Jean Stapleton Jean Stapleton Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actress of stage, television, and film. Stapleton is best known for having portrayed Edith Bunker, the long-suffering yet devoted wife of Archie Bunker, on the 1970s sitcom "All in the Family". Stapleton was a three-time recipient of the Prime Time Emmy Award for leading actress in a comedy series and won two Golden Globes in the same category during the show's airing. She also made occasional appearances on the "All in the Family" follow-up series "Archie Bunker's Place", but asked to be
Archie Bunker while Archie had been forced to drop out of high school during the Great Depression to help support his family. Archie does not take advantage of the GI Bill to further his education, although he does attend night school to earn a high school diploma in 1973. Archie is also revealed to have been an outstanding baseball player in his youth: his dream was to pitch for the New York Yankees. He had to give up this dream when he left high school to enter the workforce. His uncle got him a job on a loading dock after World War