One of the best television programs ever made, All In The Family included teachings that I think are still applicable today. Sally Struthers happened to be one of the actors it propelled to success.
Although the attractive woman with the distinctive blonde hair today appears very different, she is still in the industry…
For many of us, Sally Struthers’ portrayal of Gloria Stivic in the 1970s sitcom All In The Family will forever be associated with her. The legendary program, which followed a working-class white family in Queens, New York, garnered an astounding 73 award nominations and 42 victories over the course of its existence.
However, I’m not sure if those who were born after the peak of the program can fully appreciate how revolutionary it was. Before it, there had been amusing sitcoms, but they hardly ever addressed taboos and societal issues. Many of those issues were used in All In The Family and were either made humorous, tragic, or both.
When you watch old episodes of the show on YouTube, it really brings back your youth, makes you laugh, and helps you forget about the current events. Many of the problems back then are still present now, they’re just presented in a funnier way.
Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton), Gloria Bunker-Stivic (Sally Struthers), Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner), and Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois) are the primary characters in All In The Family. They all had a special chemistry with one another.
Sally Struthers was a tremendously underestimated and diverse actress, in my opinion. She would occasionally sing in some All In The Family episodes, and I could see how she changed throughout the course of the show.
“At first I behaved like an idiot on the set. I thought that was the way to get people to like me. I’ve been educated on the set. I’ve learned to be myself. And now, they respect me,” she told Longview Daily News in 1973.
When the series premiered in January 1971, Sally was a 22-year-old unknown with minimal TV experience. Producer Norman Lear, who was a “father of us all” according to Sally, discovered the talented actress when she was dancing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Despite her lack of experience, Sally did great – just like the rest of the cast. Six months after the premiere, she was a certified star as All In The Family climbed to become the No.1 show on television.
At the height of her stardom, she could barely walk outside or go for dinner without being mobbed by fans. For an innocent 22-year-old, it was quite the challenging experience.
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