Editing All in the Family (section)

===Main characters===
[[File:All in the Family cast 1976.JPG|thumb|The Bunkers and the Stivics: standing, Gloria ([[Sally Struthers]]) and Michael ([[Rob Reiner]]). Seated, Archie ([[Carroll O'Connor]]) and Edith ([[Jean Stapleton]]) with baby Joey]]

* [[Carroll O'Connor]] as [[Archie Bunker]]: Frequently called a "lovable bigot," Archie was an assertively prejudiced blue-collar worker. A World War II veteran, Archie longs for better times when people sharing his viewpoint were in charge, as evidenced by the nostalgic theme song "Those Were the Days," also the show's original title. Despite his bigotry, he is portrayed as loving and decent, as well as a man who is simply struggling to adapt to the constantly changing world, rather than someone motivated by hateful racism or prejudice. His ignorance and stubbornness seem to cause his [[malapropism]]-filled arguments to self-destruct. He often rejects uncomfortable truths by [[blowing a raspberry]]. Former child actor [[Mickey Rooney]] was Lear's first choice to play Archie, but Rooney declined the offer because of the strong potential for controversy and, in Rooney's opinion, its poor chance of success. 
* [[Jean Stapleton]] as [[Edith Bunker]], née Baines: Edith is Archie's ditzy but kind-hearted wife. Archie often tells her to "stifle" herself and calls her a "dingbat," and although Edith generally defers to her husband's authority and endures his insults, on the rare occasions when Edith takes a stand, she proves to exhibit simple but profound wisdom.<ref>This is an allusion to an early-20th-century comic strip, ''[[The Dingbat Family]],'' by cartoonist [[George Herriman]].</ref> Despite their different personalities, they love each other deeply. Stapleton developed Edith's distinctive voice.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lear |first=Norman |author-link=Norman Lear |date=June 5, 2013 |title=Norman Lear Pens New Personal Tribute to Jean Stapleton |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/norman-lear-jean-stapleton-a-562207 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611211514/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/norman-lear-jean-stapleton-a-562207 |archive-date=June 11, 2013 |access-date=August 11, 2013 |newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> Stapleton remained with the show through the original series run but decided to leave at that time. During the first season of ''Archie Bunker's Place,'' Edith was seen in five of the first fourteen episodes in guest appearances. After being set forth largely as an invisible character, Edith got written out as having suffered a stroke and died off camera in the following season, leaving Archie to deal with the death of his beloved "dingbat." Stapleton appeared in all but four episodes of ''All in the Family''. In the series' first episode, Edith is portrayed as being less of a dingbat and even sarcastically refers to her husband as "Mr. Religion here&nbsp;..." after they come home from church—something her character would not be expected to say later. 
* [[Sally Struthers]] as [[Gloria Stivic]], née Bunker: The Bunkers' college-age daughter is married to Michael Stivic. She has the generally kind nature of her mother but also the stubbornness of her father, which early in the series manifests as childishness and later as a more mature feminism. Gloria frequently attempts to mediate between her father and her husband, generally siding with the latter. The roles of the Bunkers' daughter and son-in-law (then named "Dickie") initially went to [[Candice Azzara]] and [[Chip Oliver]]. After seeing the show's pilot, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] requested a second pilot after expressing dissatisfaction with both actors. Lear later recast the roles of Gloria and Dickie with Struthers and Reiner. [[Penny Marshall]], Reiner's wife, whom he married in April 1971 shortly after the program began, was considered for the role of Gloria. During early seasons of the show, Struthers was known to feel discontented with how static her part was, and in 1974, she sued to get out of her contract, but the character became more developed, thereby satisfying her.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gloria Bunker-Stivic|url=http://sharetv.org/shows/all_in_the_family/cast/gloria_bunker-stivic|website=ShareTV.org|access-date=September 19, 2012|archive-date=October 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009012358/http://sharetv.org/shows/all_in_the_family/cast/gloria_bunker-stivic|url-status=live}}</ref> Struthers appeared in 157 of the 202 episodes during the first eight seasons—from January 12, 1971, to March 19, 1978. She later reprised the role in the spin-off series ''[[Gloria (American TV series)|Gloria]]'', which lasted one season in 1982–1983.
* [[Rob Reiner]] as [[Michael "Meathead" Stivic]]: Gloria's [[Polish-American]] [[hippie]] husband is part of the counterculture of the 1960s. While good-hearted and well-meaning, he constantly spars with Archie and is equally stubborn, although his moral views are generally presented as more ethical and his logic somewhat sounder. He is the most-educated person in the household, which gives him a self-assured arrogance, and despite his intellectual belief in progressive social values, he tends to expect Gloria to defer to him as her husband. As discussed in ''All in the Family'' retrospectives, Richard Dreyfuss sought the part, but Norman Lear ultimately cast Reiner. [[Harrison Ford]] turned down the role, citing Archie Bunker's bigotry. Reiner appeared in 174 of the 202 episodes of the series during the first eight seasons—from January 12, 1971, to March 19, 1978. Reiner is credited with writing three of the series' episodes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tv.com/people/rob-reiner/?tag=container;cast_crew_list |title=Rob Reiner |website=[[TV.com]] |access-date=May 19, 2017 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141559/http://www.tv.com/people/rob-reiner/?tag=container;cast_crew_list |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Danielle Brisebois]] as Stephanie Mills, nine-year-old daughter of Edith's cousin Floyd and a regular throughout the ninth season. In addition to being thought cute and having a sweet side, she is smart and clever and makes her own remarks to Archie from time to time. The Bunkers take her in after her father abandons her on their doorstep in 1978. Her father later extorts money from the Bunkers to let them keep her. She remained with the show through its transition to ''Archie Bunker's Place'' and appeared in all four seasons of the continuation.