Carroll O'Connor Interview (December 17, 1991)

John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 - June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio[1] in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame as Archie Bunker (for which he won four Emmy Awards), the main character in the CBS television sitcoms All in the Family (1971-79) and its continuation, Archie Bunker's Place (1979-83). O'Connor later starred in the NBC/CBS television crime drama In the Heat of the Night (1988-95), where he played the role of police chief William "Bill" Gillespie. At the end of his career in the late 1990s, he played Gus Stemple, the father of Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) on Mad About You. In 1996, O'Connor was ranked number 38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[2] He won 5 Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards.
Carroll O'Connor, the eldest of three sons, was born on August 2, 1924, in Manhattan,[3] New York City, to Edward Joseph O'Connor,[4] a lawyer, and his wife, Elise Patricia O'Connor (née O'Connor), a teacher. Both of his brothers became doctors: Hugh, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1961, and Robert, a psychiatrist in New York City.[3] O'Connor spent much of his youth in Elmhurst and Forest Hills, Queens, the same borough in which his character Archie Bunker would later live.[5]
O'Connor graduated from Newtown High School in Elmhurst. In 1941, he enrolled at Wake Forest University in North Carolina but dropped out when the United States entered World War II. During the war, he was rejected by the United States Navy and enrolled in the United States Merchant Marine Academy for a short time. After leaving that institution, he became a merchant seaman and served in the United States Merchant Marine during the war.[6]
After the war, O'Connor attended the University of Montana, where he worked at the Montana Kaimin student newspaper as an editor; in 1949 he resigned his editing position in protest to the pressure from the campus administration that led to the confiscation and destruction of an issue of the paper, which carried a cartoon depicting the Montana Board of Education as rats gnawing at a bag of university funds. At the University of Montana, he also joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.[7] O'Connor did not take any drama courses as an undergraduate at the University of Montana, but he did act in student theater productions. He met Nancy Fields (born 1929), who later became his wife, when she was working as a makeup artist and lighting technician in a student-produced production of "Our Town." He later left that university to help his younger brother Hugh get into medical school in Ireland, where Carroll completed his undergraduate studies at University College Dublin. There he studied Irish history and English literature, graduated in 1952, and began his acting career.[3]
After O'Connor's fiancée, Nancy Fields, graduated from the University of Montana in 1951 with degrees in drama and English, she sailed to Ireland to study at Trinity College Dublin and met Carroll, who was visiting his brother, Hugh.[8] The couple married in Dublin on July 28, 1951.[4] In 1956, O'Connor returned to the University of Montana to earn a master's degree in speech.[8]

[@michaellang7908]

Those … were the … days! My absolute favourite Hollywood actor! I wish I could go back in time and meet Carroll O’Connor…. I loved him on every show he was on! Thanks for you tube to give us all theses past interviews and great old shows!

[@larrybloom810]

A great actor! Rest In Peace!

[@vincentlem2534]

When he switches into Archie, its like he never left him. He just slips into him perfectly!

[@tlee717]

No question the absolute best actor to ever grace the stage and tv

[@walkingtrails7776]

What a wonderful interviewer! Wow how far we have fallen!

[@maureen669]

It is heartbreaking to see this on January 8 2024. I just bought his autobiography from 1998. Hughy died from drugs; this gentleman had a remarkable life, almost typically Irish and Irish American. Such joy and pain. As a 66 year old I wish I'd paid more attention to Archie than to Bobby Sherman, but thank the Lord you'll be with us forever. ☘️

[@black_icon]

I so much loved Carol O'Connor. With the talent and grounded understanding he had when it came to real-life events, he loved his castmates and staff members so deeply and it showed in the shows he did, especially In The Heat Of The Night. You can tell they loved each other so much. He loved people.

[@trwent]

The early deaths of both Hugh O’Connor and Howard Rollins were just terrible tragedies. Two absolutely brilliant actors taken from us in the prime of life. SO sad.

[@maureen669]

@trwent I remember Howard Rollins broke my heart. Wasn't he also in Ragtime, the "comeback" film of Jimmy Cagney. Live Every Moment As Though It's Your Last 🙏☘️☃️

[@rolltide9547]

In heat of the night is an all time top 10 show.

[@EdWeibe]

we still watch it.

[@dianalee3059]

Such a brilliant actor! He is sorely missed. I remember watching All in the Family with my mom the first season it was on TV and we laughed til our sides hurt

[@sallywarner2195]

Such a fine man! Love him!

[@Wh4L205]

This video is Gold! Ima huge Heat fan. Shoutout my great and grandmother 🕊

[@93Jubilee]

What a delightful man -- and fine actor! Great interview, thank you!

[@a.b.s_productions]

6:10 had me 😂😂😂 it’s always great to see Carroll O’Connor play Archie Bunker in interviews.

[@thelog86]

I still watch this show at least 4x a week, and when i do, i watch it for hours. He and the Black counsel lady did end up having a physical relationship on the show

[@dougcrum943]

One of my very favorite shows

[@Alene-vi2gj]

Enjoyed this SOO MUCH 😊😊😊😊😊

[@terencedove5047]

Were it not for the fact that Norman Lear was ahead of his time, both SANFORD AND SON and ALL IN THE FAMILY would not only have not been successful, but would also not produce spinoffs that in turn produced spinoffs. Subjects and issues that are bigger problems today were explored in ways back then that had audiences laugh, cry, sympathize, etc. it also helped that, at least in the cases of these two shows, the actors who starred or guest-starred were able to work together well…

[@user-nf7ep1xt1q]

The Jeffersons also

[@Brenda-lt7dm]

I love Carrol O’Conner

[@Breezy-bv9te]

My Absolute Favorite Character Actor by far!! Archie, who with all of his "Bluster" still had that Heart of Gold when it really mattered and the tough Chief of Sparta who took no nonsense but led his town with Fairness and Loyalty and also that Heart of Gold! That was Caroll O'Connor, the actor with the Heart of Gold and lets not forget his quick minded Humor! RIP Caroll, See you on the Other Side!! 🥹🥹

[@AnitaMariaWhite]

The character of Archie Bunker, at the time, was representative of the country's zeitgeist which is arguably why the sitcom was so darned popular over time.

[@jmartin4204]

I JUST came from Trinidad to Florida that Christmas of 91

[@LezZeppelinFanPage-nm1ly]

Great interviewer and story.

[@NFStamper]

Awesome show. The early seasons were the best!

[@Alene-vi2gj]

Still watch it.❤❤❤❤ Till they take. It off.😊

[@Alene-vi2gj]

Love him.😊😊😊😊

[@Menckenperson]

Very amusing to hear them talking about filming in Georgia like it’s a novelty and now it’s one of the if not the biggest state for filming movies

[@floridaboy.californiaman.649]

All in the family is so funny! 😂

[@windwarattack2300]

Bro would be 100 years old if alive today

[@wilchambers1401]

And Norman Lear was older then him and made it to 101.

[@thelog86]

I absolutely love the chief role that he plays. I believe if he had a child that was actively involved in his life on the show he would have been a great onscreen dad and that would have been a good base on the show to branch off into other topics because he was very wise and gave good advice on the show

[@guskund3971]

Video was ruined with the watermark

[@chrissmith6827]

My friend Carroll.

[@user-bf4zu1rl9z]

Just finished watching all the shows. I'll watch again.loved.

[@shawnbruce6934]

Carol Was Great.

[@qbak22]

The interviewer is really good. Does anyone know her name?

[@cdgates1]

Monica Kaufman. She goes by Monica Pearson now

[@cdgates1]

Monica Kaufman. She goes by Monica Pearson now

[@cdgates1]

Monica Kaufman. She goes by Monica Pearson now

[@donnacaldwell3267]

Irony is often so cruel. At 29, Hugh married. Three years later, on his wedding anniversary no less, he committed suicide while high on drugs. And this interviewer talking about the proceeds from the Xmas cd going toward drug prevention…gives me chills.

[@crystalsbrinkley-perkins941]

Hugh was my favorite actor on in the heat of the night. We all miss him.

[@Alene-vi2gj]

Yes. So sad.😢😢😢😢

[@keonjenkins1852]

So we are gonna just ignore that they used the theme from Street Hawk for this show in the beginning LOL

[@pjjj8117]

I was pregnant the same time that Sally Struthers was in the show so it was very interesting and very helpful at the time

[@badassmalificent]

It's amazing that this bs even needs to be discussed and that audiences can't seem to understand that these people are acting out characters in scripts written that way. 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@smowkdaddy]

I never saw race when I watched his shows! I saw character

[@matthewlalonde5332]

More watermarks!

[@RnW9384]

Why is there a sign thing in the middle of the screen? How annoying. R

[@TheBatugan77]

Lose the watermark!

[@windwarattack2300]

What made the show "EVEN" back in the day was Meat head...anything that Archie said then Meat head had a counter and THAT is what the show fair and balanced back in the day....cant get more fair than that...all views are shown then you the viewers can make your own decision in a FREE country

[@barrymasters7855]

South of Atlanta? Monica never left a 5 mile Atl radius 😂

[@lauralutz4538]

Bronx? Archie. I think Astoria Queens.

[@LovelyLonewolf-mc3ld]

So he's saying that interracial marriage wouldn't work in the south,he's wrong they always had race mixing.Hr really did well in the heat of the night.So sorry we lost his son and Virgil at a young age!!

[@MalEvansUSA]

Never knew Carroll was southern

[@kendallrivers1119]

He wasn't. He was Irish and from New York but played Southern so well that it's easy to forget.