Sally Struthers has enjoyed a long and successful career in Hollywood, yet she remains best known as Archie Bunker’s “little girl” from the iconic ’70s sitcom “All in the Family.” Struthers portrayed Gloria Stivic alongside Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton, and Rob Reiner. The show, which focused on a working-class family, aired from 1971 to 1979.
“I had just finished working on ‘The Tim Conway Comedy Hour,’” Struthers recently recalled to Closer Weekly. “I was supposed to be on all 13 weeks of it, but after the fifth show, the executives said, ‘Get rid of that dancer girl. She makes the show look cheap!’ So I was let go. I was distraught! I adored Tim Conway and wondered what would happen to me next.”
“But then I went to audition for this man nobody knew, [‘All in the Family’ creator] Norman Lear,” the 74-year-old continued. “He said it was for the role of the daughter and gave me a yelling scene to perform. I had laryngitis that day, so my voice was raspy, but I guess it made me memorable. He narrowed it down to four young ladies, and I was one of the final four.”
Struthers landed the role and found an immediate connection with the cast. “We got along as beautifully as anyone could have ever hoped,” she said. “There wasn’t any competition between us. We all revered one another because it was perfect casting. Rob and I were the third set of kids – Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton had made two other pilots before CBS picked up the show. I’ve never seen those pilots, but I hear you can find them on YouTube. People say Rob and I finally had the right chemistry with Jean and Carroll.”
Struthers developed a particularly close bond with O’Connor, who played the outspoken, cranky bigot Archie Bunker. “In 1968, my own father passed away,” Struthers said. “I was still feeling bad and fatherless when I got this show. Carroll and his wife, Nancy, turned out to be as parental with me as he was on the show. Carroll gave me advice, laughed at my antics, hugged me all the time – and he introduced me to my husband, [William Rader]! So I gained a father again by doing that show.”
When “All in the Family” ended, Struthers found it hard to part ways with the cast. “It was emotional, but it wasn’t sad,” she said. “I didn’t realize at the time how much I would miss it. Whenever I see an episode on TV now, I stop for a second. As soon as I see Carroll or Jean, I get so sad that I have to change the channel.”
O’Connor was relatively unknown when Lear cast him as Archie Bunker, an unapologetically blue-collar worker from Queens whose ignorance and intolerance served as his comic foil. Although “All in the Family” had a rocky start, viewers eventually embraced Archie, and the series ranked No. 1 for five years.
O’Connor remained a sought-after actor throughout his career. In 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite declining health, he continued working. He had a toe amputated due to circulatory issues related to diabetes and underwent coronary bypass surgery in 1989. His final screen appearance was in the 2000 romantic comedy “Return to Me.” O’Connor passed away in 2001 at age 76 from a heart attack, with his wife, Nancy, by his side.
Reflecting on her time on “All in the Family,” Struthers expressed pride in her work and the lifelong friendships she formed. “I’ve done many guest roles on various shows, and that’s fun, but ‘All in the Family’ was history-making, and that doesn’t happen to many actors,” she said. “I realized it the day my daughter was in her room writing a report, using the Encyclopedia Britannica. She screamed, ‘Mom, come in here!’ She had the encyclopedia opened to the letter T. Under the word television was a picture of the ‘All in the Family’ cast. That’s when you say, ‘Wow!’”
