Most shows long to achieve the success of All in the Family, but for O’Connor, Archie Bunker began to represent negative work conditions. Per an archived article from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, O’Connor went on a personal strike in July 1974, telling his friends that he was “doubtful” that he would return to All in the Family. O’Connor had grown upset with behind-the-scenes issues on the set, saying, “There are a lot of things wrong.” He made clear that he had not grown tired of his public image and appreciated the fans’ enthusiasm for the show, but shortly before speaking with the Tribune, he had filed a lawsuit against the series’ production company, Tandem Productions, claiming that Tandem owed him $64,000. MentalFloss also recounted that the actor requested 12 weeks of annual vacation time built into the show’s 24-week production schedule.
With his star refusing to work, Norman Lear and the show’s producers decided to proceed with production, writing three completely Archie-less episodes. Archie’s absence was built into the plot and began with Season 5’s eighth episode, “Where’s Archie?” The outing sees Archie mysteriously disappear while traveling, with Edith, Gloria and Mike having no idea what’s happening and becoming worried when Archie doesn’t turn up.
The arc continues with the episode, “Archie is Missing,” as the show picks up with Archie having been MIA for 24 hours and Edith, Gloria, and Michael trying to decide what to do. Episode 10, “The Longest Kiss,” wraps up the plot, with Archie revealing that he was just having so much fun on his trip that he forgot to call. While it’s a comically simple end to the multi-week storyline, Archie’s fate was almost much more bleak.
Norman Lear Considered Killing off Archie Bunker in ‘All in the Family’
Per MentalFloss, Norman Lear wasn’t sure if O’Connor would ever return. After the actor shared his doubts about his future on the series, Lear began working on a plan in case O’Connor did not resume his role as Archie. Lear made his position well known and even had a replacement for Archie in mind, as James Cromwell had recently debuted his character, Stretch Cunningham (a friend of Archie’s), shortly before O’Connor’s absence.
Lear claimed that he planned to have Stretch move into the Bunker’s house and fill the void after killing off Archie in an accident. After Lear made his position known, O’Connor returned to the series, but assured, Cromwell’s Stretch was killed off just two seasons later, allegedly at the request of O’Connor. Cromwell told The New York Post that he was “getting too many laughs” for O’Connor’s liking, but that the star actually “did me a great favor, because I might have ended up as another Fonzie, an actor totally identified with one character .”
All in the Family remains one of the single most successful sitcoms ever produced, with its success in large part thanks to Carroll O’Connor’s work as Archie Bunker. While the actor’s frustration and lawsuit nearly caused the character to be killed off, he was able to settle his differences with Norman Lear and the show’s production company. He will go on to play the character for nine seasons in All in the Family and an additional four in the sequel series, Archie Bunker’s Place.
All in the Family is available to stream on Apple TV in the U.S.
