Jean Stapleton From All In The Family Has Died

The leading lady of one of my top 5 favorite shows of all time as passed.

Jean Stapleton, who was best known for her role as Edith — the wife of Archie Bunker — in “All in the Family” died on Friday at the age of 90. Her family announced her death from natural causes on Saturday.

Stapleton became a star in the 70s after being cast with Carroll O’Connor, who played the bigoted and obnoxious Archie Bunker. She was the perfect opposite of Archie.  You may not have liked Archie and some of the things he did, but Edith loved him.  Jean pulled off the difficult task of loving Archie in spite of what he may have stood for and yet we found ourselves loving Edith and never feeling sorry for her.

Jean brought the role to life.  The first year of "All in the Family,"  the character of Edith wasn't very smart and kind of a patsy.  We saw Edith grow in the show and that is because of Jean.

Stapleton won three Emmys for her portrayal of Edith, which she played from 1971 to 1979. Stapleton made occasional appearances on the spinoff “Archie Bunker’s Place” before leaving the show completely. The 1980 season of the show began with Archie mourning Edith’s death. Today we mourn the death of Jean Stapleton.

One other thing about Jean, she was offered the lead role in the TV show "Murder She Wrote" but turned it down.  Angela Lansbury accepted that role.