Editing All in the Family (section)

==History and production==
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2015}}
Lear said the idea for ''All in the Family'' came to him after he read an article in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine on the successful British sitcom ''[[Till Death Us Do Part]]''.<ref name="variety2">{{cite magazine |last=Nussbaum |first=Emily |date=April 7, 2014 |title=The Great Divide: Norman Lear, Archie Bunker, and the Rise of the Bad Fan |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/the-great-divide-3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729005321/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/the-great-divide-3 |archive-date=July 29, 2014 |access-date=July 28, 2014 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref> He said he immediately knew it portrayed a relationship just like the one between his father and himself.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ganz |first=Jami |date=January 15, 2025 |title=Sally Struthers claims Betty White fat-shamed her, Norman Lear stole 'All in the Family' |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/01/15/sally-struthers-norman-lear-betty-white-fat-shaming/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=May 6, 2025 |website=nydailynews.com}}</ref> However, in a 2025 episode of the podcast ''Let's Talk About That!,'' Struthers disputed that claim, saying that idea originated with O'Connor, who had seen ''Till Death Us Do Part'' during a visit to the U.K''.'' O'Connor, she said, wanted to produce an American version but couldn't get the necessary backing as an actor alone. Eventually he got the idea to Lear who backed it and put it into production without crediting O'Connor. She said she waited until after Lear died to share what she knew.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ganz |first=Jami |date=January 15, 2025 |title=Sally Struthers claims Betty White fat-shamed her, Norman Lear stole 'All in the Family' |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/01/15/sally-struthers-norman-lear-betty-white-fat-shaming/ |website=nydailynews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bellusci |first=Alexandra |title=Sally Struthers blasts 'All in the Family' creator Norman Lear: 'Wasn't a huge fan of his' |url=https://nypost.com/2025/01/16/entertainment/sally-struthers-slams-all-in-the-familys-norman-lear-wasnt-a-huge-fan/ |website=New York Post|date=January 16, 2025 }}</ref>

Lear bought the rights to the show and incorporated his own family experiences with his father into the show. Lear's father would tell Lear's mother to "stifle herself" and she would tell Lear's father "you are the laziest white man I ever saw" (two "Archieisms" that found their way onto the show).

The original pilot was titled ''[[Justice for All (TV pilot)|Justice for All]]''<ref name=Justice>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRy1BDQack0&t=1440s ''Justice for All''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028153632/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRy1BDQack0&t=1440s |date=October 28, 2020 }} (unaired pilot #1) on YouTube</ref> and was developed for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. [[Tom Bosley]], [[Jack Warden]], and [[Jackie Gleason]] were all considered for the role of Archie Bunker. In fact, CBS wanted to buy the rights to the original show and retool it specifically for Gleason, who was under contract to them, but producer Lear beat out CBS for the rights and offered the show to ABC. [[Mickey Rooney]] was offered the role but turned it down as he felt the character was "un-American".

In the pilot, Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton played Archie and Edith Justice.<!-- Don't change "Justice" to "Bunker". "Bunker" is the family name in the series "All in the Family". This text refers to the pilot, where the family name is "Justice". --> Kelly Jean Peters played Gloria and [[Tim McIntire]] played her husband, Richard. It was taped in October 1968 in New York City. After screening the first pilot, ABC gave the producers more money to shoot a second pilot, titled ''Those Were the Days'',<ref name=Those>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZiUGHNhFw0 ''Those Were the Days''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218063935/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZiUGHNhFw0&feature=applinks |date=December 18, 2016 }} (unaired pilot #2) on YouTube</ref> which Lear taped in February 1969 in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]. [[Candice Azzara]] played Gloria and [[Chip Oliver]] played her husband Dickie. [[D'Urville Martin]] played Lionel Jefferson in both pilots.

After stations' and viewers' complaints caused ABC to cancel ''[[Turn-On]]'' (a sketch comedy series developed by ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In|Laugh-In]]'''s [[George Schlatter]]) [[List of television series canceled after one episode|after only one episode]] in February 1969, the network became uneasy about airing a show with a "foul-mouthed, bigoted lead" character, and rejected the series<ref name="neuwirth2006">{{cite book| title=They'll never put that on the air: an oral history of taboo-breaking TV comedy| publisher=Allworth Communications, Inc.| last=Neuwirth| first=Allan| year=2006| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vIEAyxEA4zAC&q=turn-on| pages=132–133| isbn=978-1581158489| access-date=October 15, 2020| archive-date=September 9, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909132132/https://books.google.com/books?id=vIEAyxEA4zAC&q=turn-on| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="gitlin2000">{{cite book| title=Inside Prime Time| publisher=University of California Press| last=Gitlin| first=Todd| date=January 4, 2000| url=https://archive.org/details/insideprimetime00gitl_1| url-access=registration| quote=turn-on abc 1969.| page=[https://archive.org/details/insideprimetime00gitl_1/page/212 212]| isbn= 978-0520217850}}</ref> at about the time [[Richard Dreyfuss]] sought the role of Michael. Rival network CBS was eager to update its image and was looking to [[rural purge|replace much of its then popular "rural" programming]] (''[[Mayberry R.F.D.]]'', ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', ''[[Petticoat Junction]]'' and ''[[Green Acres]]'') with more "urban", contemporary series and was interested in Lear's project; by this point, Gleason was no longer under contract to CBS ([[The Jackie Gleason Show|his own show]] was among those eliminated), allowing Lear to keep Carroll O'Connor on as the lead. CBS bought the rights from ABC and retitled the show ''All in the Family''. The pilot episode CBS developed had the final cast and was the series' first episode.

Lear wanted to shoot in black and white as ''Till Death Us Do Part'' had been. While CBS insisted on color, Lear had the set furnished in neutral tones, keeping everything relatively devoid of color. As [[costume designer]] [[Rita Riggs]] described in her 2001 [[Archive of American Television]] interview, Lear's idea was to create the feeling of sepia tones, in an attempt to make viewers feel as if they were looking at an old family album.<ref name="life">{{cite book |title=LIFE All in the Family |date=January 8, 2021 |publisher=Time Home Entertainment |isbn=978-1-5478-5496-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbwTEAAAQBAJ&dq=rita+riggs+sepia+tone+all+in+the+family&pg=PT21 |language=en}}</ref>

''All in the Family'' was the first major American series to be [[videotape]]d in front of a live studio audience. In the 1960s, most sitcoms had been filmed in the [[single-camera setup|single-camera]] format without audiences, with a [[laugh track]] simulating an audience response, with videotape at that time mainly reserved for news programming and variety shows. Lear employed the [[Multi-camera setup|multiple-camera]] format of shooting in front of an audience, but used tape, whereas previous multiple-camera shows like ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' had used film. Due to the success of ''All in the Family'', videotaping sitcoms in front of an audience became a common format for the genre during the 1970s, onward, until the advent of digital HD. The use of videotape also gave ''All in the Family'' the look and feel of early live television, including the original live broadcasts of ''[[The Honeymooners]]'', to which ''All in the Family'' is sometimes compared.

For the show's final season, the practice of being taped before a live audience changed to playing the already taped and edited show to an audience and recording their laughter to add to the original sound track, and the voice-over during the end credits were changed from Rob Reiner's voice "''All in the Family'' was recorded on tape before a live audience." to Carroll O'Connor's"''All in the Family'' was played to a studio audience for live responses." (typically, the audience was gathered for a taping of ''[[One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'', and got to see ''All in the Family'' as a bonus.). Throughout its run, Norman Lear took pride in the fact that [[canned laughter]] was never used (mentioning this on many occasions); the laughter heard in the episodes was genuine.

===Theme song===

The series' opening theme song "Those Were the Days", was written by [[Lee Adams]] ([[lyrics]]) and [[Charles Strouse]] (music).<ref>{{cite web |title=Songfacts.com |url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/archie-and-edith-bunker/those-were-the-days-theme-to-all-in-the-family |access-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117200605/https://www.songfacts.com/facts/archie-and-edith-bunker/those-were-the-days-theme-to-all-in-the-family |url-status=live }}</ref> It was presented in a way that was unique for a 1970s series: Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton were seated at a console or [[spinet]] piano<!-- the appropriate term is debatable --> (played by Stapleton) and sang the tune together on-camera at the start of every episode, concluding with applause from a studio audience. The song dates back to the first ''Justice For All'' pilot filmed in 1968, although on that occasion O'Connor and Stapleton performed the song off-camera and at a faster tempo than the series version.

Six different performances were recorded over the run of the series, including one version that includes additional lyrics. The song is a simple, [[pentatonic]] melody, that can be played exclusively with black keys on a piano, in which Archie and Edith were nostalgic for the simpler days of the past. A longer version of the song was released as a single on [[Atlantic Records]], reaching number 43 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 30 on the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary]] chart in early 1972. The additional lyrics in this longer version lend the song a greater sense of sadness and make poignant reference to social changes taking place in the 1960s and early 1970s.

A few perceptible drifts can be observed when listening to each version chronologically. In the original version, the lyric "Those Were The Days" was sung over the [[Tonic (music)|tonic]] (root chord of the song's key), and the piano strikes a [[Dominant seventh chord|dominant 7th passing chord]] in transition to the next part, which is absent from subsequent versions.

Jean Stapleton originally struck a slightly sour note (deliberately) on the word "were" in the phrase "and you knew who you were then," which prompted laughter from the live audience; as the seasons progressed, she delivered this note as an increasingly exaggerated shriek. Carroll O'Connor's pronunciation of "[[welfare state]]" added more of Archie's trademark whining enunciation, and the closing lyrics (especially "Gee, our old [[LaSalle (automobile)|LaSalle]] ran great") were sung with increasingly deliberate articulation, as viewers had complained that they could not understand the words. Also in the original version, the camera angle was shot slightly from the right side of the talent as opposed to the straight on angle of the next version. Jean Stapleton performed the theme song without glasses beginning in season 6.

In addition to O'Connor and Stapleton singing, footage is also shown beginning with aerial shots of Manhattan, and continuing to Queens, progressively zooming in, culminating with a still shot of a lower-middle-class semidetached home, presumably representing the Bunkers' house in Astoria, suggesting that the visit to the Bunkers' home has begun. The house shown in the opening credits is actually located at 89–70 Cooper Avenue in the Glendale section of Queens, New York.<ref name="fewer"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=89-70+Cooper+avenue+Queens+NY&sll=50.233152,-97.119141&sspn=36.760861,79.013672&ie=UTF8&ll=40.71272,-73.860998&spn=0.009499,0.038581&z=15&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=40.712707,-73.860995&panoid=wnxHEX-XUhQD_BahBRULxw&cbp=11,107.93,,0,4.05 |title=Location of the target house: 89-70 Cooper Ave |website=Google Maps |date=January 1, 1970 |access-date=September 17, 2011 |archive-date=September 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916221040/https://www.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=89-70+Cooper+avenue+Queens+NY&sll=50.233152,-97.119141&sspn=36.760861,79.013672&ie=UTF8&ll=40.71272,-73.860998&spn=0.009499,0.038581&z=15&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=40.712707,-73.860995&panoid=wnxHEX-XUhQD_BahBRULxw&cbp=11,107.93,,0,4.05 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A notable difference exists, between the Cooper Avenue house and the ''All in the Family'' set: the Cooper Avenue house has no porch, while the Bunkers' home featured a front porch. Since the footage used for the opening had been shot back in 1968 for the series' first pilot, the establishing shot of the Manhattan skyline was completely devoid of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] towers, which had not yet been built. When the series aired two years later, the Trade Center towers, although under construction, had still not yet risen high enough to become a prominent feature on the Manhattan skyline. This did not happen until the end of 1971.

Despite this change in the Manhattan skyline, the original, somewhat grainy 1968 footage continued to be used for the series opening until the series transitioned into ''Archie Bunker's Place'' in 1979. At that time, a new opening with current shots of the Manhattan skyline were used with the Trade Center towers being seen in the closing credits. This opening format—showing actual footage of the cities and neighborhoods in which the show was set—became the standard for most of Norman Lear's sitcoms, including others in the ''All in the Family'' franchise—''Maude'', ''Good Times'', and ''The Jeffersons''.

At the end of the opening, the camera then returns to a last few seconds of O'Connor and Stapleton, as they finish the song. At the end of the original version, Edith smiles at Archie and Archie smiles off at a slight distance. In the longest running version (from season 2 to season 5), Edith smiles blissfully at Archie, and Archie puts a cigar in his mouth and returns a rather cynical, sheepish look to Edith. From season six through eight, Edith smiles and rests her chin on Archie's shoulder.

In the final season, Edith hugs Archie at the conclusion. In the first three versions of the opening, Archie is seen wearing his classic trademark white shirt. In the final version of the opening for the series' ninth season, Archie is seen wearing a gray sweater-jacket over his white shirt. In all versions of the opening, the song's conclusion is accompanied by applause from the studio audience.

In interviews, Norman Lear explained that the idea for the piano song introduction was a cost-cutting measure. After completion of the pilot episode, the budget would not allow an elaborate scene to serve as the sequence played during the show's opening credits. Lear decided to have a simple scene of Archie and Edith singing at the piano.

The closing theme, an [[instrumental]], was "Remembering You", played by its composer [[Roger Kellaway]], with lyrics later added by Carroll O'Connor. It was played over footage of the same row of houses in Queens as in the opening, but moving in the opposite direction down the street, and eventually moving back to aerial shots of Manhattan, suggesting the visit to the Bunkers' home has concluded. O'Connor recorded a vocal version of "Remembering You" for a record album, but though he performed it several times on TV appearances, the lyrics about the end of a romance were never heard in the actual series. In July 1986, vocalist [[Helen Merrill]]'s contrastingly jazz-flavored rendition, accompanied by a Kellaway-led trio and introduced by O'Connor, was featured on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]''.<ref>Feather, Leonard (June 8, 1986). "Merrill's Ship Comes In—From Europe". ''The Los Angeles Times''. Calendar section, pp.&nbsp;58, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88211434/the-los-angeles-times/ 59]. Retrieved November 2, 2021.</ref><ref>Times staff (July 11, 1986). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=88241619 "Tonight on TV"]. ''The Los Angeles Times''. Pt.&nbsp;VI, p.&nbsp;26. Retrieved November 2, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olzdE89f7ZU "Helen Merrill, Roger Kellaway, Remembering You, All in the Family, 1986 TV"]. YouTube. Retrieved November 2, 2021.</ref>

Except for some brief instances in the first season, scenes contained no background or transitional music.

===Setting and location===
[[File:Archie Bunker House 01.JPG|thumbnail|The house featured in the opening credits sequence, as it appeared in late 2013]]
Lear and his writers set the series in the Queens neighborhood of [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria]]. The location of the Bunkers' house at 704 Hauser Street is fictitious. No Hauser Street exists in Queens. The address is not presented the way addresses are given in Queens: most address numbers are hyphenated, identifying the number of the nearest cross street. Nevertheless, many episodes reveal that the Bunkers live near the major thoroughfare [[New York State Route 25A|Northern Boulevard]], which was the location of Kelsey's Bar and later Archie Bunker's Place.<ref>{{cite web |last=Berman |first=Marc |title='All In The Family' Turns 50 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2021/01/12/all-in-the-family-turns-50/?sh=11d89a4354aa |website=Forbes |access-date=October 24, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

The exterior of the house shown at the show closing is a home located at 89-70 Cooper Avenue, [[Glendale, Queens]], New York, across from [[St. John Cemetery (Queens)|St. John Cemetery]] ({{coord|40.712492|-73.860784}}).<ref name=fewer>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/nyregion/fewer-fans-visit-all-in-the-family-tv-home.html?ref=todayspaper| first=Vivian| last=Yee| title=Stifled by Time's Passage, Fewer Fans Visit the Bunkers' TV Home| newspaper=The New York Times| date=June 2, 2013| page=A16| access-date=February 26, 2017| archive-date=November 9, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109024011/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/nyregion/fewer-fans-visit-all-in-the-family-tv-home.html?ref=todayspaper| url-status=live}}</ref>

Many real Queens institutions are mentioned throughout the series. Carroll O'Connor, a Queens native from [[Forest Hills, Queens|Forest Hills]], said in an interview with the [[Archive of American Television]] that he suggested to the writers many of the locations to give the series authenticity. For example, Archie is said to have attended [[Flushing High School]], a real school in [[Flushing, Queens]], although in the "Man of the Year" episode of ''Archie Bunker's Place'', Archie attended [[William Cullen Bryant High School|Bryant High School]] in nearby Long Island City. As another example, the 1976 episode "The Baby Contest" deals with Archie entering baby Joey in a cutest-baby contest sponsored by the ''[[Long Island Daily Press]]'', a then-operating local newspaper in Queens and Long Island.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carroll O'Connor Interview |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/carroll-oconnor |website=Television Academy Interviews |access-date=October 24, 2022 |language=en |date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>

The writers of ''All in the Family'' continued throughout the series to have the Bunkers and other characters use [[telephone exchange names]] when giving a telephone number. Most other series at the time, such as ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', were using the standard fictitious [[555 (telephone number)#Fictional usage|555 telephone exchange]] at a time when the [[Bell System]] was trying to discontinue them. At different times throughout the series, the exchanges ''Ravenswood'' and [[Bayside, Queens|''Bayside'']]—both valid in the area—were used for the Bunkers' telephone number. Actual residents of the Bunkers' age continued using exchange names into the early 1980s, which is referred to in the 1979 episode "The Appendectomy", in which Edith gets confused between the two versions of a number she is dialing.