All In The Family Actors You May Not Know Passed Away
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Beloved sitcom “All in the Family,” created by legendary TV writer and producer Norman Lear, ran for nine seasons from 1971 to 1979. The series starred Carroll O’Connor as lovable bigot Archie Bunker, Jean Stapleton as Archie’s unappreciated wife Edith, Sally Struthers as their daughter Gloria, and Rob Reiner as her husband Mike. The family is working class and lives in Queens, New York. Being a product of the post-1960s era, the sitcom weaves in issues of racism, antisemitism, feminism, LGBTQ rights, religion, sexual abuse, and the anti-war movement into more accessible family-centered storylines. Through depicting these controversial issues, “All in the Family” made waves, yet also eased more conservative viewers into these topics. Some viewers see themselves as an Archie, while others are closer to the more liberal Mike and Gloria.
These days, “All in the Family” is still considered one of television’s greatest sitcoms, despite its now somewhat controversial portrayal of bigotry and progressivism. Being an older show, however, many of the series’ stars have passed away. Here’s who in the cast of “All in the Family” has died that you may not remember.
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Archie Bunker was played by Carroll O’Connor. The NYC-born O’Connor started his career out on the stage in both Dublin, Ireland, where he graduated from college, and in New York City. After making his TV debut on the series “Sunday Showcase,” he got parts on other TV shows, such as “Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza,” “The Fugitive,” “The Wild Wild West, “The Outer Limits,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” and “That Girl,” among others.
His most successful role was certainly playing Archie Bunker on “All in the Family,” however, and on the spinoff, “Archie Bunker’s Place,” from 1979 to 1983. After his time as Archie Bunker came to an end, O’Connor went on to star on the TV version of “In the Heat of the Night,” which became another one of his career-defining roles. As a result, O’Connor became one of the only actors to win the Primetime Emmy Award for lead actor in both a comedy and a drama series.
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O’Connor was married to Nancy Fields until his death. The couple had an adopted son named Hugh, who died in 1995 after a long struggle with drug addiction. As a result, O’Connor did a number of PSAs in the ’90s for Partnership for a Drug Free America. His last roles were on “Mad About You” and “Party of Five.” O’Connor died in 2001 at the age of 76 from a heart attack and complications of diabetes.
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Jean Stapleton played Edith Bunker, Archie’s often-ridiculed wife. Her character is kind and understanding, but Archie’s very outdated treatment of her is something audiences today may cringe at, particularly his repeated order that she “stifle” herself. Nevertheless, Edith is the heart of “All in the Family,” and has occasion to prove Archie wrong and help him find his empathy.
Stapleton was born in New York City just like her co-star O’Connor, and also started out on the stage. As the daughter of an opera singer, the performing arts were in her blood. She started out doing summer stock theater and made it to Broadway as part of famous musicals including “Funny Girl” and “Damn Yankees.”
Stapleton’s pre-“All in the Family” TV roles came on shows like “The Patty Duke Show,” “My Three Sons,” and “Dennis the Menace.” By the time “Archie Bunker’s Place” rolled around, Stapleton decided Edith Bunker had run her course, and decided not to renew her contract. Thus, after five episodes on the spinoff, her character died from a stroke. Stapleton herself died in 2013 at the age of 90 after a long and extensive acting career.
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Sherman Hemsley played George Jefferson, a character audiences probably know best from “The Jeffersons,” rather than “All in the Family.” But indeed, George Jefferson started out as Archie Bunker’s neighbor, who he often butts heads with over neighborly things and the general state of the world. Hemsley played George on “All in the Family” from 1973 through 1978.
As the song goes, the Jeffersons “move on up” from their former neighborhood in Queens to a “deluxe apartment in the sky” in Manhattan. “The Jeffersons” ran for a whopping 11 seasons, from 1975 through 1985. Hemsley also enjoyed an extensive stage career, and appeared on other television shows, such as “Amen,” “Dinosaurs,” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” When Hemsley died in 2012 at the age of 74 of lung cancer, his will left everything to a woman named Flora Isela Enchinton, his dear friend and business partner. But Hemsley wasn’t buried for over a month, because a Philadelphia man named Richard Thornton claimed to be his long-lost brother. The drawn-out legal proceedings were eventually resolved when the court ruled in favor of Enchinton.
Read More: https://www.looper.com/428820/all-in-the-family-actors-you-may-not-know-passed-away/
