was, by that point, so savvy at reading each other and so comfortable with their characters, that improvisation became natural for them. Indeed, Reiner recalled an instance in the show’s eighth and final season when everyone was able to invent an entire scene on the spot.
Watching the scene, it’s hard to tell that it was improvised. Reiner and O’Connor speak in a quick, extemporaneous fashion, but they speak with such clarity and confidence, that one might swear that it was scripted. Reiner went on to explain how they shot “All in the Family” in front of a live audience, and how, by the end of the series, everything clicked. Each member of the central cast was, by that point, so savvy at reading each other and so comfortable with their characters, that improvisation became natural for them. Indeed, Reiner recalled an instance in the show’s eighth and final season when everyone was able to invent an entire scene on the spot.
