1970-71 Television Season 50th Anniversary: All in the Family (Jean Stapleton '72 Cavett interview)

[@mauraspade8801]

One of the funniest lines when she screamed at Archie to "STIFLE " 😂😂

[@rubyfirefly2582]

What a glorious, beautiful, talented and classy woman she was. I love hearing her speak in her natural voice. Such a treasure. So deeply missed. The fact that people react to hearing a character actor speak in their real voice is testament to what incredible actors they are. They make you believe that the character they play is real.

[@lemurianchick]

Not even just the voice but their energy. It's like they are channeling when they're acting! I do detect a Noo Yawk accent nonetheless.

[@jonburrows2684]

Agreed! She was about 47 or 48 here. So beautiful!

[@95KIPPIE]

I mean how can anyone not love this lady!!! She was so wonderful!

[@jonburrows2684]

She was so different than her character. She definitely wasn't no dingbat

[@jonburrows2684]

Unlike Mike Stiffic. He was a meathead on the show and in real life

[@stevemalek2970]

For me she's a true legend!

[@KPSoutside]

Whoever cast Carroll and Jean in their parts was a genius. Two of the best actors ever. These two brought their characters to life and made them believable. Great actors and genuine nice people.

[@fluxerflixer1]

Amazingly gifted lady. Thanks for the memories Jean. You are missed!

[@adeteforevermore5900]

Ditto

[@rdnugent1]

So MUCH CLASS. Even when he asked her to do the character of Edith while sitting there, her declining of his request was just so gracious. Today, you'd have the actress reply with some snark and then blast the interviewer over social media immediately afterward.

[@l0333]

"The best humor comes out of an honest situation." Timeless words of wisdom for creative people & comedians. Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Conner were the best ever.

[@salobrena6442]

This woman is pure class.

[@ralphfiligenzi6180]

Jean Stapleton was one of the best actors that ever lived.

[@gargantuangoose24]

Actresses******

[@nzelver559]

@@gargantuangoose24 Actor is fine, many women in Hollywood refer to themselves as actors

[@ecbrent2]

She refers to herself as an actor in this video so there's no need for a correction.

[@tonybuc67]

Jean was a lovely, intelligent, well spoken and incredibly talented lady. Through her amazing abilities as an artist and performer, Jean created the character of Edith so well and with truth no gimmicks, that you really believed she existed. She imbued her with characteristics and mannerisms that seemed so natural and innate to the character plus she gave her a depth of character that touched all of us and made us love Edith for her unfailing compassion and faith. The hilarious humor that came from Edith’s lovable, unfiltered, and undereducated character was just a wonderful byproduct.

[@janetholley1004]

Loved Jean , she was such a beautiful and talented lady, brought so much joy!

[@rf92iredfence87]

I never heard her real voice. She was amazing.

[@lindagurrera685]

Never realized how tall she was🎉

[@jewelhoward8905]

I love her , I’m happy I bumped into this video to see her younger beautiful all her life

[@johnpinegar8027]

Such a wonderful woman she was.

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

I remember when this Cavett show with Ms Stapleton first aired and how impressed I was with the ovation from the studio audience. I can't believe it's been over fifty years since I first saw it. I am impressed as ever.

[@lisavivola5988]

What a poised lady and Dick Cavett always a gentleman….

[@SuperBigMike1992]

I completely understand and respect her stance about why she won’t impersonate Edith’s voice. She doesn’t want to be type-casted. Several actors want to avoid that.

[@Justin-so1xs]

It’s very pretentious and ungrateful to me. Has always rubbed me the wrong way.

[@johnblossom8447]

It’s not so much about being type cast. It’s more about being seen for who she really is. Edith is a character and Jean Stapleton is a character actor.

[@wilchambers1401]

@@Justin-so1xs Carroll never had a problem doing the Archie voice when asked in a interview. He also did not get type cast doing that seeing as he got the In The Heat Of The Night role.

[@pianoman551000]

I remember that Stapleton always "corrected" people when they approached her and addressed her as Edith rather than Jean. I think so many people want to believe that the character is actually is the person whom they're addressing. I can appreciate Stapleton wanting to distinguish between the two personas.

[@christopher3386]

But... she was typecast anyway. She should have done the voice. I lost interest after that.

[@angietwitchel9546]

First of all - Jean showing those legs - I LOVE it! She’s completely beautiful. Second I so admire her “excusing herself” from performing her Edith voice here. She very firmly and gracefully made the statement that she’s there to talk about Jean- just awesome! I love her and this classy interview! ❤

[@Ninjalad85]

I loved the fact that she would not do Edith's voice all through her interviews throughout the years. She was showing that there is she the actor and she the person and trying to let people know especially back then that a woman actor is not defined just by who she plays but by who she is outside the buisness. Fantastic actress and person imo

[@jonmcintosh2729]

I agree and I would get annoyed when interviewers would try to get her to do Edith. She's there as herself not a character. I was especially annoyed when Donnie and Marie wouldn't take no for an answer when she wouldn't do Edith on their talk show.

[@ecbrent2]

That's not true. They asked and Marie said please because I don't think she realized that Jean was serious. Donnie was joking around with the audience after the audience members started pulling out their wallets. That was all of 10 seconds and they let it go.

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

It's never as good out of context anyway.

[@georgebrennan2576]

Nah, that's like being ok with a baseball player not giving autograph.

[@enyin2001]

Thank you for your beautiful talent and class. You helped me to remember myself, wisdom and joy for marriage and my husband. Lately, it seems like relationships are strictly for cheating,technology strife, producing babies, and long hours at work. It’s weird, the dynamics have changed, and I just don’t want to fall in line with that. You are still a role model to me and your fans. Even in 2024 we as a society, me specifically can take a little bit of Edith’s love for her husband, family, and friends, and some of Jean’s respectful, classy and kind ways and incorporate these awesome traits she brought to the world, we would really start to see little changes in the world we live in.

[@gorunsko31]

“They behave out of their … own unhappiness. “ wow! Thank you 🙏 so much for this statement “Edith” you know best. ❤

[@lemurianchick]

Jean mentioned Saturday night. I watched "All in the Family" in the early '70s as a kid on Saturday nights. It's almost unthinkable about that now. I think they moved to Sunday eventually. The REAL must-see tv! That lineup was unreal.

[@jonmcintosh2729]

Yes I watched every Saturday night and even my dad who thought sitcoms were a waste of time would laugh and laugh at this show. This was when TV was good.

[@eiRuNLiMiteD]

I loved what Jean said about being alert to the lines written for Edith. Jean did not want Edith to come across as dumb. I interpreted this as Jean’s respect for her character, which to me makes her a very classy actress.

[@James-l1m4l]

Superb BRILLIANT actress

[@sully7gate]

She was a great performer.

[@bonsummers2657]

Wow, she sounds way different than here 'All in the Family' character.

[@EsterKunin-zs2dw]

Edith, or Jean, will live on in actress heaven! She was the very BEST!❤

[@tomtalker2000]

She was an OUTSTANDING class act of a performer. And a VERY glib intellectual individual. RIP Gene.

[@realcanadiangirl64]

I absolutely love this show and have watched every episode many times over however I would have never recognized Jean's voice as Edith

[@salobrena6442]

So many great character actors. So many I couldn't name, but when I see them in films I am always happy.

[@skingerskanger]

I loved the lady in the audience's reaction as soon as Dick said "Mrs. Archie Bunker" 😊

[@HangTimeDeluxe]

I've never heard her speak in her natural voice. KZbin is (mostly) awesome!

[@bandesj]

4:44 Funny thing is that when she appeared on "The Donny & Marie Show" about 25 years later, she was asked by Donny to do the Edith Bunker voice, and again, she refused. I don't think she wanted to be stereotyped by that role, but I think all four of them were.

[@jenn6294]

What a class act

[@marybethfantozzi2258]

Lovely lady! Such a wonderful actress- beautiful, intelligent, elegant and so able to portray "Edith" or any character she took on. Miss her terribly! They don't mak'em like that any more! ❤❤❤

[@رعدالسلطيالسلطي]

Loveur vidues thank u very muchاحبكم واحب الماضي الجميل

[@lesaboo4740]

I love and miss her 😘❤️

[@davethompson3140]

I do not believe Jean ever contrasted her real voice from Edith Bunker, the character she played. Not that she gave many interviews, but she wanted people to know that she wasn’t Edith Bunker, even though she loved the character.

[@joeroberts2481]

She had a very similar response, many years later (late 1990s or early 2000s), when she appeared on a talk show hosted by Donnie and Marie of all people. They asked her do an Edith impression, and she gave similar reasoning for why she wouldn't. Jean was right of course. You can find that clip on KZbin too.

[@apatizinguense]

She will forever be Edith!

[@CC-xi5mz]

I grew up in the 70’s and still watch the AITF reruns. Seasons 1-5 are the best in my opinion. It’s amazing how both actors transformed into Archie and Edith… what wonderful talent.

[@jonmcintosh2729]

I agree seasons 1-5 were the best. There were some good episodes after but not consistently.

[@ninalee8705]

Legendary

[@jenniferw4326]

She reminds me of my mom who's been gone for 19 years now

[@lekoman]

I don't say this at all to minimize the absolutely monumental talent and skill and dedication and focus Jean and Carroll brought to their work on All in the Family - a fact which is simply unquestionable - but I think a lot of people's attachment to Edith and Archie also had a lot to do with how intimate a medium television is, as opposed to film or even theatre (which can be intimate in a different way). Particularly in the era that All in the Family aired, it really was the whole family gathering around the television to enjoy a show together, and it really was these characters coming into people's living rooms in a way that we don't necessarily experience with the way that stories are told and characters are created for television today. That's not to say there's not excellent television being made today, either. There absolutely is. But it's just different.

[@ricosuave8123]

So gracious, yet polite for refusing to do the Edith voice.

[@terencedove5047]

The yelling and applause that began before she walked out…and continued after she sat down…

[@JJJJ-gl2uf]

If I couldn't see who was speaking I'd never know this was Edith Bunker . . . . . Great actress.

[@stevevalkos6308]

she wasn't always Edith but she was always a stellar New Yorker

[@Troyster94806]

"...the best humor comes out of an honest situation."

[@lindsays7232]

Turning down doing the Edith voice with such grace. What a class act.

[@billwhite9703]

A brilliant woman.

[@relaxinmaxin7246]

A class act. And she drove a Plymouth Duster.

[@jako3214]

Nope you better believe they do NOT make em like this anymore. Just a pure fact. It's the 'system'. Just the way she speaks & looks alone (late 40s here but 'comes across' like she's 65 lol) wouldn't get close to a smash hit TV show now :(. A time when was ALL about raw, organic talent (vs looks, plastic, fish faced, silly, shock, viral memes etc). She's pure CLASS, brilliance and, again, talent.

[@drewski1535]

What a beautiful Dingbat

[@johndalton3180]

As brilliant as Carroll O'Connor was, Jean Stapleton often matched him beat for beat. How lucky was Norman Lear to get the two most perfect actors in the world for those parts? And, for that matter, how lucky were Carroll and Jean to get these "roles of a lifetime." They were the two best comedic actors in television history. With James Gandolfini and Edie Falco following nearly 30 years later as the best dramatic actors. Rest in peace James, Carroll, and Jean.

[@KellyK387]

She is a true actress. She played a ditzy wife with an annoying voice and in actuality she sounds very professional and business like. Loved her in you’ve got mail, Carroll is my favorite actor tied with Walter Matthau

[@zombiefulci3301]

She turns me off with that wacky voice, it's like Ed Norton's

[@robertjosan]

Classically trained theater actor, acting done with craft excellence, not idle populism.

[@drewskkiiii]

the GOAT

[@jnadle1]

Jean would only apply her higher pitched voice to Edith Bunker, but not in interviews. And when making formal appearances to sing, she really is a classically trained singer. She only faked it for All in the Family.

[@schoolkid234]

Edith is a lovely old fashion women a precious person. Jean is a great actor a gives a full life to Edith in curious and tremrndous ways. Someone can take his voice on because in my brain his true voice is off lol

[@danielsalisbury245]

Undisputed heavyweight champion of American sitcom acting. Nobody came close before nor since. Also, super cool of her to shout out Rod Steiger's acting chops since both he (at the time) Carroll O'Connor (in the then-future/now-past) played Chief Gillespie in the film and television roles respectively.

[@krisscanlon4051]

Talented woman taking that role into a new territory. Essentially Honeymooners few years down the line.

[@rossmartenak5517]

Why did she change her name?

[@rachelolvera9435]

Good for her . Of not using her Edith voice

[@Joeelectronicschematicsforauto]

It's like she chooses her words so properly before she even says them

[@gitaaa7740]

She changed her voice later in the series I remember it not being as nasal and energetic at first.

[@kathconserv]

It was also nine years later and people age.

[@gitaaa7740]

@@kathconserv No her character voice. Not Jean’s voice compare 1st season with 2nd season

[@lesaboo4740]

In the summer house. Has anyone watch it?

[@jonmcintosh2729]

If you can check out the TV movie Angel Dusted you see what a versatile actress she is. In it she played the mother of a drug addict.

[@NoPrivateProperty]

Americans never got that the joke was on them, Americans were the joke

[@josephgonzales8897]

Would've been really hilarious if she did Edith for a quick moment after declining......

[@citrine65]

He should not have asked her to do Edith's voice.

[@thekingmanslounge2997]

She and Mark McKinney have completely different voices than their characters.

[@mws755]

She was a year older than Carroll O Connor. Certainly doesn't look it lol

[@williamM-18]

"How was your Day"?

[@alihussein2611]

Bro may Allah rest her soul

[@lesaboo4740]

It's the show off... Hmmm anyone watch this?

[@mws755]

She's protective of the character. Too bad she agreed to killing Edith off

[@patienceboafo1998]

I prefer Edith original voice😅😅not a fun of the squeezy tone

[@nunyabidness117]

Awww-chee.....

[@lesaboo4740]

Dam Yankees? Anyone watch this?

[@georgebrennan2576]

Well people recognize you from eho you are and in this case Edith. That's why she is on talk show...not cause she is jean stapleton. Correcting people seems ridiculous....your am entertainer.

[@John-p2o8g]

She can't do Edith? Really?

[@kathconserv]

I thought the same thing and after thinking about it after her examination, I respect it.

[@MrRJMGREEN]

She pulled the same crap when I saw her in a one woman play as Eleanor Roosevelt. She would not take questions from the audience, she would not give autographs, she would not let us congratulate her backstage, she would not talk about the 1940s, no, no, no, no.

[@kathconserv]

She’s a very pretentious liberal. Well she was.

[@jaybarnes8034]

Force her to do Edith's voice or kick her off the shoe.

[@Justin-so1xs]

So pretentious and ungrateful to not do the voice. I get what she’s saying but that voice made her. And it’s a national treasure, and now she’s gone. She valued her own perceived acting ability over the people’s love for Edith, and I think that’s a shame.

[@HelloooThere]

Ok

[@EYECONN]

LOL, smh

[@apatizinguense]

I think you’re right. She didn’t really love “Edith”.

[@blueberrycobbler]

She or any other actor is not the public’s puppet. When they’re not on a stage performing, you don’t get to point at the them and demand they start performing for you outside the workplace. It’s quite bizarre to think otherwise.

[@HeeBeeGB]

Why did he say "well, that puts me in my place" very unnecessary.

[@firstlast1732]

He’s right I like him much better as Archie not too mention he was right about the blacks dead on all these years later

[@throwball2248]

She’s a drip .. I like Edith better

[@jannathompson2262]

No....

[@TATOIANENTERPRISES]

Ms. Stapleton certainly was a gorgeous broad.

[@chriskroll4166]

One of the greatest actresses who ever lived in my opinion. I would put her up against Catherine Hepburn or any of those other great actresses and I would back her 100%. Her role as Edith on All in the family touched my heart so much when I was young and I would watch that show. I thought she was the real brains of that family because she knew how to arbitrate and keep everybody together. That in itself is a great gift. 🙏