Edith Bunker Edith Bunker Edith Bunker (nėe Baines) is a fictional 1970s sitcom character on "All in the Family" (and occasionally "Archie Bunker's Place"), played by Jean Stapleton. She was the wife of Archie Bunker (who often called her a "dingbat"), mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathead" Stivic and after 1975, grandmother of Joey Stivic. Her cousin was Maude Findlay (Beatrice Arthur) who was one of Archie's nemeses. While Edith was typically a traditional and subservient wife (with several notable exceptions throughout the series), Jean Stapleton was a noted feminist. Series creator Norman Lear said on "All Things Considered" that
Archie Bunker Archie, as it is learned when Fred visits Archie in the "Archie's Brother" episode, had not seen each other in the 29 years since Archie and Edith's wedding, although they apparently had communicated over the years via phone (two early episodes -- "Cousin Oscar" and "Lionel Steps Out"—depict phone conversations between Archie and Fred), their long estrangement fueled because of a petty argument, apparently out of a sibling rivalry of sorts going back to their childhood. Fred visits Archie for support, because he is about to go into the hospital for a major operation, and the two apparently seem to