Patt Shea, the Norman Lear regular who co-wrote the 1979 series finale of All in the Family and co-created and worked on two spinoffs of the fabled sitcom, Archie Bunker’s Place and Gloria, has died. She was 93.
Shea died April 12 of natural causes on her birthday at her home in Sherman Oaks, her son Michael Shea, a director and assistant director, told The Hollywood Reporter. The family chose to wait until this week to publicly announce her death.
“Patt Shea was a trailblazer in comedy writing,” Michael noted. “Her success as a writer in groundbreaking sitcoms was only matched by her generosity and compassion for people.”
Jack Shea, her husband of 59 years, died in 2013. He directed dozens of episodes of such Lear-connected sitcoms as The Jeffersons, Silver Spoons and Sanford and Son and served as president of the DGA from 1997-2002, part of a half-century of dedicated service to the guild.
Shea died April 12 of natural causes on her birthday at her home in Sherman Oaks, her son Michael Shea, a director and assistant director, told The Hollywood Reporter. The family chose to wait until this week to publicly announce her death.
“Patt Shea was a trailblazer in comedy writing,” Michael noted. “Her success as a writer in groundbreaking sitcoms was only matched by her generosity and compassion for people.”
Jack Shea, her husband of 59 years, died in 2013. He directed dozens of episodes of such Lear-connected sitcoms as The Jeffersons, Silver Spoons and Sanford and Son and served as president of the DGA from 1997-2002, part of a half-century of dedicated service to the guild.
- 8/17/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Hacks” could join an exclusive Emmys club this year by winning both Best Comedy Actress and Best Comedy Supporting Actress, an accomplishment only nine shows have achieved in Emmys history.
This hit HBO Max laffer stars Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a stand-up who tries to reinvent her act with the help of a young comedy writer — Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder.
Smart is nominated this year for Best Comedy Actress alongside Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Kristin Wiig (“Palm Royale”), Maya Rudolph (“Loot”), and Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”). Meanwhile, Einbinder is nominated for Best Comedy Supporting Actress alongside Meryl Streep (“Only Murders in the Building”), LizaColón-Zayas (“The Bear”), Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Carol Burnett (“Palm Royale”), and Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”).
We are predicting that Smart will win the again this year. She previously won Best Comedy Actress for “Hacks” in...
This hit HBO Max laffer stars Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a stand-up who tries to reinvent her act with the help of a young comedy writer — Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder.
Smart is nominated this year for Best Comedy Actress alongside Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Kristin Wiig (“Palm Royale”), Maya Rudolph (“Loot”), and Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”). Meanwhile, Einbinder is nominated for Best Comedy Supporting Actress alongside Meryl Streep (“Only Murders in the Building”), LizaColón-Zayas (“The Bear”), Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Carol Burnett (“Palm Royale”), and Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”).
We are predicting that Smart will win the again this year. She previously won Best Comedy Actress for “Hacks” in...
- 8/16/2024
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
On Tuesday, Hulu announced they greenlit the new Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, Linda Lavin, and Nathan Lee Graham comedy Mid-Century Modern. It is from the creators of Will And Grace, David Kohan and Max Miutchnick, as well as Ryan Murphy. This is directed by the prestigious director James Burrows.
This series is about three best pals portrayed by Lane, Bomer, and Graham. After an unexpected death, the three gay gentlemen want to spend their golden years in Palm Springs. This is where Lane’s character Bunny Schneiderman lives with his mom, Sybil, and they have some bucks. This is a chosen family who will have quirks and plenty of opportunities for fun.
To many, this is vaguely familiar to The Golden Girls. Matt Bomer says this new comedy is a “spiritual cousin” to the classic series. What else did he have to share?
Instagram Matt Bomer Matt Bomer Calls New...
This series is about three best pals portrayed by Lane, Bomer, and Graham. After an unexpected death, the three gay gentlemen want to spend their golden years in Palm Springs. This is where Lane’s character Bunny Schneiderman lives with his mom, Sybil, and they have some bucks. This is a chosen family who will have quirks and plenty of opportunities for fun.
To many, this is vaguely familiar to The Golden Girls. Matt Bomer says this new comedy is a “spiritual cousin” to the classic series. What else did he have to share?
Instagram Matt Bomer Matt Bomer Calls New...
- 8/14/2024
- by Georgia Makitalo
- TV Shows Ace
There’s a generation who know him as Sheldon’s idol Professor Proton in an Emmy-winning turn on “The Big Bang Theory.” Another generation remembers him as Buddy’s adoptive dad in the film “Elf” (2003). Yet another generation grew to love him as writer-turned-innkeeper Dick Loudon, who’s surrounded by eccentric Vermonters on the sitcom “Newhart” (1982-1990). But before all those memorable characters, Bob Newhart won over audiences as psychologist Dr. Robert “Bob” Hartley on “The Bob Newhart Show,” which premiered 50 years ago on September 16, 1972.
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Emmy-nominated comedy, plus the 93rd birthday of the TV Academy Hall of Fame inductee, by touring our photo gallery ranking the 25 best episodes.
Set in Chicago, Bob splits time between his home life with his loving but sometimes flippant wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) and their neighbor and friend Howard Borden (Bill Daily), an airline navigator (later co-pilot) who drops in unannounced A Lot.
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Emmy-nominated comedy, plus the 93rd birthday of the TV Academy Hall of Fame inductee, by touring our photo gallery ranking the 25 best episodes.
Set in Chicago, Bob splits time between his home life with his loving but sometimes flippant wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) and their neighbor and friend Howard Borden (Bill Daily), an airline navigator (later co-pilot) who drops in unannounced A Lot.
- 7/18/2024
- by Susan Pennington, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
One of Rob Reiner’s greatest filmmaking credits is the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. But he became the maker of an actual documentary – not a faux one – with Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. This morning (while working on the sequel to Spinal Tap in New Orleans) he learned he’s become an Emmy nominee for the HBO film about his lifelong buddy, Brooks.
“It’s a total surprise,” he said of the Emmy recognition for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and for his direction of the film. “Especially because I’ve never made a real documentary. The only one I made was a fake one – Spinal Tap. It’s so funny to get recognized in this way.”
Related: Emmy Nominations Analysis: Fresh Blood Livens Up The Race For TV Gold
Rob Reiner speaks at the HBO Documentary Films screening of ‘Albert Brooks: Defending My Life’ at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
“It’s a total surprise,” he said of the Emmy recognition for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and for his direction of the film. “Especially because I’ve never made a real documentary. The only one I made was a fake one – Spinal Tap. It’s so funny to get recognized in this way.”
Related: Emmy Nominations Analysis: Fresh Blood Livens Up The Race For TV Gold
Rob Reiner speaks at the HBO Documentary Films screening of ‘Albert Brooks: Defending My Life’ at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
- 7/17/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
At 5' 1'' tall, TV legend Sally Struthers is quite petite. Her showrunners took advantage of this, surrounding the diminutive actor with performers that towered above her for comedic effect. Even on the '90s Disney Afternoon cartoon "TaleSpin," Struthers voiced Rebecca Cunningham, a brown bear entrepreneur who was about half the size of her lackadaisical employee, the sloth bear pilot Baloo, yet twice as intimidating. Indeed, what Struthers' characters lacked in stature, they made up for in outsized personality.
On Norman Lear's classic '70s sitcom "All in the Family," Struthers was a whole (meat)head shorter than her onscreen husband, the 6' 2'' Rob Reiner. She also stood well below her costars Carroll O'Connor (5' 11'') and Jean Stapleton (5' 8''). The show got a lot of mileage out of this sight gag, with Reiner's hippie Michael "Mike" Stivic and O'Connor as the right-wing Archie Bunker frequently...
On Norman Lear's classic '70s sitcom "All in the Family," Struthers was a whole (meat)head shorter than her onscreen husband, the 6' 2'' Rob Reiner. She also stood well below her costars Carroll O'Connor (5' 11'') and Jean Stapleton (5' 8''). The show got a lot of mileage out of this sight gag, with Reiner's hippie Michael "Mike" Stivic and O'Connor as the right-wing Archie Bunker frequently...
- 6/16/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
They lined up early on Sunday morning – many adorned in 1950s-style garb – to take in a screening and panel event of the acclaimed eight-part Apple TV+ limited series “Lessons in Chemistry.” The streamer was promoting the Emmy Awards candidacy at the TV Academy’s Wolf Theater in North Hollywood. A capacity crowd of 600 people took in an episode before witnessing a panel talk moderated by Jessica Radloff of Glamour magazine and populated by star Brie Larson (a 2016 Oscar winner for “Room” and a Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee for “Lessons”); co-stars Lewis Pullman and Aja Naomi King; executive producer/showrunner Lee Eisenberg (a seven-time Emmy nominee); and director Sarah Adina Smith (a DGA Award winner for the series earlier this year).
SEEEmmy race update: ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ catching up to ‘Fargo’
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus (a co-exec producer on the series...
SEEEmmy race update: ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ catching up to ‘Fargo’
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus (a co-exec producer on the series...
- 6/10/2024
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Who is the best female TV star of all time? Our new photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 30 greatest actresses and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every woman in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading lady at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actresses as Vivian Vance, Doris Roberts or Rhea Perlman.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics), quantity (number of shows and TV appearances), Emmy wins and nominations, plus overall legacy and iconic nature. They also needed to be on television regularly for at least the last 15 years or more.
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every woman in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading lady at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actresses as Vivian Vance, Doris Roberts or Rhea Perlman.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics), quantity (number of shows and TV appearances), Emmy wins and nominations, plus overall legacy and iconic nature. They also needed to be on television regularly for at least the last 15 years or more.
- 6/5/2024
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Janis Paige, the ebullient redhead who starred in the original Broadway production of The Pajama Game and in such Hollywood musicals as Silk Stockings and Romance on the High Seas, has died. She was 101.
Paige, who was discovered in the 1940s while performing at the legendary Hollywood Canteen, died Sunday of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, her friend Stuart Lampert announced.
Paige starred on her own network sitcom, playing a widowed nightclub singer struggling to raise her 10-year-old daughter, on the 1955-56 CBS series It’s Always Jan, and she had recurring roles as Dick van Patten’s free-spirited sister on ABC’s Eight Is Enough and as a hospital administrator on CBS’ Trapper John, M.D.
The actress also turned in two memorable guest-starring stints in 1976, playing an attractive diner waitress named Denise who tempts Archie (Carroll O’Connor) to cheat on Edith (Jean Stapleton) on All in the Family...
Paige, who was discovered in the 1940s while performing at the legendary Hollywood Canteen, died Sunday of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, her friend Stuart Lampert announced.
Paige starred on her own network sitcom, playing a widowed nightclub singer struggling to raise her 10-year-old daughter, on the 1955-56 CBS series It’s Always Jan, and she had recurring roles as Dick van Patten’s free-spirited sister on ABC’s Eight Is Enough and as a hospital administrator on CBS’ Trapper John, M.D.
The actress also turned in two memorable guest-starring stints in 1976, playing an attractive diner waitress named Denise who tempts Archie (Carroll O’Connor) to cheat on Edith (Jean Stapleton) on All in the Family...
- 6/3/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Before she was one of America's most famous sitcom daughters, actor Sally Struthers made her primetime debut dancing on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," the variety show that's now best-remembered for featuring performances from some of the best musical acts of the '70s. The gig wasn't the flashiest thing in show biz, but it was enough to get Struthers on the radar of Norman Lear, the up and coming writer-producer who would soon take the nation by storm with "All in the Family."
In a retrospective interview with Closer Weekly in 2021, Struthers spoke about the fortuitous circumstances that eventually led to her casting in "All in the Family." As with many big breaks, it came hot on the heels of a rejection that stung. "I had just come off 'The Tim Conway Comedy Hour.' I should have been on all 13 weeks of it, but after the fifth show,...
In a retrospective interview with Closer Weekly in 2021, Struthers spoke about the fortuitous circumstances that eventually led to her casting in "All in the Family." As with many big breaks, it came hot on the heels of a rejection that stung. "I had just come off 'The Tim Conway Comedy Hour.' I should have been on all 13 weeks of it, but after the fifth show,...
- 6/2/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Few things could bring out Archie Bunker's softer side like his "little girl" Gloria. Caroll O'Connor's cantankerous, Queens-born working man ruled the Bunker household with an iron fist on "All in the Family" (one that was often wrapped around a can of beer). He would frequently shout down his son-in-law Mike (Rob Reiner) whenever those two went toe-to-toe over their personal beliefs and rarely blinked before steamrolling over his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), who deserved some sort of medal for her remarkable patience. This is also what made it so satisfying on the too-rare occasions when Edith figuratively body-slammed Archie by sticking up for herself.
If anyone could get Archie to play nice without having to bend his arm behind his back, though, it was Gloria (Sally Struthers). She had her mother's sweetness, but also her father's stubborn streak. That, coupled with her increasingly feminist outlook over the course of the series,...
If anyone could get Archie to play nice without having to bend his arm behind his back, though, it was Gloria (Sally Struthers). She had her mother's sweetness, but also her father's stubborn streak. That, coupled with her increasingly feminist outlook over the course of the series,...
- 5/28/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
"Gilmore Girls" is known as one of the most rewatchable comfort shows of the aughts. It's beloved for its mile-a-minute dialogue, surreally perfect small-town setting, and a warm central relationship that's held together via the power of mom-daughter love and a shared fondness for junk food and pop culture. It's that last part that makes one of the show's own pop culture connections especially ironic: Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) love classic TV, but they're blissfully unaware that they're living with two stars of one of the most talked-about early sitcoms.
The pair live next door to a woman named Babette, a true eccentric who's as adorable as she is overbearing. Babette often says whatever comes to mind in her signature raspy voice, and she brings a sort of benevolent chaos to the series that counters some of Stars Hollows' more genuinely annoying characters. In a bit of great casting,...
The pair live next door to a woman named Babette, a true eccentric who's as adorable as she is overbearing. Babette often says whatever comes to mind in her signature raspy voice, and she brings a sort of benevolent chaos to the series that counters some of Stars Hollows' more genuinely annoying characters. In a bit of great casting,...
- 5/27/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Third time may not always be the charm, but it was for "All in the Family." Following a pair of failed pilots, Norman Lear's pioneering sitcom hit the airwaves on January 12, 1971. Fittingly titled "Meet the Bunkers," the show's first episode is a pretty typical outing for Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) and his kin. It's basically plotless; Archie and his son-in-law Michael/Mike (Rob Reiner) squabble over religion and politics like it's their personal hobby; Archie's daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) is equally irritated and on the verge of tears as she tries to keep the peace between the stubborn men in her life; Archie is deservedly (and hilariously) made to look like a clown for his bigotry; and the whole thing wraps up with some unguarded earnestness, illustrating why his loved ones even put up with Archie in the first place.
Like any TV pilot, the characters aren't done cooking yet.
Like any TV pilot, the characters aren't done cooking yet.
- 5/18/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
There would be no "All in the Family" without the late Carroll O'Connor. The actor spent nine seasons endearing audiences to his character Archie Bunker, a middle-aged, blue-collared, conservative working stiff who wouldn't think twice about referring to someone by a derogatory term. Year in and year out, viewers delighted in watching Archie make his liberal, self-righteous son-in-law Mike's (Rob Reiner), aka "The Meathead," blood boil. (Just listen to that live studio audience cackling at Archie's unbothered response here.) Even if you disagreed with just about every single thing that came out of Archie's mouth (which you absolutely should), O'Connor had a way of winning you over.
Perhaps that's why the actor was keen to keep the good times rollin' along, even when everyone else around him was ready to pack it in. While season 8 was clearly intended to serve as the show's swan song, O'Connor succeeded in keeping "All in the Family...
Perhaps that's why the actor was keen to keep the good times rollin' along, even when everyone else around him was ready to pack it in. While season 8 was clearly intended to serve as the show's swan song, O'Connor succeeded in keeping "All in the Family...
- 5/13/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Norman Lear knew what he was getting into with "All in the Family." The late TV giant was warned from the outset that Americans would revolt against a sitcom that talked about the hot political topics of the day and didn't try to sugarcoat the country's history of racism and using religion to justify its bigotry and hatreds towards those deemed "the other." Nor, for that matter, did his doubters buy into the concept that audiences wanted to see an honest reflection of how families behave in the comfort of their homes.
Hindsight being 20/20, it's worth noting that Lear's skeptics had valid reasons for believing what they did. Despite being based on the British comedy series "Till Death Us Do Part," there was nothing quite like "All in the Family" on the U.S. airwaves when it premiered in 1971 on CBS. American sitcom dads were upstanding, tolerant members of their...
Hindsight being 20/20, it's worth noting that Lear's skeptics had valid reasons for believing what they did. Despite being based on the British comedy series "Till Death Us Do Part," there was nothing quite like "All in the Family" on the U.S. airwaves when it premiered in 1971 on CBS. American sitcom dads were upstanding, tolerant members of their...
- 5/5/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Audiences loved "All in the Family," Norman Lear's hit sitcom about lovable bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), his long-suffering wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), their daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and Gloria's husband, Michael "Meathead" Stivic (Rob Reiner), all living under the same roof in disharmonyy. I know that when I was a kid, I loved watching "All in the Family" re-runs on Nick at Nite, and the show has a large legacy that endures to this day, thanks to its lengthy run: it lasted for 9 seasons, and then continued on as the spin-off sitcom "Archie Bunker's Place."
But "Archie Bunker's Place" was a different beast altogether, and it happened as the result of one of the cast members deciding to leave the main series. While this could've spelled the end for Archie Bunker, that's not how things shook out. Instead, the story continued, albeit in a different incarnation. But that...
But "Archie Bunker's Place" was a different beast altogether, and it happened as the result of one of the cast members deciding to leave the main series. While this could've spelled the end for Archie Bunker, that's not how things shook out. Instead, the story continued, albeit in a different incarnation. But that...
- 4/26/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Before I knew her as Archie Bunker's little girl Gloria on "All in the Family," I knew Sally Struthers as Rebecca Cunningham on "TaleSpin." A loving single mom and ambitious businesswoman whose outspoken personality belied her petite build, Rebecca -- aka "Becky," "Beckers," and the many other nicknames her responsibility-skirting, party-loving employee Baloo would use to refer to her -- was but one of many reasons to love the "Jungle Book"-inspired animated pulp period adventure series and Disney Afternoon staple. After years of trying (and failing) to keep the peace between her stubbornly conservative dad and her liberal, holier-than-thou husband Michael as Gloria in "All in the Family," Struthers was an expert in the art of sounding flustered, a talent that served her well on "TalepSpin."
Struthers' distinct, gently raspy vocals would allow her to carve out a career for herself as a voice actor, resulting in roles on...
Struthers' distinct, gently raspy vocals would allow her to carve out a career for herself as a voice actor, resulting in roles on...
- 4/18/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
There's a fine art to ending a great TV series. Agonizing as it was when "The Good Place" and "Succession" recently packed it in after four seasons, it allowed them to go out with an emotional wallop rather than coasting on fumes past their expiration date. Admittedly, with less story-driven shows, it gets trickier. At what point should a comparatively episodic sitcom call it a day? It often comes down to the people involved in making it.
With "All in the Family," the writing was clearly on the wall at the end of season 8. With yet another impressive batch of episodes in the bag (including all-timers like the emotionally explosive "Edith's 50th Birthday"), creator Norman Lear and his team were ready to wind things down. The last two episodes of the season, "The Dinner Guest" and "The Stivics Go West," saw lifelong East Coasters Archie (Carroll O'Connor) and his wife...
With "All in the Family," the writing was clearly on the wall at the end of season 8. With yet another impressive batch of episodes in the bag (including all-timers like the emotionally explosive "Edith's 50th Birthday"), creator Norman Lear and his team were ready to wind things down. The last two episodes of the season, "The Dinner Guest" and "The Stivics Go West," saw lifelong East Coasters Archie (Carroll O'Connor) and his wife...
- 4/8/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Michael/Mike "Meathead" Stivic (Rob Reiner) called for a very particular type of performance. Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law on "All in the Family" was the progressive foil to the Bunkers' bigoted paterfamilias, a member of the Baby Boomer counterculture (back when that was a thing) who rallied against the conservative Greatest Generation beliefs championed by Archie. But at the same time, Mike was one of those well-educated liberal white guys who still struggled to recognize his own ingrained prejudices -- particularly when it came to the women in his life -- and was often guilty of being more concerned with feeling morally superior than figuring out how to actually bring about the social change he professed to want.
Reiner would eventually prove himself capable of handling this knot of contradictions, but it took him a couple of tries, much like "All in the Family" itself. As he once recalled...
Reiner would eventually prove himself capable of handling this knot of contradictions, but it took him a couple of tries, much like "All in the Family" itself. As he once recalled...
- 3/31/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Note: this article contains detailed discussions of sexual assault.
Norman Lear's seminal sitcom "All in the Family" was known for bringing laughs and thought-provoking discussions, but a 1977 episode entitled "Edith's 50th Birthday" was an outlier. Instead of a comedy, the two-parter felt like a horror show, one with a gravely serious topic: rape. In it, family matriarch Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) survives a harrowing, extended assault attempt by a stranger and is forced to muddle through the aftermath of intense trauma. It's a dark point for the series, but it's one that show creator Lear said elicited the strongest live-action response of any moment in the show's nine-season run.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Lear (who died at the age of 101 in 2023) was asked to recall the biggest audience uproar in the show's history. "I never heard a bigger sound on television than when Edith got...
Norman Lear's seminal sitcom "All in the Family" was known for bringing laughs and thought-provoking discussions, but a 1977 episode entitled "Edith's 50th Birthday" was an outlier. Instead of a comedy, the two-parter felt like a horror show, one with a gravely serious topic: rape. In it, family matriarch Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) survives a harrowing, extended assault attempt by a stranger and is forced to muddle through the aftermath of intense trauma. It's a dark point for the series, but it's one that show creator Lear said elicited the strongest live-action response of any moment in the show's nine-season run.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Lear (who died at the age of 101 in 2023) was asked to recall the biggest audience uproar in the show's history. "I never heard a bigger sound on television than when Edith got...
- 3/31/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
In the "All in the Family" episode "Gloria Sings the Blues", Archie (Carroll O'Connor) wakes up Michael (Rob Reiner) so that they may leave for a fishing trip. In his usual cantankerous fashion, Archie berates Michael for sleeping in and begins to explain the importance of leaving on time. Michael idly puts on his shoes ... but something is awry. Archie stops Michael, noticing that he has put a sock and a shoe on his left foot before putting a sock on his right foot. Archie is perturbed. This faux pas will not stand. "Don't you know," he says, "the whole world puts on a sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe?" Defensively, Michael says "I like to take care of one foot at a time!"
They then have a whole conversation as to whether or not "sock-sock-shoe-shoe" is "correct," or if "sock-shoe-sock-shoe" is correct. It's a nitpicking...
They then have a whole conversation as to whether or not "sock-sock-shoe-shoe" is "correct," or if "sock-shoe-sock-shoe" is correct. It's a nitpicking...
- 3/23/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Before "All in the Family" became one of the most groundbreaking sitcoms of all time, it was a non-starter with two failed pilot episodes and counting. The first, titled "Justice For All," was taped 3 years before the original show's run and featured a cast including Carol O'Conner and Jean Stapleton, who would go on to play married couple Archie and Edith Bunker in the final version of the show. The actors playing the Bunker family's daughter Edith and son-in-law Michael were different, though, played by Kelly Jean Peters ("Cagney & Lacey") and Tim McIntire ("Soap"), whose character was initially named Richard.
O'Conner explained in his memoir "I Think I'm Outta Here" that he largely rewrote the original pilot script himself, and the pilot was recorded in New York in October 1968. According to a Time Magazine 50th anniversary retrospective by Daniel S. Levy, network execs weren't pleased with the casting choices for...
O'Conner explained in his memoir "I Think I'm Outta Here" that he largely rewrote the original pilot script himself, and the pilot was recorded in New York in October 1968. According to a Time Magazine 50th anniversary retrospective by Daniel S. Levy, network execs weren't pleased with the casting choices for...
- 3/17/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
In the "All in the Family" episode "Archie the Hero", the bigoted Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) saves the life of an unconscious woman in the back of his taxicab by giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Later, the woman, Beverly Lasalle (Lori Shannon) comes to Archie's place to thank him for his good deed, and Archie is surprised to learn that she was, in fact, a man in women's clothing. Archie -- as was the central shtick of "All in the Family" -- must struggle through his bigotry and come to terms with the fact that he, gasp, put his mouth on another man's mouth. Lori Shannon, incidentally, was the drag queen persona of standup comedian Don Seymour McLean, a celebrity in the comedy scene until his death in 1984.
In "Archie the Hero," Edith (Jean Stapleton) immediately loves Beverly, and the two become fast friends. Archie is still an a-hole about...
In "Archie the Hero," Edith (Jean Stapleton) immediately loves Beverly, and the two become fast friends. Archie is still an a-hole about...
- 3/16/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
There wasn't a more popular or influential (or controversial) sitcom in the 1970s than "All in the Family." Created by Norman Lear, the series was a stingingly hilarious satire of American attitudes as the country adjusted to the post-Civil Rights Movement era and coped with the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War.
The genius of "All in the Family" was Lear's ability to make every single one of his main characters behave ridiculously without becoming full-on caricatures. Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) was an unrepentant bigot, his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) was a well-meaning ditz, his daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) was a work-in-progress idealist who went from dopey to fairly sharp as the series progressed, and his son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic represented everything Archie hated about liberals in one preachy package. We all saw a bit of ourselves and the people we have no choice but to call family in the Bunkers, and...
The genius of "All in the Family" was Lear's ability to make every single one of his main characters behave ridiculously without becoming full-on caricatures. Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) was an unrepentant bigot, his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) was a well-meaning ditz, his daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) was a work-in-progress idealist who went from dopey to fairly sharp as the series progressed, and his son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic represented everything Archie hated about liberals in one preachy package. We all saw a bit of ourselves and the people we have no choice but to call family in the Bunkers, and...
- 3/9/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Rob Reiner is the multi-hyphenate who has excelled both in front of and behind the camera for over 50 years, starting as an actor before moving into directing. Let’s take a look back at 12 of his greatest films as a director, ranked worst to best.
Reiner was born into the business as the son of performer Estelle Reiner and comedian Carl Reiner, creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” He shot to fame on television with his role as Mike “Meathead” Stivic, the liberal son-in-law to buffoonish bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) on “All in the Family.” The series brought him two Emmys as Best Comedy Supporting Actor (1974 and 1978). His victory, in fact, made the show the first to ever win acting prizes for all four of its leads, with O’Connor and Jean Stapleton prevailing in lead and Sally Struthers in supporting.
He transitioned into filmmaking with the rock...
Reiner was born into the business as the son of performer Estelle Reiner and comedian Carl Reiner, creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” He shot to fame on television with his role as Mike “Meathead” Stivic, the liberal son-in-law to buffoonish bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) on “All in the Family.” The series brought him two Emmys as Best Comedy Supporting Actor (1974 and 1978). His victory, in fact, made the show the first to ever win acting prizes for all four of its leads, with O’Connor and Jean Stapleton prevailing in lead and Sally Struthers in supporting.
He transitioned into filmmaking with the rock...
- 3/1/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
“Good Times,” which celebrates its 50th anniversary on Feb. 8, suffered from an identity crisis during its six-season run on CBS. So much so, the lead actors — Esther Rolle and John Amos — would leave the popular second spinoff of ‘All in the Family”(Rolle would eventually return) because the sitcom changed focus.
Norman Lear ruled the airwaves in the 1970s. He blew up the conception of a family sitcom in 1971 with the CBS sitcom “All in the Family” which focused on a working class family from Queen lead by the bigoted patriarch Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor). During the first season, Bea Arthur guest starred as Maude, Edith Bunker’s (Jean Stapleton) favorite cousin who was the antithesis of Archie-outspoken, much married, ultra-liberal.
And after a second appearance on “All in the Family,” Arthur got her own series “Maude” in the fall of 1972. The breakout performer on that series was Esther...
Norman Lear ruled the airwaves in the 1970s. He blew up the conception of a family sitcom in 1971 with the CBS sitcom “All in the Family” which focused on a working class family from Queen lead by the bigoted patriarch Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor). During the first season, Bea Arthur guest starred as Maude, Edith Bunker’s (Jean Stapleton) favorite cousin who was the antithesis of Archie-outspoken, much married, ultra-liberal.
And after a second appearance on “All in the Family,” Arthur got her own series “Maude” in the fall of 1972. The breakout performer on that series was Esther...
- 2/8/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
I was about 8 years old when I first met Norman Lear.
My dad, Carl Reiner, was working on Sid Caesar’s Show of Shows and Norman was writing for Colgate Comedy Hour, so they were both in New York. In those days, it was a small world of people who trafficked in sketch comedy. Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Dom DeLuise — all these guys and their families would hang out together. My family and Norman’s family used to have summer houses near each other on Fire Island, and Norman had a daughter, Ellen, who was around my age, so we used to play together.
One day Ellen and I were playing jacks — I was teaching her how, explaining the rules, showing her what to do. Norman came over to watch and he started to laugh. Apparently, I was teaching her in a funny way, which he found hysterical. And he...
My dad, Carl Reiner, was working on Sid Caesar’s Show of Shows and Norman was writing for Colgate Comedy Hour, so they were both in New York. In those days, it was a small world of people who trafficked in sketch comedy. Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Dom DeLuise — all these guys and their families would hang out together. My family and Norman’s family used to have summer houses near each other on Fire Island, and Norman had a daughter, Ellen, who was around my age, so we used to play together.
One day Ellen and I were playing jacks — I was teaching her how, explaining the rules, showing her what to do. Norman came over to watch and he started to laugh. Apparently, I was teaching her in a funny way, which he found hysterical. And he...
- 12/11/2023
- by Rob Reiner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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You would never want to hang out with Caroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker from "All in the Family" in real life. Still, golly if it wasn't enjoyable watching the cantankerous, intolerant family man butt heads with his outspoken progressive son-in-law Michael (Rob "The Meathead" Reiner himself) and his loving but equally liberal and often flustered daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), all while being doted on by his seemingly naive wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), who was really far wiser than Archie ever gave her credit for. Across nine seasons, audiences tuned in time and time again to watch Archie get his comeuppance, only to learn his lesson on Norman Lear's trailblazing 1970s sitcom.
Looking back in the wake of Lear's passing at the ripe old age of 101, it's all the easier to appreciate just how important "All in the Family" was...
You would never want to hang out with Caroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker from "All in the Family" in real life. Still, golly if it wasn't enjoyable watching the cantankerous, intolerant family man butt heads with his outspoken progressive son-in-law Michael (Rob "The Meathead" Reiner himself) and his loving but equally liberal and often flustered daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), all while being doted on by his seemingly naive wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), who was really far wiser than Archie ever gave her credit for. Across nine seasons, audiences tuned in time and time again to watch Archie get his comeuppance, only to learn his lesson on Norman Lear's trailblazing 1970s sitcom.
Looking back in the wake of Lear's passing at the ripe old age of 101, it's all the easier to appreciate just how important "All in the Family" was...
- 12/7/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
The great Norman Lear died on Dec. 5 at the age of 101. Over his eight-decade career in showbiz, the television wizard developed more than 100 shows, many of which presented a more idealistic vision for America: All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes. Lear’s shows tackled hot-button issues — including racism, sexuality, misogyny, and abortion with brutal honesty — thrusting important conversations into the cultural zeitgeist, while remaining entertaining and funny.
There will never be another Norman Lear, and on the day of his death,...
There will never be another Norman Lear, and on the day of his death,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
Usually, if you’re a news organization that deals in entertainment, you have material prepared in advance to honor icons of your industry – an obituary, an appreciation, something. But I didn’t prepare anything about Norman Lear even as he passed his 100th birthday last year and then his 101st this past July because it seemed inconceivable he could ever die. He would just glide around beneath his signature porkpie hat forever, reassuring the masses that everything was right with the world because he was still in it.
But now that Lear is gone – he died Tuesday night in his sleep – it’s time to give the man who produced “All in the Family,” and “Sanford and Son,” and “The Jeffersons,” and “Maude,” and “Good Times,” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” and “One Day at a Time” his due. The thing is, it’s not really possible to adequately describe...
But now that Lear is gone – he died Tuesday night in his sleep – it’s time to give the man who produced “All in the Family,” and “Sanford and Son,” and “The Jeffersons,” and “Maude,” and “Good Times,” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” and “One Day at a Time” his due. The thing is, it’s not really possible to adequately describe...
- 12/6/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Norman Lear, the groundbreaking TV producer who smashed boundaries with politicized sitcoms such as All in the Family, helped diversify network television with shows The Jeffersons and Good Times, and used the half-hour comedy to address social issues and taboo, hot-button topics, died Tuesday at his Los Angeles home. He was 101. Lear’s rep, Lara Bergthold, confirmed his death to The New York Times.
“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him,” his family wrote in a statement. “He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning,...
“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him,” his family wrote in a statement. “He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning,...
- 12/6/2023
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Norman Lear, the writer, producer and citizen activist who coalesced topical conflict and outrageous comedy in such wildly popular sitcoms as All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and The Jeffersons, has died. He was 101.
Lear died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family who, according to a statement on his official Instagram account, sang songs until the very end.
“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music,” read the post. “But it was people — those he just met and those he knew for decades — who kept his mind and heart forever young. As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support.
Lear died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family who, according to a statement on his official Instagram account, sang songs until the very end.
“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music,” read the post. “But it was people — those he just met and those he knew for decades — who kept his mind and heart forever young. As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support.
- 12/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Peter S. Fischer, the late-blooming TV writer and producer who co-created Murder, She Wrote after serving on such other crime-solving series as Columbo, Baretta and Ellery Queen, has died. He was 88.
Fischer died Monday at a care facility in Pacific Grove, California, his grandson Jake McElrath announced.
He became a prolific novelist after he exited Hollywood, writing murder mysteries, of course.
Fischer, who had worked with Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link on the iconic Peter Falk series as well as on the Jim Hutton-starring Ellery Queen, accompanied the pair to a meeting with CBS executives in 1984, he recalled in a 2011 interview.
“CBS wanted to do a murder mystery and they called Dick, who was our ringleader. He said, ‘Ok, I’ll bring the boys,'” Fischer said. “We went over there and pitched a premise called Blacke’s Magic, about a retired magician who solves mysteries. It became...
Fischer died Monday at a care facility in Pacific Grove, California, his grandson Jake McElrath announced.
He became a prolific novelist after he exited Hollywood, writing murder mysteries, of course.
Fischer, who had worked with Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link on the iconic Peter Falk series as well as on the Jim Hutton-starring Ellery Queen, accompanied the pair to a meeting with CBS executives in 1984, he recalled in a 2011 interview.
“CBS wanted to do a murder mystery and they called Dick, who was our ringleader. He said, ‘Ok, I’ll bring the boys,'” Fischer said. “We went over there and pitched a premise called Blacke’s Magic, about a retired magician who solves mysteries. It became...
- 11/2/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With Phil Dunster’s supporting comedy actor nomination for “Ted Lasso” on Friday, the much-decorated Apple TV+ series is now in some rare and esteemed company in having each of its original regular cast members honored with at least a single Emmy nod. Only seven other major shows in television history can make a similar claim: “All in the Family,” “Cheers,” “The Golden Girls,” “Seinfeld,” “Sex and the City,” “Will & Grace” and “Schitt’s Creek.”
Here are the eight nominated performers for “Lasso”: Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein, Nick Mohammed, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt and now Dunster.
See‘Jury Duty,’ James Marsden, Harrison Ford, other surprises at the 2023 Emmy nominations
The other shows with Emmy nominations for all of its original cast members stack up as follows:
“All in the Family”: Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers
“Cheers”: Ted Danson, Shelley Long,...
Here are the eight nominated performers for “Lasso”: Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein, Nick Mohammed, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt and now Dunster.
See‘Jury Duty,’ James Marsden, Harrison Ford, other surprises at the 2023 Emmy nominations
The other shows with Emmy nominations for all of its original cast members stack up as follows:
“All in the Family”: Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers
“Cheers”: Ted Danson, Shelley Long,...
- 8/18/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
History was made 10 years ago at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards held Sept. 22, 2013. It was the first time in history that a streaming service took home a trophy. Three Netflix series — the “Arrested Development” reboot, “Hemlock Grove” and the lauded “House of Cards” — earned a total of 14 nominations. “House of Cards” helmer David Fincher won an Emmy for the pilot episode. Netflix had earlier received two Creative Arts Emmys,
The TV landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade. When the 75th Primetime Emmy nominations were announced July 12rh, several streaming service programming scored multiple nominations. Apple TV +’s “Ted Lasso” leads the streaming service nominations with 21, followed by Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with 14, Netflix’s “Beef” and “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” with 13 and “Wednesday” with 12; followed by Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” with 11.
And several of the nominees and winners from a decade ago...
The TV landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade. When the 75th Primetime Emmy nominations were announced July 12rh, several streaming service programming scored multiple nominations. Apple TV +’s “Ted Lasso” leads the streaming service nominations with 21, followed by Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with 14, Netflix’s “Beef” and “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” with 13 and “Wednesday” with 12; followed by Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” with 11.
And several of the nominees and winners from a decade ago...
- 7/13/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
MeTV invites you to hang out with Archie Bunker, wife Edith et al every Sunday night, when the classic sitcom All in the Family joins the network’s line-up this winter.
TVLine has learned exclusively that the Norman Lear-created All in the Family will make its debut on MeTV, the classic television network, on Sunday, Feb. 5, where it will air four back-to-back episodes each week (starting with the pilot “Meet the Bunkers”).
More from TVLineAll in the Family, 227, Maude and More Norman Lear Classics to Stream Exclusively on Amazon Prime, IMDb TVAll in the Family Recap: Archie vs.
TVLine has learned exclusively that the Norman Lear-created All in the Family will make its debut on MeTV, the classic television network, on Sunday, Feb. 5, where it will air four back-to-back episodes each week (starting with the pilot “Meet the Bunkers”).
More from TVLineAll in the Family, 227, Maude and More Norman Lear Classics to Stream Exclusively on Amazon Prime, IMDb TVAll in the Family Recap: Archie vs.
- 1/10/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Michelle Pfeiffer (‘The First Lady’) would be 2nd actress to win Golden Globe for playing Betty Ford
A full decade after the conclusion of Gerald Ford’s presidency, Gena Rowlands starred in a 1987 ABC biopic centered around his wife, simply titled “The Betty Ford Story.” The telefilm offered an honest look into the former first lady’s struggles with prescription drug and alcohol addiction, and Rowlands’s committed performance brought her a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe. Now, there is a chance of history being made if Michelle Pfeiffer ends up also clinching a Golden Globe for her own take on Betty Ford in “The First Lady.”
The Showtime limited series, which aired all 10 of its episodes this spring, follows the lives of three U.S. presidential spouses, with the other two being Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson) and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis). According to Gold Derby’s predictions, Pfeiffer has the best shot of the three at making it into the 2023 Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress Golden Globe lineup.
The Showtime limited series, which aired all 10 of its episodes this spring, follows the lives of three U.S. presidential spouses, with the other two being Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson) and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis). According to Gold Derby’s predictions, Pfeiffer has the best shot of the three at making it into the 2023 Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress Golden Globe lineup.
- 10/28/2022
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
She scored her first of three Oscar nominations as a teenager. She went on to conquer Broadway, reaping five Tony Awards in a Broadway career spanning more than five decades. But Angela Lansbury, who died on Oct. 11 at 96, only truly became a cherished household name as a TV star, at a time in life when many would be thinking of retiring. Nearing 60, Lansbury was an overnight sensation as Murder, She Wrote’s uncannily intuitive and adorably sincere amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher, a role originally designed for All in the Family’s Jean Stapleton. The spunky New England widow and mystery writer solved puzzling murders wherever she went, making Murder a blockbuster, against-the-odds hit for CBS, dominating Sunday ratings during a run from 1984-96. She earned 12 consecutive Emmy nominations, never winning, but taking consolation at having won the hearts of America. Shortly after the series ended production, Lansbury penned her own...
- 10/12/2022
- TV Insider
It’s impossible to imagine any other actress solving crimes in Cabot Cove than Angela Lansbury, yet she wasn’t the first choice for the role of sleuthing novelist Jessica Fletcher.
While Lansbury, who died Tuesday at age 96, starred in hit mystery series “Murder, She Wrote” for 12 seasons, another actress was originally intended for the role.
In a 1984 interview with People, Lansbury revealed that the series had been created with “All in the Family” star Jean Stapleton in mind.
Read More: Angela Lansbury, Star Of ‘Murder, She Wrote’, Dies At 96
“[Series creator] Peter Fischer had originally written it for Jean Stapleton, but she had just lost her husband and didn’t want to do anything,” Lansbury explained.
“When I read it, I felt that Peter’s script could have been written for me. Besides, there are so few decent roles for women on television, and I was immediately taken by Jessica,” she continued.
While Lansbury, who died Tuesday at age 96, starred in hit mystery series “Murder, She Wrote” for 12 seasons, another actress was originally intended for the role.
In a 1984 interview with People, Lansbury revealed that the series had been created with “All in the Family” star Jean Stapleton in mind.
Read More: Angela Lansbury, Star Of ‘Murder, She Wrote’, Dies At 96
“[Series creator] Peter Fischer had originally written it for Jean Stapleton, but she had just lost her husband and didn’t want to do anything,” Lansbury explained.
“When I read it, I felt that Peter’s script could have been written for me. Besides, there are so few decent roles for women on television, and I was immediately taken by Jessica,” she continued.
- 10/12/2022
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Angela Lansbury has died at the age of 96.
An Oscar and Tony award-winning actress, the role she’s most famous for playing is Jessica Fletcher, the amateur sleuth at the centre of the long-running US television series Murder, She Wrote.
The crime drama aired for 12 seasons, which included 256 episodes and four feature films. Lansbury was nearly 60 years old when she was cast as a retired English teacher who takes up mystery writing in her early widowhood.
But the iconic role, which went on to define a large portion of Lansbury’s career, nearly went to another actor.
In a 2015 interview with the Television Academy, All in the Family star Jean Stapleton, who played Edith Bunker in the seminal American sitcom, revealed she was offered the role first.
“Angela will attest to that as well,” Stapleton told her interviewer of the revelation. “Every time I saw Angela in those years, she’d say,...
An Oscar and Tony award-winning actress, the role she’s most famous for playing is Jessica Fletcher, the amateur sleuth at the centre of the long-running US television series Murder, She Wrote.
The crime drama aired for 12 seasons, which included 256 episodes and four feature films. Lansbury was nearly 60 years old when she was cast as a retired English teacher who takes up mystery writing in her early widowhood.
But the iconic role, which went on to define a large portion of Lansbury’s career, nearly went to another actor.
In a 2015 interview with the Television Academy, All in the Family star Jean Stapleton, who played Edith Bunker in the seminal American sitcom, revealed she was offered the role first.
“Angela will attest to that as well,” Stapleton told her interviewer of the revelation. “Every time I saw Angela in those years, she’d say,...
- 10/11/2022
- by Amanda Whiting
- The Independent - TV
Actress Angela Lansbury, whose 75-year career encompassed triumphs on the big screen, in musical theater and on television, died at her Los Angeles home on Tuesday, her family announced in a statement obtained by Variety. She was 96 — five days shy of her 97th birthday.
Nominated for three Oscars, she won seven Tony Awards and holds the record for Emmy actress nods with 12 for her role on “Murder, She Wrote.”
As honored as she was in film and on stage, Lansbury achieved her greatest popularity on the small screen. In 1984 she stepped into a role originally offered to Jean Stapleton: the flinty crime-solving mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ “Murder, She Wrote.” The show became appointment TV for its fans on Sunday nights, and ran for 12 highly rated seasons. The actress captured four Golden Globe Awards for her turn. Between 1997 and 2003, she reprised the role in four telepics.
Discovered while...
Nominated for three Oscars, she won seven Tony Awards and holds the record for Emmy actress nods with 12 for her role on “Murder, She Wrote.”
As honored as she was in film and on stage, Lansbury achieved her greatest popularity on the small screen. In 1984 she stepped into a role originally offered to Jean Stapleton: the flinty crime-solving mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ “Murder, She Wrote.” The show became appointment TV for its fans on Sunday nights, and ran for 12 highly rated seasons. The actress captured four Golden Globe Awards for her turn. Between 1997 and 2003, she reprised the role in four telepics.
Discovered while...
- 10/11/2022
- by Chris Morris
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Angela Lansbury, the irrepressible three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner who solved 12 seasons’ worth of crimes as the novelist/amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ Murder, She Wrote, has died. She was 96.
Lansbury, who received an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama series for each and every season of Murder, She Wrote — yet never won — died in her sleep at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, her family announced. She was five days shy of her birthday.
Lansbury went 0-for-18 in career Emmy noms but did get some love from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who gave her an honorary Oscar in 2013 for her career as “an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema’s most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors.”
The London-born Lansbury, then 19, received a best supporting actress...
Angela Lansbury, the irrepressible three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner who solved 12 seasons’ worth of crimes as the novelist/amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ Murder, She Wrote, has died. She was 96.
Lansbury, who received an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama series for each and every season of Murder, She Wrote — yet never won — died in her sleep at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, her family announced. She was five days shy of her birthday.
Lansbury went 0-for-18 in career Emmy noms but did get some love from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who gave her an honorary Oscar in 2013 for her career as “an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema’s most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors.”
The London-born Lansbury, then 19, received a best supporting actress...
- 10/11/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There’s a generation who know him as Sheldon’s idol Professor Proton in an Emmy-winning turn on “The Big Bang Theory.” Another generation remembers him as Buddy’s adoptive dad in the film “Elf” (2003). Yet another generation grew to love him as writer-turned-innkeeper Dick Loudon, who’s surrounded by eccentric Vermonters on the sitcom “Newhart” (1982-1990). But before all those memorable characters, Bob Newhart won over audiences as psychologist Dr. Robert “Bob” Hartley on “The Bob Newhart Show,” which premiered 50 years ago on September 16, 1972.
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Emmy-nominated comedy, plus the 93rd birthday of the TV Academy Hall of Fame inductee, by touring our photo gallery ranking the 25 best episodes.
SEE50 Greatest Male TV Stars Ever, Ranked
Set in Chicago, Bob splits time between his home life with his loving but sometimes flippant wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) and their neighbor and friend Howard Borden (Bill Daily...
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Emmy-nominated comedy, plus the 93rd birthday of the TV Academy Hall of Fame inductee, by touring our photo gallery ranking the 25 best episodes.
SEE50 Greatest Male TV Stars Ever, Ranked
Set in Chicago, Bob splits time between his home life with his loving but sometimes flippant wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) and their neighbor and friend Howard Borden (Bill Daily...
- 9/5/2022
- by Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
One of television’s most groundbreaking series hit the airwaves over 50 years ago, and the small screen hasn’t been the same since. Emmy-winning “All in the Family” is one of the first programs to address sensitive topics previously considered unsuitable for television, one of the first sitcoms to effortlessly blend humor with drama, and one of the most influential programs of all time, impacting not only the industry but pop culture as well.
On January 12, 1971, Norman Lear‘s version of the British sitcom “Till Death Do Us Part” debuted on American television. Week after week, patriarch Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and son-in-law Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner) would argue with each other, as well as a variety of family members and neighbors, over pretty much every hot issue of the day – racism, homosexuality, gun rights, rape, women’s liberation, war, abortion,...
On January 12, 1971, Norman Lear‘s version of the British sitcom “Till Death Do Us Part” debuted on American television. Week after week, patriarch Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and son-in-law Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner) would argue with each other, as well as a variety of family members and neighbors, over pretty much every hot issue of the day – racism, homosexuality, gun rights, rape, women’s liberation, war, abortion,...
- 7/23/2022
- by Susan Pennington, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
It’s been half a century since Johnny Carson hosted the 24th Emmy ceremony on CBS on May 14, 1972. It was a year in which now-classic comedies battled it out and records were set, PBS had its first strong showing, Oscar-winning actresses were rivals and daytime-themed Emmys were awarded for the first time. Read on for our Emmys flashback 50 years ago to 1972.
Norman Lear‘s groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” had won Best Comedy Series for its freshman season in 1971; it held onto that title for its second year, and would win again in 1973 and 1978. The biggest competition for this award was another groundbreaking comedy that had premiered the year before, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which would eventually claim victory in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The remaining nominees were “The Odd Couple,” also in its second season, and “Sanford and Son,” for its freshman outing. “All in the Family” and “Mtm” would...
Norman Lear‘s groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” had won Best Comedy Series for its freshman season in 1971; it held onto that title for its second year, and would win again in 1973 and 1978. The biggest competition for this award was another groundbreaking comedy that had premiered the year before, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which would eventually claim victory in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The remaining nominees were “The Odd Couple,” also in its second season, and “Sanford and Son,” for its freshman outing. “All in the Family” and “Mtm” would...
- 6/28/2022
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
We never can say goodbye, and that is especially true when it comes to beloved TV shows. The post-finale spinoff has always been a popular way to keep a franchise going.
In recent decades, some of these spinoffs have been just as good as the original: I would lead with “Frasier,” out of “Cheers,” of course, which put Kelsey Grammer’s character front and center, making him just as iconic as Ted Danson’s Sam Malone. And “Better Call Saul,” an idea that began as a bit of a lark when “Breaking Bad” was ending. Of course, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould wound up creating something richer — a show led by Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn that went to dramatically dense places no one could have predicted. It’s an immediate spin-off all-timer. “The Good Fight” continued the legacy of “The Good Wife,” but shifted the focus to Christine Baranski.
In recent decades, some of these spinoffs have been just as good as the original: I would lead with “Frasier,” out of “Cheers,” of course, which put Kelsey Grammer’s character front and center, making him just as iconic as Ted Danson’s Sam Malone. And “Better Call Saul,” an idea that began as a bit of a lark when “Breaking Bad” was ending. Of course, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould wound up creating something richer — a show led by Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn that went to dramatically dense places no one could have predicted. It’s an immediate spin-off all-timer. “The Good Fight” continued the legacy of “The Good Wife,” but shifted the focus to Christine Baranski.
- 6/22/2022
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Eleanor Roosevelt was the first superstar First Lady of the 20th century and forever altered the role of the wife of the president of the United States. Over the decades, several actresses have earned kudos and awards for portraying her.
Greer Garson won the Golden Globe and reaped an Oscar nomination for the 1960 film “Sunrise at Campobello,” which chronicled Franklin Delano Roosevelt‘s battle with polio in 1921.
Jane Alexander received Emmy nominations for the acclaimed 1976 “Eleanor and Franklin,” based on Joseph P. Lash’s best-seller, and the 1977 sequel “Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years.” She won the Emmy for playing Sara, the mother of Fdr in 2005’s “Warm Springs.”
Speaking of “Warm Springs,” Cynthia Nixon received an Emmy nomination as Eleanor in the HBO movie that detailed Fdr’s (Kenneth Branagh) work with other polio patients.
Jean Stapleton was an Emmy nominee for 1982’s “Eleanor, First Lady of the World,...
Greer Garson won the Golden Globe and reaped an Oscar nomination for the 1960 film “Sunrise at Campobello,” which chronicled Franklin Delano Roosevelt‘s battle with polio in 1921.
Jane Alexander received Emmy nominations for the acclaimed 1976 “Eleanor and Franklin,” based on Joseph P. Lash’s best-seller, and the 1977 sequel “Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years.” She won the Emmy for playing Sara, the mother of Fdr in 2005’s “Warm Springs.”
Speaking of “Warm Springs,” Cynthia Nixon received an Emmy nomination as Eleanor in the HBO movie that detailed Fdr’s (Kenneth Branagh) work with other polio patients.
Jean Stapleton was an Emmy nominee for 1982’s “Eleanor, First Lady of the World,...
- 4/28/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Who is the best female TV star of all time? Our photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 30 greatest actresses and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every woman in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading lady at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actresses as Vivian Vance, Doris Roberts or Rhea Perlman. We also didn’t rank any news anchors or reporters such as Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer or Lesley Stahl since they are not performers.
SEECarol Burnett Interview: ‘The Carol Burnett Show 50th Anniversary’
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the...
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every woman in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading lady at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actresses as Vivian Vance, Doris Roberts or Rhea Perlman. We also didn’t rank any news anchors or reporters such as Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer or Lesley Stahl since they are not performers.
SEECarol Burnett Interview: ‘The Carol Burnett Show 50th Anniversary’
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the...
- 4/16/2022
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Patricia MacLachlan, author of the best-selling and award-winning 1985 children’s book Sarah, Plain and Tall and its sequels that were turned into three popular early 1990s Hallmark Hall of Fame TV-movies starring Glenn Close, died March 31 at her home in Williamsburg, Mass. She was 84.
Her death was confirmed by her son John MacLachlan to The New York Times. No cause was specified.
The book series and the three films chronicled the adventures of a Maine woman named Sarah Wheaton (played by Close in the movies) who travels to Kansas in 1910 as a mail-order bride to a widower and care for his two young children. Christopher Walken played widower Jacob Witting in all three movies.
The three films based on the book series were co-written by MacLachlan: Skylark in 1993, and Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter’s End in 1999. Two other books written by MacLachlan outside the Sarah series also were adapted...
Her death was confirmed by her son John MacLachlan to The New York Times. No cause was specified.
The book series and the three films chronicled the adventures of a Maine woman named Sarah Wheaton (played by Close in the movies) who travels to Kansas in 1910 as a mail-order bride to a widower and care for his two young children. Christopher Walken played widower Jacob Witting in all three movies.
The three films based on the book series were co-written by MacLachlan: Skylark in 1993, and Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter’s End in 1999. Two other books written by MacLachlan outside the Sarah series also were adapted...
- 4/12/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actress race is already shaping up to be one of the most competitive ones at the Emmys. That is due in part to Showtime’s “The First Lady,” which premieres on Sunday, April 17 at 9/8c and could inaugurate not one, not two, but three nominees: Gillian Anderson, Viola Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer.
An anthology series reframing American leadership through the lens of three first ladies, the first installment, directed by Emmy winner Susanne Bier (“The Night Manager”), stars Davis as Michelle Obama, Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, and delves into the women’s personal and political lives, exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, their family life and their world-changing political contributions, making their impact visible.
Of the three leading ladies, Davis is currently ranked the highest in our early combined Emmy odds, sitting in second place, just behind Margaret Qualley...
An anthology series reframing American leadership through the lens of three first ladies, the first installment, directed by Emmy winner Susanne Bier (“The Night Manager”), stars Davis as Michelle Obama, Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, and delves into the women’s personal and political lives, exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, their family life and their world-changing political contributions, making their impact visible.
Of the three leading ladies, Davis is currently ranked the highest in our early combined Emmy odds, sitting in second place, just behind Margaret Qualley...
- 4/10/2022
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
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