NEW YORK — Jean Stapleton, the stage-trained character actress who played Archie Bunker's far better half, the sweetly naive Edith, in TV's groundbreaking 1970s comedy “All in the Family,” died on Friday at 90.
Stapleton passed away of natural causes at home in New York City surrounded by loved ones, her children said on Saturday.
She co-starred with Carroll O'Connor in the CBS hit about an unrepentant bigot, the wife he churlishly but fondly called “Dingbat,” their daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and liberal son-in-law Mike, aka Meathead (Rob Reiner).
Stapleton received eight Emmy nominations and won three times during her eight-year tenure with “All in the Family.” Produced by Norman Lear, the series startled American TV viewers with its social and political jabs and ranked as the No. 1-rated program for an unprecedented five years in a row.
But the theater was Stapleton's first love. In 1964, she originated the role of Mrs. Strakosh in “Funny Girl” with Barbra Streisand.
“I wasn't a leading-lady type,” she once told The Associated Press. “I knew where I belonged. And actually, I found character work much more interesting than leading ladies.”
Edith, of the dithery manner, cheerfully high-pitched voice and family loyalty, charmed viewers.
With her highly quotable malapropisms — Edith thought VD stood for Veterans' Day — and dogged devotion to the impossible Archie, Edith Bunker was not only hilariously funny, but compassionate and deeply affecting — facing such (for primetime TV) breakthrough issues of her day as breast cancer and menopause.
Born in New York City, Stapleton was the daughter of a billboard advertising salesman and an opera singer, from whom she got her love of music.
Despite the screechiness of Edith, who butchered “Those Were the Days” in the opening credits of “All in the Family,” Stapleton had a fine voice that helped her land feature roles in hit Broadway musicals. She played Sister in “Damn Yankees,” belting out “You've Gotta Have Heart,” and reprised the role in the 1958 film. She also appeared in both the stage and film versions of “The Bells Are Ringing” as Sue, the proprietor of Susanswerphone Service.
Her big-screen credits included the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romance “You've Got Mail.”
But for a quarter-century, Stapleton spent summers working at the Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville, Franklin County, operated by her husband, William Putch, a producer/director.
“I married a summer theater,” Stapleton once said of Putch, who died at 59 in 1983.
She is survived by her children, television producer Pamela Putch and film and television director John Putch.
“She was a brilliant comedienne with exquisite timing. Working with her was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Reiner, who played her son-in-law on the long-running CBS show, said in a statement.
McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this report.
