...but she was the mother that almost everybody who experienced her loved. Jeanne Stapleton, better known as Edith Bunker, passed away May 31, 2013. Now, you may be wondering why I am about to eulogize her at this late date. Well, a good friend of mine posted about her passing on Facebook (yes that anti-gun arsehole site that I still visit for some reason). I guess it was news to my friend because FB says she just posted about Jeanne only 13 hours ago or maybe she just wanted to remind us about her. When I read the FB post, I realized I had not said anything, in a blog post, about it at the time of her passing. I have been watching All In The Family reruns now and again as of late and thus figured I owed this wonderful actress at least a blurb or three regardless of it not being timely.
Hopefully, Jeanne Stapleton has moved onto and been in a better place since her passing. If there is a heaven and a hell she most indubitably has been residing and performing in heaven but still has had them rolling in laughter in hell - she was that excellent of an entertainer. She may have had them shed a few tears too, she truly was capable of bringing out most, if not all, of one's emotions through her acting prowess.
While I usually laughed at the dim-witted side of her character Edith Bunker, there were a few times I actually shed a few tears over her more poignant scenes. Just recently, I saw the episode in which a rapist tried to accost her, on her 50th birthday, inside of her own home while her family readied a surprise party for her. I usually don't get emotional watching television shows or movies but that one just about had me sobbing at one or two points as she tried to deal with what she had just narrowly escaped. Hell - I don't think anyone ever wanted to see Edith having to suffer more than with what she put up with in Archie.
She also reminded me of my mother, in looks, not in wits, but that is another story. Although, I must say, there were times when my mother emulated Edith a little too much - or was it Edith emulating my mom, your mom, everyone's mom a little too much! I think maybe that last part was it and that was what made Jeanne Stapleton so beloved in that role as Edith Bunker - she was everyone's mom.
I will not say much more about her than I don't think anyone could have better played the role of Archie Bunker's wife in the long running sit-com All In The Family. Read more about her here and then take a moment to remember her and to honor her. Let me close by saying, if you have never seen All In The Family, you have no idea about what you are missing. Watch a few episodes and laugh a lot; by then you most likely will be hooked and want to see them all. That my friends would be the greatest honor you could pay her.
A hat tip to Eileen Y-F for the inspiration to write this one.
All the best,
Glenn B
Hopefully, Jeanne Stapleton has moved onto and been in a better place since her passing. If there is a heaven and a hell she most indubitably has been residing and performing in heaven but still has had them rolling in laughter in hell - she was that excellent of an entertainer. She may have had them shed a few tears too, she truly was capable of bringing out most, if not all, of one's emotions through her acting prowess.
While I usually laughed at the dim-witted side of her character Edith Bunker, there were a few times I actually shed a few tears over her more poignant scenes. Just recently, I saw the episode in which a rapist tried to accost her, on her 50th birthday, inside of her own home while her family readied a surprise party for her. I usually don't get emotional watching television shows or movies but that one just about had me sobbing at one or two points as she tried to deal with what she had just narrowly escaped. Hell - I don't think anyone ever wanted to see Edith having to suffer more than with what she put up with in Archie.
She also reminded me of my mother, in looks, not in wits, but that is another story. Although, I must say, there were times when my mother emulated Edith a little too much - or was it Edith emulating my mom, your mom, everyone's mom a little too much! I think maybe that last part was it and that was what made Jeanne Stapleton so beloved in that role as Edith Bunker - she was everyone's mom.
I will not say much more about her than I don't think anyone could have better played the role of Archie Bunker's wife in the long running sit-com All In The Family. Read more about her here and then take a moment to remember her and to honor her. Let me close by saying, if you have never seen All In The Family, you have no idea about what you are missing. Watch a few episodes and laugh a lot; by then you most likely will be hooked and want to see them all. That my friends would be the greatest honor you could pay her.
A hat tip to Eileen Y-F for the inspiration to write this one.
All the best,
Glenn B
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