‘All in the Family’ and its

Multiple Spinoffs

BY STEVE BRYAN

AAfter the country humor of “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Green Acres,” CBS shifted gears in 1971 with the debut of “All in the Family.” Carol O’Connor and Jean Stapleton starred as Archie and Edith Bunker, a blue-collar couple living at 704 Hauser in Queens, New York.

Archie, who worked on a loading dock and later be came a foreman, was opinionated to the point of being a bigot. Michael “Mike” Stivic (Rob Reiner), his son-in-law, would frequently argue with Archie on hot topics of the day. The Bunker’s daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) also had strong opinions, especially when Archie criticized her Polish husband.

Some characters that originated on “All in the Family” were given sitcoms of their own. After appearing in two episodes, Bea Arthur’s liberal character, Maude Findlay, got her own self-titled show.

“Maude” ran for six seasons and introduced Florida Evans (Esther Rolle), the housekeeper for Maude’s family in Tuckahoe, New York. Rolle’s performance was so memorable that another spinoff, “Good Times,” was created. For Esther Rolle, though, there were not-so-good times on the new series. She wasn’t happy with aspects of the show, in particular Jimmie Walker’s portrayal of J.J. Evans. Though “Maude” was set in New York, “Good Times” took place in Chicago.

With its 253 episodes, “The Jeffersons” became one of the longest-running sitcoms on television. George and Louise Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford) had lived next door to the Bunkers. Edith and Louise were great friends, but after George’s dry-cleaning business took off, the Jeffersons moved from Queens to a deluxe New York apartment. Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs) became their maid, which led to arguments between her and George. “The Jeffersons” had one spin-off, “Checking In,” where Florence became an executive housekeeper at a New York hotel, but this series ran for only four episodes.

In 1979, “Archie Bunker’s Place,” a rebooted version of “All in the

Family,” debuted. Murray Klein (Martin Balsam), Archie’s Jewish partner, worked in the bar while dealing with the opinionated Archie. The revamped cast included Danielle Brisebois as Archie’s niece and the wonderful Anne Meara as the bar’s cook. After Edith’s off-screen death, Archie wasn’t sure he was ready to date again, but that was before Katherine (Yvonne Wilder), a woman had previously expressed interest in him, walked back into the bar. “Archie Bunker’s Place” lasted a total of four seasons.

Archie’s daughter Gloria appeared in the final episode of “Archie Bunker’s Place,” which set the stage for “Gloria,” her own 1982 series. After husband Mike left her for someone else, Gloria returned to New York, but she didn’t want to raise her son in the big city. She then became the assistant to two veterinarians, Dr. Willard Adams (Burgess Meredith) and Dr. Maggie Lawrence (Jo de Winter). Counting the final episode of “Archie Bunker’s Place,” “Gloria” ran for 22 episodes, but it was not renewed for a second season.

Archie Bunker’s former home address became the title of another spin-off, “704 Hauser.” John Amos, whose character had been killed off years earlier on “Good Times,” played Ernie Cumberbatch and Lynnie Godfrey played his wife, Rose. Though they were working-class Democrats, their son Goodie (T.E. Russell) was highly conservative. Six episodes of “704 Hauser” were shot, but the final episode never aired.