LONG BEFORE Ellen, Will & Grace, and Modern Family helped normalize gay people in the eyes of the American public, All in the Family—which went on the air in 1971—initiated the discussion about homosexuality. The show confronted controversial issues that ran the gamut from race and class to sex and sexual orientation. Archie Bunker (Carrol O’Connor) epitomized the archetypical ignorant American slob who was stuck in the past, while his naïve, put-upon, but pure-of-heart wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) played the perfect complement to the bigoted and intractable Archie. Family conflict ensued when Archie’s son-in-law Mike “Meathead” Stivic (Rob Reiner), a child of the 1960s, espoused his liberal views, which were echoed by his wife Gloria (Sally Struthers), Archie’s daughter.
AITF first confronted gay stereotypes in an episode called “Judging Books by Covers.”
In a later episode, America’s favorite bigot is again confronted with issues of gender and sexuality when he saves what he thinks is a woman’s life by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in his cab. The “damsel in distress” is Ms. Beverly LaSalle, played by 6’6” drag icon “Lori Shannon,” star of the famous Finocchio’s drag revue of San Francisco. O’Connor, who also had a hand in script writing, recalled the episode in a Television Academy oral history: “Archie was appalled by what he had done. But he felt bad when he heard that she or he had been in an accident. It showed the other side of Archie a little bit. Most of these shows did that. We threw light into another corner of his character on many occasions.” At first, Archie wanted to play the hero, but upon learning LaSalle’s identity he wants to hush the matter. LaSalle obliges, leaving Archie with a handshake that practically takes his arm off. Archie eventually comes to terms with this new acquaintance, and they form something of a bond.
LaSalle made three appearances on the show. Stapleton recalled in a Television Academy oral history that LaSalle “was very sweet and very funny. It was real life … it was true, it brought up issues … it was contemporary.” LaSalle’s first two appearances were largely comedic—Shannon revealed in an interview that when she pulled off her wig, only Archie’s famous kiss with Sammy Davis Jr. garnered more laughs. The third storyline ends in tragedy in “Edith’s Crisis of Faith.” Set to perform in Carnegie Hall, LaSalle is invited as a Christmas guest, only she and Mike, walking together, are victims of a hate crime, and LaSalle is killed. Always the good soul, this example of hate and bigotry in the world makes Edith momentarily lose her faith in humanity. Harvey Milk had been assassinated right around that time; AITF was dramatizing the scourge of bias crime that continues to haunt us today.
In a Season 8 episode called “Cousin Liz,” Archie and Edith are confronted with one of the core arguments for equal marriage rights, inheritance, decades before it entered the political sphere. The premise revolves around the death of Edith’s cousin and a family heirloom. Edith and Archie discuss her cousin. Even the cantankerous Archie liked Liz: “She’s so beautiful she could’ve gotten herself a wonderful fella. I never told you this, but I once had kind of a crush on Liz.” Edith asks: What did you do about it? Archie deadpans: “I kissed her.” Edith responds: “Is that all?” Archie retorts: “She wouldn’t do nuttin’ else.”
Liz and Veronica were living as “roommates,” to use the parlance of the day. Edith anticipates inheriting the tea set that has been in her family for 100 years, worth $2,000. Veronica overhears in the background and looks distressed. It was special to them. A distraught Veronica delicately asks for the tea set, and Edith, still under the impression the relationship is platonic, is conflicted. Veronica tries to make Edith understand that they are partners who shared a 25-year relationship. “Your Cousin Liz and I were very fond of each other, extremely fond of each other,” Veronica shyly intimates, unable to look Edith in the eye. “We loved each other,” Veronica explains, but Edith still doesn’t get it. “This was more like a marriage.” It finally sinks in that Liz and Veronica were life partners.
The script sheds light on the constraints under which gay couples lived in the 1970s. Edith asks Veronica why they never said anything. Veronica explains that they would have never been allowed to teach. “It must be so sad loving someone and not being able to talk about it.” Edith then tells Veronica she can have the tea set: “It belongs to you, you’re really her next of kin.” But now she has to explain all this to Archie, whose biggest concern once he recovers from the shock is that this “beautiful girl that I kissed was a les…” He threatens to take Veronica to court for the silver, at which point she looks resigned, telling him she can’t fight him or she’ll lose her job. The usually meek Edith puts her foot down and Archie grudgingly relents. They leave the silver with Veronica.
Finally, it’s the ’80s, and the series is reinvented as Archie Bunker’s Place, with O’Conner as the lead and most of the action taking place in his eponymous bar with his partner, the liberal Murray Klein (Martin Balsam). Fred, a waiter, is unapologetically gay. This is made obvious to the audience, as is Archie’s ambivalence. Initially Archie had wanted to fire Fred because he’s “too gay,” but Murray convinces him to relent.
In “Archie Fixes Up Fred,” the story arc comes to a poignant climax depicting the discrimination and conflicts gays encountered in late 20th-century America. Tom, Archie’s lodge brother, berates Fred with gay epithets and warns Archie that Fred could attract the “wrong type” and turn it into a “pickup joint.” Archie considers firing Fred, while Murray wants to let it go. Archie’s answer? “Convert” Fred by buying him a date with Linda from the shop next door. Murray tries to convince Archie that you can’t change someone’s sexuality. Fred and Linda go on the date and become friends. Fred is unapologetic about his sexuality. After the date, Fred returns the money and hands in his resignation, much to the chagrin of all involved. Even Archie says he doesn’t have to leave. “I’m different,” says Fred, “You’re not ready for different.” And then the kicker: Fred reveals that the gay-baiting Tom is himself gay, and Fred had rebuffed his advances. Tom is in the closet. “And a dirty old closet it is,” says Fred.
All in the Family came at a time when the LGBT community was just starting to find its public voice. As a vehicle for introducing America to this community essentially for the first time, the show traveled quite a distance during its thirteen-year run.
Joshua Casper is a widely published New York-based freelance writer covering topics in sports, history, and culture.
