In this interview clip, Carroll O'Connor talks about the final season of "All in the Family" and how the show made its transition to "Archie Bunkers Place." See more interviews at www.emmytvlegends.org/intervie...
Carrol O'Connor is one word>Genius. And don't forget,he had a great role later in life on the show "In The Heat Of The Night" The man was an absolute Genius.
The thing that I respected the most about Carroll O'Connor, aside from him being a 1st-rate actor, was that he spent nearly 20 years on TV dealing head on, and not always politely, with race in America (14 years as A. Bunker and another 5 years as Chief Bill Gillespie on "In the Heat of the Night"). He's also one of the few actors to win an Emmy for a comedic leading role in a series and for a dramatic leading role in another series. For 2 decades he was one of the best.
in 1978 I was 14 and my folks and I went to AZ while we were at the Grand Canyon Carrol O'Connor and his wife and son were there to. I kept looking at him saying I know that guy from somewhere. then my dad said it's Archie Bunker. Indeed it was He spoke in a normal voice. I asked him where he picked up that Brooklyn Accent and he said i studied Jackie Gleason and James Cagney and my accent was born I shared a Coke with Hugh while my folks spiked to them He was one of the most down to earth person I ever met. I had him sign my beige cowboy hat I bought a few weeks before.
Man no kidding. If ever an actor could have complained about being type cast, but instead he went on to portray another believable character, a police chief in the deep south championing against racism! Amazing.
I was born in the late '70s, and would watch "Archie Bunker's Place" with my old man. It wasn't until years later that I even realized there was an "All in the Family". Kinda like the kids born in the decade before me who were surprised that Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings...
The honesty - that the second show was just about money/ratings - is very refreshing here, as is O'Connor's indication that he wanted the show to eventually be about more than that. Both ring true.
Carroll O'Connor showed a lot more acumen than Norman Lear in suggesting that the character of Edith had to die. Everyone would have thought that Edith always being at home or away but never seen would be a terrible scenario. Funny that Carroll ended up staying the longest out of all the four main original actors, especially when he walked out for a couple of weeks over a contract dispute (remember the episodes when Archie was missing from his convention?) ABP was a great show in its own right!
Jean Stapleton herself had had enough of playing Edith and wanted to move on to other roles. O'Connor knew if Edith was still around it would be too easy for the show to slip right back into the mold of AITF and that's not what it was supposed to be. When Archie had to deal with the death of Edith it made him a much more sympathetic character and his occasional slips into 'old Archie' predjudices, etc became more like amusing foibles rather than annoying character flaws. Archie in AITF was an obnoxious guy with some redeeming qualities; Archie in ABP became a lovable guy with some embarassing quirks.
@Gameking40 Carroll was a genius actor. Agreed. I recall sitting in the theatre watching "Return to Me" and when Carroll appeared on screen, there was a collective clap from the audience...One woman behind me exclaimed "Well, look who that is!" This man truly a beloved actor.
like Archie Bunker's place, Carroll O'Connor had creative control over the NBC crime drama IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT(1988-94). He played the role that Rod Steiger played in the 1967 role just like the late Howard Rollins played Sidney Poitier's character.
One of the best show to ever grace the television screen can't believe both Edith & Arch are now passed... R.I.P... and thank you for all that you're show taught a young black child... it actually helped me to understand people more... & that's the truth.
Does anyone remember 704 Hauser Street aside from the fact that that was the Bunkers' Queens,New York address? I'm talking about the most recent ALL IN THE FAMILY spinoff that ran in the early '90's. A black family lived in the Bunkers' old house and the show starred John Amos of Good Times fame. GT was a CBS property also and a spinoff of another AITF spinoff,Maude.
Except that they did do a year of Archie Bunker's Place with Edith still alive (but mostly off camera). Jean Stapleton did appear in five episodes that first year. It was only in the second year that O'Connor got his wish and Edith was killed off.
To me, Archie Bunker's Place was as good as All In The Family for a different reason. AITF focused on political and social issues, while ABP focused more on the characters themselves and the human interest challenges that they faced. It also showed how strong Archie really was in being able to pick up and move on after the death of Edith and the departure of Gloria and Mike. He built a new world around him with his two nieces, his business, and the people at the bar.
and we lost the spin-off show's main character , Sherman Hemsley. The conflict gave a voice on race relations and there really isn't another show like that on T.V. today.
Carroll O'Connor was once the highest-paid network television star and years later,that was Bill Cosby. They were both stars of a #1 series for 5 straight seasons,respectively and individually. Fox's American Idol broke the record held by All In The Family and The Cosby Show.
From what Carroll said here, Jean must have quit the AITF show. Doesn't say why. So, he and the producers made ABP. I like that show. Maybe because of the original Archie character, but only because it expressed just how much he had changed throughout the second show. Up to until seeing it on here, I didn't even know ABP existed. Again, because of the original show, this one succeeded. They did a good job with it.
And he got an emmy for it... Well, I think I saw that episode, but I'm going to look for it and find it tonight and watch it. It has to be an important, impacting episode.
Carroll O'Connor a class act but I liked the idea of keeping Edith alive just not shown. Maybe a cameo now and then. On another note I didn't realize how good of actor Carroll O'Connor was until I saw a news report of his funeral. I couldn't believe he was Catholic. I'm not Catholic but many in my Mother's family are. Great actor! RIP Archie oh I mean Carroll.
Nice interview, though I think Carroll was a bit confused about the timeline, since Edith was alive during the first season of AB's Place, and Jean S. actually appeared in four or five episodes that season. She "died" at the beginning of the second season, so I presume the decision to kill her off wasn't made 'til the end of the first season.
too bad Norman Lear wouldn't let the name be used. It was the same show...just undergoing more of the changes it had since it went on the air. It is undervalued because of that (and unavailable on DVD.) they should have sent Edith off to college that first season of APB. Would have given reasons for her being gone and opened up story possibilities if Jean wanted to come back.
@BCraingirl they never had a show about her dying... they finished one season with her, and when the actress wanted to quit, they just started with the first episode of the next season as if it was maybe a couple months after her death.
i miss Carroll. He was naturally theatrical on All in the Family. Never has a tv show let an audience sit down like they were watching a real show on Broadway every week.
@covingtonjoe And this is why this show caused an awesome spin-off called the Jeffersons just to be racist? One of the most popular and classic of all-black sitcoms? RIP. He was a great man. :< She was a great woman too, I hope they're in an amazing place now.
By 1982-83,the twelfth season of Archie,ratings declined so greatly that an incensed Carroll O'Connor vowed never to work for CBS again after the canceallation of Archie Bunker's Place.
i had no idea that they kill off edith... why the heck would they do that? couldnt they have sent her to a recovery hospital or sent her to a home --- etc... if the show was going to be cancelled anyway.. when is that dvd coming out???
Apparently..there was a bad breakup between Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton because if you watch Jean's interview she did about Edith dying...Jean said it was her idea that Edith die...not Carroll's. And from what I understand...Carroll O'Connor had mentioned that it was Jean that suggested she would do appearances on Archie Bunker's Place...but Carroll called Jean and said that really wouldn't be a viable situation for the show. And that Jean was heartbroken about it..but understood. So...not sure who's telling the truth.
