RIP, Edith.

[dando]

:(

She played the ditzy wife on All in the Family (a show that wouldn't air today, BTW), but I saw her in a variety of roles on stage and screen. Very, very talented lady.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/arts/television/jean-stapleton-who-played-archies-better-angel-dies-at-90.html?partner=MYWAY&ei=5065&_r=0

-Kevin

[RaceGrrl]

I remember how amazed I was as a little kid to hear her on talk shows- she sounded nothing like Edith. RIP

[Kiwifan]

SKY TV here in NZ have just graced us with JONES, a channel for all those old shows we used to Love including All in the Family, The Streets of San Francisco, Open all Hours etc, great fun.

I have watched a few episodes of All in the Family over the last two weeks so so funny.

RIP Edith, you were a star.

[Andrew Longman]

Her character Edith died IIRC of breast cancer on the show.

That broke a lot of peoples' hearts.

Despite a significant stage career she was so defined by Edith I expect a lot of people, if they had been asked, thought Jean died years ago.

Edith was/is a hero for so many women.

RIP.

[G.]

RIP, Dingbat. RIP.

[Napoleon]

I remember how amazed I was as a little kid to hear her on talk shows- she sounded nothing like Edith. RIP

I don't recall ever seeing that as a kid, but a more recent example of that which was really jarring to me was hearing the actress who played the Karen Walker character on Will and Grace in an interview. You would never know it was the same person from the voice.

[nrc]

It's really hard to put the cultural impact of shows like All in the Family and M*A*S*H* into context from today's perspective. They came at a time when the media landscape of the sixties provided a perfect soapbox for the social issues of the seventies and beyond.

RIP Jean Stapleton.

[Napoleon]

I remember how amazed I was as a little kid to hear her on talk shows- she sounded nothing like Edith. RIP


Just read her obit in the NY Times and there is this:


She was born Jeanne Murray on Jan. 19, 1923, in Manhattan. Her father, Joseph, was an advertising salesman; her mother, Marie Stapleton, was a concert and opera singer, and music was very much a part of her young life.

Jeanne was a singer as well, which might be surprising to those who knew Ms. Stapleton only from “All in the Family,” which opened every week with Edith and Archie singing “Those Were the Days,” Ms. Stapleton lending a screechy half of the duet that was all Edith.

Ms. Stapleton herself had a long history of charming musical performances. She was in the original casts of “Bells are Ringing” on Broadway in the 1950s and “Funny Girl,” with Barbra Streisand, in the 1960s, in which she sang “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty” and “Find Yourself a Man.” Off Broadway in 1991, she played Julia Child, singing the recipe for chocolate cake in the mini-musical “Bon Appétit.” On television, she sang with the Muppets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/arts/television/jean-stapleton-who-played-archies-better-angel-dies-at-90.html?pagewanted=1&ref=obituaries

[RaceGrrl]

It's really hard to put the cultural impact of shows like All in the Family and M*A*S*H* into context from today's perspective. They came at a time when the media landscape of the sixties provided a perfect soapbox for the social issues of the seventies and beyond.

RIP Jean Stapleton.

Yes, and it's a series that would never be broadcast now.

[Andrew Longman]

Yes, and it's a series that would never be broadcast now.I've heard that several times in the last 24 hours.

Not saying you're wrong but just curious why you say it.

I can think of several more recent shows that dealtl with rape, race, cancer, politics, gender, sex, headlines, etc. Will & Grace, Law & Order, West Wing, etc.

I can think of several shows designed to make you cringe, etc. Married with Children, The Simpson, countless reality shows, etc.

What I don't see are that many shows that NEED to be on. All in the Family DID talk about stuff no one was talking and NEEDED to talk about. It brought stuff (race, cancer, gender, etc.) out of the shadows. If anything, to fill up our 500 cable channels means the networks will put almost anything on. Or so it seems.

Back to Edith, she was so critical to the show because her lover and loyalty to Archie and her family showed us it was OK/how to have sympathy for for Archie. The show would not work without that. And as we see from Jean's other work, she was really acting.

[dando]

AL, All in the Family was edgy for broadcast TV. Most of the edgy shows are on cable now. South Park being a prime example. The PC police wouldn't allow That kind of show now. M*A*S*H was close to crossing the line, especially when it turned darker towards the end. I grew up watching both...M*A*S*H was on after school. Just the theme song 'Suicide is Painless' alone would draw outrage. Archie's off-color comments (see E. Gordon Gee) would have been a problem as well as his calling Edith a dingbat. Just my $.02....

-Kevin

[Andrew Longman]

Kevin I was in 6th grade when All in the Family debuted and we watched it every week as a family. Yes it was edgy for the times. Archie said, "damn" and "hell". That alone was edgy. My parents warned us that we might hear some things we didn't hear around the house. But they also thought it was important to watch because they know at the time that it was historically important.

A few years later, MASH was much the same story. You could argue that All in the Family made MASH possible.

I'm sorry I just don't see what the "PC police" are keeping off the air. We have news completely divorced from reality, openly gay stars, single parenting by choice and otherwise, characters with AIDS, Dennis Franz's naked butt, child molsetation, Howard Stern, Morton Downey Jr, Black, women and Hispanic characters who's race has nothing to do with their role or storyline, people eating worms, people vomitting and fighting lubed up at the Jersey Shore... even lousy manufactured auto racing. In other words, anything goes, both good and bad.

Sure people complain about Glenn Beck and MSNBC and Jersey Shore and the Sopranos and the like, but in about the same numbers and only an exit of advertisers who find that (sometimes despite ratings) they can't sell their product via the show do the shows get canned. The over the air networks are only a little less bold.

There to me seems to be a huge difference between breaking all the rules when there are only three networks and a very limited means to advertise and now when we are besieged by advertising from all quarters and everybody is trying to be more outragous than the other guy.

[dando]

AL, I'm not defending it, just sayin'. I don't believe any of the major networks would greenlight a show like All in the Family these days.

On a side note, All in the Family was rated #4 in the list of list of the 101 best written shows.

http://www.slashfilm.com/writers-guild-of-america-lists-the-101-best-written-tv-shows-of-all-time/

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

Andrew, you forgot the Bachelor and the Bachelorette. :yuck:

[Andrew Longman]

AL, I'm not defending it, just sayin'. I don't believe any of the major networks would greenlight a show like All in the Family these days.

On a side note, All in the Family was rated #4 in the list of list of the 101 best written shows.

http://www.slashfilm.com/writers-guild-of-america-lists-the-101-best-written-tv-shows-of-all-time/

-KevinAnd I'm not saying you are wrong. I'd just like to see a sample of what the networks actually turn down these days.

Indeed. My wife dug this up yesterday. I commented this might be about the best writing/10 min of TV ever. And geez was this kiss ever a big deal when it happened.

O_UBgkFHm8o

[SteveH]

I wish I knew the story

http://i.imgur.com/1pCQQWf.jpg

[cameraman]

I wish I knew the story

http://i.imgur.com/1pCQQWf.jpg

It is from the Free Shakespeare Festival benefit held at the Hollywood Bowl on August 19, 1973. That's Jack Klugman in the background.

[SteveH]

Thanks :thumbup:

[nrc]

Alice has always been a big fan of TV and movies, particularly old Hollywood. If there was an opportunity to hang out with stars he was on it. He loved it and it was hip to be seen with him. So you'll see photos of Alice with all sorts of stars from the '70s. One of his friends was Groucho Marx. When they replaced the original Hollywood sign Alice paid for the letter O in memory of Groucho.

[Kiwifan]

Andrew that was so funny, thanks for the clip. :thumbup:

Think I might Series Link the show. The last two weeks episodes have been pretty good and I need a few laughs. :)

[KaBoom21]

Stifled.

RIP.

[chop456]

Stifled.

:laugh: