Carroll O'Connor of Bunker's long-suffering wife, Edith Bunker, whom Lear remembered from seeing in the play and film "Damn Yankees". The producer sent the show over to ABC twice, but it did not get picked up. They then approached CBS with more success, and accordingly, "All in the Family" was retooled and debuted early in 1971. The show also starred unknown character actors, such as Rob Reiner as Archie's liberal son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and Sally Struthers as Archie and Edith's only child and Mike's wife, Gloria. The cast had a unique on- and off-camera chemistry, especially Reiner, who became O'Connor's best
Archie Bunker Conrad Black referred to Donald Trump as having secured the "Archie Bunker vote" during the 2016 presidential election. Norman Lear originally intended that Bunker be strongly disliked by audiences. Lear was shocked when Bunker quietly became a beloved figure to much of middle America. Lear thought that Bunker's opinions on race, sex, marriage, and religion were so wrong as to represent a parody of right-wing bigotry. Sammy Davis, Jr., who was both black and Jewish, genuinely liked the character. He felt that Bunker's bigotry was based on his rough, working-class life experiences and that Bunker was honest and forthright in