All in the Family

All in the Family is a popular and acclaimed American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 until April 8, 1979, when the final original episode aired. In September 1979, the show was retooled and given a new name, Archie Bunker's Place. With that title, the sitcom lasted another four years, finally ending its run in 1983.

Production

Lear bought the rights to Till Death Us Do Part and incorporated his own family experiences with his father into the show. Lear's father would tell Lear's mother to "stifle yourself" and she would tell Lear's father "you are the laziest white man I ever saw" (two 'Archieisms' that found their way onto the show).

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While in pre-production, the last name chosen for Archie's family was "Justice" and the show's title was Justice for All but was later changed to Those Were the Days.

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Former child actor Mickey Rooney was the show's choice to play Archie but Rooney declined the offer due to its strong potential for controversy and, in Rooney's opinion, poor chances for success. Actor Carroll O'Connor enthusiastically sought the part, even though he agreed with Rooney's assessment of the show's chances. (He was living in Rome at the time, and made his acceptance of the part contingent on Lear's covering for his airfare back to Rome when the show failed.) Lear offered the role of Edith, Archie's wife, to character actress Jean Stapleton. Initially, the roles of Archie and Edith's daughter, Gloria and son-in-law (then named "Dickie") were given to Candice Azarra and Chip Oliver. After seeing the show's pilot, the production company, ABC, requested a second pilot be shot, stating they disliked Azarra and Oliver. Lear recast the "Gloria" and "Dickie" roles to Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner, and reshot the pilot. ABC became uneasy at this point and canceled the project.

Related Topics:
Mickey Rooney - Carroll O'Connor - Jean Stapleton - ABC - Sally Struthers - Rob Reiner

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Rival network CBS, however, was eager to update its image, and was looking to replace much of its then popular "rural" programming (e.g. Mayberry R.F.D., The Beverly Hillbillies) with more "urban", contemporary fare (see Rural purge), and was interested in Lear's project. They bought the rights from ABC and re-titled the show All in the Family. In an effort to warn viewers about the controversial nature of the show, CBS ran a disclaimer before airing the first episode (which disappeared from the screen with the sound of a toilet flush):

Related Topics:
CBS - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Beverly Hillbillies - Rural purge - Toilet

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"The program you are about to see is All In The Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter we hope to show, in a mature fashion, just how absurd they are."

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The house shown in the opening credits, meant to be the Bunkers', is located at 89-70 Cooper Avenue in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens, New York. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E3DA1531F93BA15753C1A9679C8B63 The fictional address of the Bunker home is 704 Hauser Street. The characters never specifically mentioned which neighborhood in Queens they lived in.

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All in the Family is also historic as being one of the first major American series to be videotaped in front of a live studio audience. Previously, sitcoms had been shot on film in front of an audience, and the 1960s had seen a growing number of sitcoms filmed on soundstages without audiences, with a laugh track simulating audience response. After the success of All in the Family, videotaping sitcoms in front of an audience became the standard format for the genre.

Related Topics:
Videotape - Laugh track

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