I didn’t know she was still alive, honestly, but now I am sad she’s gone. Edith Bunker was a great character, and Stapleton made the role what it was.
I was a huge fan of “All in the Family” as a kid. To this day, at the end of the workday, Mrs. P. and I will often ask each other: “How was your day, Archie?”
Pronounced "Patter-EE-koh"
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Icy, you’re slow on the draw!
Patterico (9c670f) — 6/1/2013 @ 2:48 pmWhat a shame. She was part of a very entertaining show even if the goal was to make “conservatives” appear to be bumbling, moronic racists…
Ultimately, it was another case of progressive projection but still entertaining…
WarEagle82 (2b7355) — 6/1/2013 @ 3:07 pmRIP.
Dianna (f12db5) — 6/1/2013 @ 4:23 pmSome of us have to work on the weekend, sir.
Icy (e73d78) — 6/1/2013 @ 4:35 pm;
Icy (e73d78) — 6/1/2013 @ 4:42 pm😉
Icy (e73d78) — 6/1/2013 @ 4:42 pmHere is a link to a fitting short clip from Archie Bunkers Place:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UKrAYD3zX8
Mattsky (d6e293) — 6/1/2013 @ 8:29 pmJean Stapleton was a very good actress. I am sorry to hear about her passing.
“All in the Family” was a very good show during it’s time, but it has not really passed the test of time.
When it was on, it was the most popular show on television. It also was popular in syndication for a while, but not so much anymore.
Which is a good question to ask: Why did “All in the Family” fade into oblivion, while “I Love Lucy” or “Frasier” or “Mary Tyler Moore” or “The Bob Newhart Show” or “Bonanza,” or “MASH” for that matter, continue to be available in most major markets?
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 6/1/2013 @ 8:31 pmmeathead made when harry met sally
I swear to God I read it on the internet
goddamn
America used to be a trippy wonderful place
(this was before food stamp fascism if you’re just tuning in)
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/1/2013 @ 8:35 pmMeathead also made “A Few Good Men.”
I don’t think he realized at the time that Col. Jessup knew what he was talking about and that Lt. JG Kaffee was a fool.
Meathead’s former wife and former father-in-law managed to make a few good movies, too.
Pigs and chestnuts. Art is art, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
After all, a damn commie wrote a few good folk songs.
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 6/1/2013 @ 8:53 pmi know what it means to work hard on machines
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/1/2013 @ 8:57 pmI’m sure that you work hard on the ones that kill fascists.
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 6/1/2013 @ 9:01 pmShe was terrific in “You’ve got Mail” where she played the elderly book keeper “Birdie.” When Meg Ryan was closing the store, she was worried about the three employees. Birdie said, “Don’t worry about me. I bought Microsoft at six.”
Wish I could say the same.
Mike K (dc6ffe) — 6/1/2013 @ 9:07 pmUltimately, it was another case of progressive projection but still entertaining…
A few years ago I was leafing through an old copy of Mad magazine from the 1970s, which parodied “All in the Family” by showing Edith’s husband, Archie, as a big pal of Adolph Hitler.
Speaking of which…
Mark (aa8ab9) — 6/1/2013 @ 11:18 pmArchie: Oh Edith. Jeez… I
Edith: Archie, do you want to cry? Cause it’s ok for a man to cry if he wants too.
Archie: No Edith. I don’t want to cry.
Edith: The Reader’s Digest says it’s ok.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/1/2013 @ 11:37 pmArchie: Then let the Reader’s Digest cry.
Little condensed tears.
AitF was semi-topical, and such an embarassingly ridiculous strawman caricature that it doesn’t generally stand the test of time. While moments of it remain amusing, for the most part, the need to stand there and get whacked with a 2×4 upside the head with the liberals’ fantasies of what conservatives are “like” is too annoying to stand any more.
Simply put, it’s not funny any more, and really, at its heart, was such a vile lie that it never actually was.
Smock Puppet, "Faeces Evenio, Mr. Holder?" (df4f7c) — 6/1/2013 @ 11:49 pmIt didn’t have a significant run in syndication because Edith was an old-school feminist. It wasn’t enough that Edith was the heart and soul of that family (show). The only acceptable messaging had to be IN YOUR FACE. Also, Archie was proved correct about liberals a few times too many.
I was stunned to learn that Stapleton’s son John (Putch) played the milquetoast wannabe boyfriend of Valerie Bertinelli on One Day At a Time. That guy was on a zillion shows playing the All-American, clean cut, boy.
Ed from SFV (8573d8) — 6/2/2013 @ 1:19 am@ Comment by Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 6/1/2013 @ 8:31 pm
Bonanza fills in the blank spot on the western channel.
I’ve never seen a “Mary Tyler Moore” rerun.
“Dick Van Dyke show” sure but not “MTM” or “Rhoda”, “Phylis”, “The Lou Grant Show”… (were there any other spin-offs?)
That’s all I got.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/2/2013 @ 1:57 amGenerally speaking, stronger character interaction with less focus on situation makes for a stronger run in reruns.
Situation-as-setting gives characters a place in which to bounce off of each other; situation-as-story shifts the focus away from the characters and drains interest.
There’s a reason why The Fonz jumping that shark has become symbolic of tv series going bad. Not only was it an empty stunt to boost ratings, but it also initiated a shift towards emphasizing what happens to the characters (rather than their reactions to what happens to them).
Icy (1604da) — 6/2/2013 @ 7:45 amI never liked any of the Norman Lear productions. There was a grubbiness, not to say ugliness, that permeated them. If art is beauty, they were not art. Where’s David E?
nk (875f57) — 6/2/2013 @ 8:25 amThere is beauty in art, but the beauty of art is that it challenges you to think and feel.
——————————
That said, nk, I know what you mean. There is definitely a current of pessimism about — well, life in general — that runs through Lear’s shows; a vibe of “things are gonna suck no matter what we do,” so his characters just go through the motions of trying to improve their lot in life without any real hope of success. Characters in other shows may fail miserably, but at least they feel that the struggle is worth it and not just a way of passing the time while waiting for death.
Icy (1604da) — 6/2/2013 @ 10:08 amI’ve seen some reruns of it within the past two years. Don’t remember which channel, though.
Icy nails it right here. The shows that last are the ones about the characters.
Does anyone remember the scene from “Taxi” where Jim Ignatowski is taking the test for his driving license? Or how about the scene from “WKRP in Cincinnati” where Les Nessman is describing the turkey drop? Those are over 30 years old and still make me laugh out loud.
Meathead also made “The Princess Bride”, and that gives him plenary indulgence.
Chuck Bartowski (11fb31) — 6/2/2013 @ 10:12 amAnd “This Is Spinal Tap”.
Icy (1604da) — 6/2/2013 @ 10:33 amThat scene with Les Nessman is my dad’s favorite scene of that entire series.
Icy (1604da) — 6/2/2013 @ 10:39 amOne lesser remarked performance was when she played Emma Goldman in Reds, and she is remarking on the reign of terror that Reed doesn’t believe is happening in Russia,
narciso (3fec35) — 6/2/2013 @ 10:44 amAll in the Family was novel, many libs liked to laugh at conservatives, conservatives liked to laugh at overblown caricatures of themselves at the time.
Too much of what was joked about just seems embarrassing now, I think, and conservatives are tired at laughing at caricatures of themselves put forth like the norm of the real thing.
I read once where Bill Cosby didn’t think it was funny, FWIW.
Green Acres made fun of urban high socialites sort of, but it was still based on looking at the country folk’s lifestyles for fun. Mr. Drysdale was always in the middle of the joke as the over-done banker, but still the main focus was the poor illiterate country folk.
Was there ever a comedy made where the stereotypes of the rich and powerful were the focus? US senators in their off-hours pursuits, a kennedyesque family the butt of jokes?
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 6/2/2013 @ 11:13 amI have never been a big TV person since the mid 70-s, so I have no idea of what I missed.
Breaking news. Low ranking IRS employee says orders to inspect Tea Party applications came from DC.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/02/interviews-with-irs-agent-suggest-tea-party-targeting-came-from-washington/
peedoffamerican (35b482) — 6/2/2013 @ 12:54 pmLet’s take a stroll down memory lane, peedoffamerican. Recall when Holder testified before Congress that the decision to drop the already-won voter rights case against the Philly branch of the Black Panthers was made by career civil rights attorneys? It turned out political appointees overruled the career attorneys in order to drop the case.
Yeah.
Guess where this trail will lead.
Steve57 (9b1cdb) — 6/2/2013 @ 1:38 pmI should mention I always enjoyed Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker. I’m very sorry she’s gone. All In The Family was one of those shows we always watched as a family when I was growing, which is why I probably remember it so fondly. I’m dating myself but it was in the same category as Hogan’s Heroes and Flip Wilson.
But even as a kid I knew Norman Lear was trying to propagandize me. I never blamed Edith for that, though.
Steve57 (9b1cdb) — 6/2/2013 @ 1:52 pmWell when you have 3 recent scandals, Benghazi-State Dpt, DOJ, and IRS-Treasury, each a separate dept each headed by a different person, all doing things that directly benefit the Pre’sent, if all those roads don’t lead to the Whitehouse, then you can color me purple and call me a Venusian.
peedoffamerican (c1890a) — 6/2/2013 @ 2:22 pmNorman Lear wrote that one thing he discovered as he was writing the character was that while Archie Bunker talked a bigoted game, he always did the right thing. Complaining about it, cracking wise about it, but he always did the right thing – and Lionel, the young black kid in the very first episode, is the first to recognize this and understand it in his dealings with Archie.
That’s what made him a popular and sympathetic and funny character.
luagha (1de9ec) — 6/2/2013 @ 2:48 pmlaugha @31, that’s true. But even then the divorce between “doing the right thing” and “meaning the right thing” was underway. With “meaning the right thing” awarded custody of the country.
Steve57 (9b1cdb) — 6/2/2013 @ 2:55 pmGood point, laugha.
Had Archie always followed through with actions that were consistent with what he said he would not have been looked at so fondly.
FWIW and tangential, I remember in college (late 70’s) a friend asking our German instructor (a post-doc from Germany) what the German people thought of “Hogan’s Heroes”. With a look that could kill he said something to the effect of, “Do you really want to know what we thought of a show that made us look like a bunch of idiots…?”
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 6/2/2013 @ 3:31 pmOf course that was one opinion, not sure how widespread his view was.
With a look that could kill he said something to the effect of, “Do you really want to know what we thought of a show that made us look like a bunch of idiots…?”
I’m guessing the answer, “Well. You were following Hitler.” would have ended with unpleasantness.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/2/2013 @ 6:02 pmComment by papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/2/2013 @ 6:02 pm
Yes. Yes I believe it would have.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 6/2/2013 @ 7:25 pmI recall one segment where Archie was under some pressure to do something–time flies–not particularly good about a black guy. It got pretty heavy and at The Moment he not only didn’t do it, he more or less told the other party to piss off.
Richard Aubrey (6c93a4) — 6/3/2013 @ 4:48 amI’m sixty-eight and I grew up among guys like this: Might speak mean spiritedly, although it was pretty common speech, but they generally did the right thing even wrt the objects of the mean spirited speech.
They were of the generation which was in power when civil rights got going. The Kids were important, but the older folks were the voting power. In the end, despite a lifetime of looking at things one way, they did the right thing.