Another icon of my childhood gone. Sad. I was little whe All in the Familybwas on the air, and all the fighting on it made me anxious. But her character was a gentle person and I loved her for that.
RIP Jean, you ole Dingbat you.
One of Edith’s lines on All in the Family (according to a my Mother).
Edith Bunker is one of the all time iconic characters.
She’s now permanently stifled.
Rest in peace, Ms. Stapleton. No one played ditsty more brilliantly than you.
I understand her old LaSalle ran great…and she had a great run as well!
Great actress and did wonders with her character…was there anyone who didn’t love Edith in All In The Family?
Awww, she was so brilliant as Edith, there was no indication she was ever acting. I remember her a couple of times singing some obscure song from some obscure musical (and told to stifle herself!). She just radiated good natured love. RIP, dear.
I’m sad at this news. When I think of Edith I think of the episode where she’s talking about ‘canned cling peaches’. I wish I’d picked the Bunkers in the sort of recent “Favorite Sitcom Couple” poll thread. He wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t perfect but they were perfect together.
I also loved her character in You’ve Got Mail …“he was busy running Spain”
She was also in my all time favorite ABC After School Special…Angel Dusted (so was her son, John Putch, but to be honest I mostly remember it for Helen Hunt’s performance.)
When she was a very young woman she attended the same church as a relative of mine. My grandmother had a photo of a large group of church ladies standing on the steps of the church. Ms. Stapleton was recognizable. All of the ladies in the photo were wearing great hats.
ARCHIE: When your mother-in-law and me was goin’ around together, it was two years - we never - I never - I mean absolutely nothin’, not 'til the wedding night.
EDITH: Yeah, and even then…
Comedy gold.
Along the same lines, I remember an episode in which Mike and Gloria were getting amorous, and Archie told them to knock it off.
Mike: Believe it or not, Archie, people DO make love now and then.
Edith (wistfully): More then than now.
Goodbye, Ms. Stapleton.
I hope someone does a eulogy in Mock-Swedish.
She was so good (and believable) as Edith Bunker that for me it was always a bit disconcerting to see her in other roles post-All In The Family. I was like “Wait! That’s Edith! Where’s the accent?!? You mean she was acting when she played Edith Bunker??”
RIP Ms. Stapleton.
She had some great lines. Archie was telling Meathead how you can always tell a Jew by his name. Meathead: “Abraham Lincoln?”
Edith: “I didn’t know Lincoln was Jewish!”
Which is why she left All in the Family, afraid of being typecast. Didn’t seem to hurt Archie none – he went on to other big roles.
In heavy syrup!
I always liked when her character quoted Edgar Guest. Edith Bunker would have been his target audience.
RIP Ms. Stapleton.
My favorite episodes were those in which she stood up to Archie, like when he wanted her to stop working at the nursing home. You realized she didn’t acquiesce to Archie because she was foolish or kept down, but because she was content to indulge him unless it was really important.
And let us not forget that she was a very accomplished actress before and after playing Edith. She once said that she never watched the reruns, so it wouldn’t influence her subsequent acting. A great actress and a very classy lady. She will be missed, but never entirely gone.
You guys do know that Edith died in 1980, but that Jean Stapleton had a long and varied career?
My thoughts exactly.
Well, here you go. It has always been one of my favorite moments from that show too.
RIP Ms. Stapleton.