Remembering Jean Stapleton

Photo Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

Edith Bunker was the voice of reason, the moral center and the glue that held the Bunker family together in the classic situation comedy All in the Family. As played by the late Jean Stapleton, Edith suffered through her husband, Archie's tirades against everyone who was different than he was and put up with him always calling her Dingbat. However, Edith was smarter than Archie and knew when to keep her mouth shut and her ears open.  Indeed, smarter and wiser. Regardless of Archie's many faults, Edith loved him and supported him, but would speak her mind on the rare occasion to put everything into perspective and tell the truth.

Jean Stapleton's performance as the seemingly meek and mild Edith was nothing short of brilliant and viewers could not help but love her. Stapleton made excellent use of  her vocal talents (she had a much better singing voice than viewers were led to believe) and demonstrated great physical comedy with the way she scurried around the house preparing dinner for Archie. Her character was original, unforgettable and the gentle strength that she displayed was heartwarming and inspirational. Thankfully, Stapleton's work was justly rewarded with three Emmy trophies in the early 1970s. Two episodes come to mind when I think about Jean's work on All in the Family; when she was going through menopause in the episode "Edith's Problem," and Archie insisted that she go through "the change" right away, and when she was the target of a would be rapist in "Edith's 50th Birthday," but managed to fight him off through physical force. That Edith could be one tough lady when she wanted to be.

Jean Stapleton worked mainly in the theater throughout her long career, but she will likely be best remembered for her work on All in the Family. Stapleton passed away on May 31, 2013 at the age of 90, of natural causes. Rest in Peace Jean and thanks for so many great memories, like "still waters run very deep."