Jean Stapleton Interview (February 9, 1980)

Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 - May 31, 2013) was an American character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton portrayed Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wife of Archie Bunker, on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family,[1] a role that earned her three Emmys and two Golden Globes for Best Actress in a comedy series. She also made occasional appearances on the All in the Family follow-up series Archie Bunker's Place, but asked to be written out of the show during the first season due to becoming tired of the role.[1][2]
Early life[edit]
Stapleton was born on January 19, 1923,[3] in Manhattan, the daughter of Marie A. Stapleton, an opera singer, and Joseph E. Murray, a billboard advertising salesman.[4] She had an elder brother, Jack.[3] Her uncle was a vaudevillian performer, and her brother was a stage actor who inspired her to pursue acting as well.[5]
Early career[edit]
Stapleton began her career in 1941 aged 18 in summer stock theatre and made her New York debut in the Off-Broadway play American Gothic. She was featured on Broadway in several hit musicals, such as Funny Girl, Juno, Damn Yankees and Bells Are Ringing, recreating her parts from the latter two musicals in the film versions of Damn Yankees (1958) (her film debut) and Bells Are Ringing (1960).[6]
Stapleton's early television roles included parts in Starlight Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Lux Video Theater, Woman with a Past, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Patty Duke Show, Dr. Kildare,[4] My Three Sons,[4] Dennis the Menace, Naked City, and as Rosa Criley in a 1963 episode of NBC's medical drama about psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour, entitled "The Bride Wore Pink". In 1962, Stapleton guest-starred as Mrs. Larsen in "The Hidden Jungle", an episode of the TV series The Defenders (broadcast on December 1 that year), alongside her future All in the Family co-star Carroll O'Connor.[4]
Stapleton also appeared in the feature films Something Wild (1961), Up the Down Staircase (1967), Klute (1971) and the Norman Lear comedy Cold Turkey (also 1971).
Stapleton bested both Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas for the "Best Actress in a Comedy" Primetime Emmy award on May 9, 1971. She was offered a role in the feature film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) as Mrs. Teevee, but declined because it coincided with the production of the All in the Family pilot (the role went to Nora Denney).[7]
All in the Family (1971-1979)[edit]
Stapleton's best known role, as Edith in All in the Family, began in 1971.[6] The show was originally broadcast on the CBS network for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, for a total of 205 episodes. The role earned her three Emmys[8] and two Golden Globes.[9]
Stapleton (left) beside Carroll O'Connor on the set of All in the Family
Feeling her character had run its course, Stapleton continued the role of Edith for only five more episodes in the follow-up series Archie Bunker's Place to help the transition, and then Edith was written out via stroke, offscreen, in the 1st episode of season two.[6]
Later career[edit]
Stapleton appeared in the Emmy Award-winning TV movie Tail Gunner Joe (1977), dramatizing the life of U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, and later guest-starred in the sixth episode of the third season of The Muppet Show (broadcast on September 30, 1978).
Personal life[edit]
Stapleton was married to William Putch from 1957 until his death in 1983. The couple had two children: actor/writer/director John Putch and television producer Pamela Putch.[23] .[4]
Stapleton supported Walter Mondale's campaign in the 1984 presidential election,[26] was a vocal supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, and took an active role in the 1977 National Women's Conference.[27]
Stapleton rarely appeared on talk shows, but reunited on-camera with Carroll O'Connor on Donny and Marie Osmond's show on April 24, 2000, a little over a year before O'Connor's death. When the Osmonds asked her to perform in Edith Bunker's voice, she jokingly told them that she only does so "for pay".[28] Stapleton admitted that she seldom watched All in the Family, but by 2000 she reconsidered,[29] she told the Archive of American Television.[12]
Death and reaction[edit]
Stapleton died at her apartment in Manhattan on May 31, 2013, at age 90.[4]
The marquee lights on Broadway were dimmed for two minute on June 5, 2013, at 8 p.m. EDT, to honor the memory of Stapleton.[32] She is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. [33]

[@orangebetsy]

Always nice to hear her in her natural voice

[@Chicago-Brooklyn-Express]

Jean was a very classy lady, and a hell of an actress!

[@DavidLEzell]

Jean Stapleton was one of her era’s finest actors-hands down.

[@annrodriguez2891]

Jean Stapleton is LEGEND...❤

[@yossarian11]

I expect Edith Bunker's voice to come out of this lady, and then I hear the thoughtful and sophisticated speech of Jean Stapleton and the difference is just mind blowing.

[@MB20fangirl]

The role of Edith made her unforgettable for many generations. I wonder if in her later years she’s appreciated more. She’s a wonderful actress. She didn’t like to be bothered in public but it’s part being famous. Not that people should be rude or intrusive but she should expect to have had talk to her fans. She is a legend though for sure!

[@scottmiller6495]

What a fantastic lady, actress and a wonderful time in the world, 1980 WoW, and you,ll never see anything like this anymore ever again !!!!!

[@Forrestgroup-tt6ps]

What a lovely lady. ❤

[@Steel_Neil]

Brilliant!

[@jamesfeeney5727]

Superb actress

[@sheilahballard1039]

Thank you for posting this clip

[@carliebeau5329]

She's excellent actor

[@marymartindale996]

Such a classy lady.

[@northcarolina9770]

One of the best actresses in the world! This is TRUE, that most performers are not anything like the roles they play.

[@bradpville]

So disappointing to see how resentful Jean was for being type cast as legendary Edith Bunker. She really wanted to leave it behind

[@rebelliousraven]

Yes. I've read she was a very nice person but I agree she seemed resentful. Norman Lear had a horrible time with the thought of killing "Edith" . Jean basically replied "who cares she's just a fictional character" Norman responded "Not to me she isnt" She wasn't "just a character" to me either growing up. I think I liked Edith Bunker better than the Jean Stapleton I see captured in the various interviews she did about being Edith.

[@tonynegron1927]

🤔 Yes. I noticed that too about whenever Jean Stapleton was being interviewed.

[@fryaxoof2521]

Edith stood up for herself sometimes, it was nice to see her do that.

[@mousemd]

I was looking for something to give me Jean's voice. I don't believe that I have ever heard it. I might get other actor's names wrong, but not the main four

[@Wild1995]

Edith lost her nasal talk as the series went on. In the last 2 seasons there was not much of it left compared to earlier episodes. Jean would hate it today with so many cameras on phones. People take celebrity photos all the time without asking.

[@allanchrist666]

It’s so weird! I’ve known her as Edith Bunker all my life. It sounds so weird hearing her real voice. It’s almost like you’d think it’s overdubbed!

[@Moose46316]

This could not be Edith!! Jean Stapleton was a gem.

[@kathconserv]

I have a problem with this, because actors should really remember and cherish where they came from and what made the fans loved about them.

[@dannyboyy8465]

But sometimes producers and casting agents and even the general public only would see her as "Edith Bunker" and won't even consider her as a versatile actress in a completely different role which prevents her from pursuing other projects so the actors become resentful and frustrated.

[@alejoh3179]

Genial

[@SIGMAMAN69]

Definitely no ditzy dingbat in real life!

[@rockit6553]

You shouldn't accept roles based on your convictions, after all isn't acting portraying a character unlike yourself? That's what acting is.

[@DefendersOfWomen]

People accomplish their best acting performances when they play a loser that they hate & want them to look bad.