‘All In The Family’…Some Interesting History
Well, these pictures of the cast arriving at Television City settles one thing…it was definitely after September of 1973 when the set moved to Metro Media Studios. I can’t find a firm date, but I think the show moved at the end of the 1975 season.
I understand the reason for the move was that Norman Lear had so many shows in production at NBC, CBS and ABC, that shuttling between the shows was driving him crazy. Metro Media heard about this and offered Lear all seven stages of their Metro Media Square facility and he took them up on the offer and moved them all under one roof.
I’m not sure if this is true, but it is widely reported that when the show’s first pilot was done in New York in 1968, it became the first time a sitcom in the US used videotape as a recording device. Most sitcoms were either done on film or were performed live and kinescoped. Videotape editing was still done with a razor blade and Smith Block back then.
Did you know that Harrison Ford was offered the part played by Rob Reiner? Or that Reiner had to audition three times before Lear chose him? By the way…”Meathead” was the name Lear’s father called him when he was upset with him.
When CBS started rerunning the show during the day in 1975, it was edited by three minutes to allow more commercial time. Norman Lear was unhappy with the editing and offered to pay for the commercial time that would have been lost by showing it uncut, but CBS declined his offer. That I know of, this is the first mention of 7 minutes of spots in half hour show. 4 minutes was the prime time rule.
Although Edith Bunker’s singing voice left a lot to be desired, Jean Stapleton’s didn’t. She was classically trained and had many singing parts on Broadway.
Jean Stapleton drove a Plymouth Duster?!!? 🙂
Sad that we have lost half of a great cast.
Thanks.. now I have the opening theme song with Edith’s voice playing in my head.. Haha – great post! 🙂
Those were the days…
This show was one of Norman Lear’s many brilliant productions. I still love the episode with Sammy Davis Jr. where he kissed Archie.
I do remember that when the show was new, I thought it looked different than other sitcoms technically, so it’s probably correct that this was the first sitcom to be videotaped.
Jean Stapleton was singing on the Damn Yankees Music CD I bought 25 years ago. Very distinctive tone to it, and probably a reason why Norman Lear picked her.
When I first saw Carroll O’Connor on All In The Family, I recognized him from being the General in the movie Kelly’s Heroes that was released the previous summer of 1970.
This is just TOO. COOL. Thanks for sharing!
Going by the credits,it was definitely sometime into the 1975-76 season. When it became “Archie Bunker’s Place” they moved back to CBS Television City.
The official CBS TV City page has a timeline of what shows taped there in the past & present:
http://www.cbstelevisioncity.com/shows
Meathead!
If you haven’t seen the trial pilots, I highly recommend them. The pilot was shot 3 times before the show we know and love was born. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf0sgaB3mkc
Carroll O’Connor didn’t spend too much time in Wardrobe, did he!?
Ol’ Television City is very close to where I live. I see it very often. Before it was built, it was the location of Gilmore Stadium, a football field, most recognizable in a Three Stooges episode “Three Little Pigskins”. 🙂
I thought I read many years ago that Lear moved from TVC to MetroMedia because he was angry with CBS about the editing of “Family” for daytime. But the shuttling between networks angle makes more sense.
That’s Life with Bobby Morse was on video tape in 1968. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5awI2lDfi4
I can vouch for Jean Stapleton’s voice. I’ve heard her in a touring production of “Drood”.
It always was and still is my absolute favorite all-time show.
I just stumbled across this the other day…
This is supposedly the 1968 pilot for the show, named “Justice for All.” The family name was Justice and not Bunker. Pretty strange stuff, but most of it was retained for the show that finally got picked up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DR01-hMf_s&feature=kp
The date on the side looks like 1975…hard to say for sure. Love these pictures…makes them seem more human…especially the cars they were driving. I guess Sally was driving a Monte Carlo 1974 or 75 model.
I loved that show and Archy would say EDITH YOU DING BAT LOL!!
there will never be a show like that again, people are to sensitive