The writer of this show, Norman Lear, passed away today at the age of 101. He also wrote The Jeffersons. He was able to show us the ignorance of racism through humor. RIP Sir.

Caroll O’Connor was hands down great at delivering a comedic line. No question about it. But inserting drama into the scene, and he was gold.

One of the all time best sitcoms in all of TV history.

Rest in Peace, Norman Lear. We lost him yesterday. He was responsible for shows like All in the Family. He was a great one.

Great job, you guys. As an old geezer, it gives me renewed hope for this world when I hear younger folks engage in a thoughtful, intelligent discussion of issues that seem even more delicate today than they did half a century ago when I was your age. Just for the record, Carroll O'Connor, besides being a talented actor, was an extremely loving, liberal, charitable and open-minded man and his goal in accepting the role of Archie Bunker was to help the world see how ignorant and destructive bigotry truly is. And I think he accomplished that goal by showing up in our living rooms every week and making us laugh at Archie's foibles.

ARCHIE BUNKER WAS THE GREATEST CHARACTER IN TV HISTORY.

"Stretch" was a common, friendly nickname for a tall guy back then.

This is why Archie was such an interesting character, because once he realizes he was making Jewish jokes in front of his Jewish friend, he thought twice about it and felt bad.

A sign of a great actor is he could have you laughing hysterically abd 10 seconds later there's tears rolling down your face.

Archie Bunker, All in the Family in general, would make you laugh until your stomach hurts...and make you cry or be very emotional. Please check out the episodes with Lionel's Engagement, The Stivics moving, and Edith's death. Those episodes are TV classics...the show is an all-time classic!

Stretch Cunningham was played by James Cromwell (Babe) (The Green Mile). Interesting bit of trivia; Michael Clarke Duncan (John Coffey) at 6'5" was not the tallest guy in The Green Mile, nor was David Morse (Brutus/Brutal) at 6'4"". The tallest guy was James Cromwell (the Warden) at 6'7"" hence the character name of Stretch Cunningham. He was the son of famous director John Cromwell and one of his wives was Julie (daughter of Lee J Cobb). Incidentally his son John was 6'8"

I'm Catholic. I've heard lots of Catholic and otherwise Christian jokes in my presence. It really doesn't offend me. There are may funny things that people can say about Catholics. IMO, people get too offended too easily these days. Perhaps it is because I'm 59 years old. That last 10-15 years or so, many people in general have turned into snowflakes when it comes to being offended. It is sad to see. By the way, this was an excellent episode. I really showcased Carroll O'Conner's acting skills.

Normal Lear's passing today, just underscores how impressive this show was for how it brought serious issues to our homes to discuss while also making us laugh as well.

Norman Lear, the creator of ALL IN THE FAMILY, passed away today, at the ripe old age, of 101 years old. Thanks for the laughter!! 😂

Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker made me both laugh and cry. There aren't many actors that do that to me.

Love hearing your take/reaction on pop culture from the past, you guys seem like pretty laid back and very likeable people, keep up the good work.

This was another great episode where you can see Archie having a moment of evolution. This show was really about him being exposed to all the things he was so bigoted about and evolving. You are all right in that when you are in a workplace and you hear someone say something offensive, even if it isn't about you, you have that hard choice of whether to speak up. Depending on the context of what is being said, you should say something. It doesn't have to be a "clutch the pearls moment", but if it is truly derogatory or demeaning, you should at least show some level of disapproval. It may not be directly about you, but you should push back as one of your coworkers may not have the courage to do so. Obviously, if you are in a work environment, you shouldn't be saying things like that anyway. That is common sense. The people who get annoyed that their "fun" is being shut down are people who are not part of any marginalized group who have no understanding of how that impacts someone.

All in the family was the most realistic sitcom ever made.

I was just a kid when All In The Family premiered on CBS in 1971. The show was groundbreaking with some of the best writing and acting. Carroll O'Connor played Archie Bunker so well.

Such a great clip. This was quite a controversial show, but the humor with the hidden messages was so great. It opened peoples eyes to the bigotry around them that they really hadn't noticed like the jokes at work or the parties you may go to, not aware of people who may be hurt by these kinda of comments.

I was hoping you'd see this!! This was a great episode. I remember how Carroll O'Connor could make you laugh out from his ignorant, sometimes unknowingly offensive, comments, or even cry from his caring, average man, sincerity. This was a scene hit all on that list.

RIP Norman Lear! A legend in the television game, producing shows like this one and the Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude, and more! His shows were always hilarious with a serious undertone with views on race, religion, and society as a whole!

Thanks for this! Stretch was actually in episodes of the show prior to this one and played by James Cromwell, who was extremely tall, so the "Stretch" nickname was probably because of his height. Cromwell's most famous films are Babe and LA Confidential and also he was on the great early 2000s HBO drama show Six Feet Under. EDIT: Another AITF clip recommendation: "Archie Bunker on Democrats"

Hi Joe, hi DT, hi Holly, hola Felipe. I thought this episode was hilarious as well. Thank you all for sharing your reactions to All In The Family and other shows that were a big part of my childhood and teen years. Archie and Edith were an absolute riot. Keep those reaction videos coming!:)

When everybody in the group agrees to be subjected to ridicule in the quest for a humorous moment , it's so much better. Focus on intent, not effect.

Caroll O' Conner was outstanding!! Y'all should watch the entire series!

Good discussion, guys. I guess this Archie Bunker episode is still relevant today.

As I am writing this, it's being announced that Norman Lear passed away this morning, at age 101. All In The Family was the start of his tv empire.

Amazingly, you guys posted this very night Norman Lear died

I was in my teens when All in the Family was airing. The one thing that stands out as a life lesson is that as a nation, we've lost the ability to laugh at ourselves. People then weren't offended quite as easily. In fact, the Italian kids knew all the Italian jokes, the Polish kids knew all the Polish jokes, etc. Everyone laughed, no one's feelings got hurt. That's not to say slurs intended to insult weren't appropriately addressed (sometimes physically), but we were able to distinguish the difference.

The brilliance of the writing and acting here is really breathtaking.

RIP, Mr. Lear!! I heard a quote by him, today, on the subject of passing...and, I'm paraphrasing: "I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of leaving..." Such a WONDERFUL PERSON!!

RIP Norman Lear. Laughing no doubt put some years on his life.

THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT SHOW!!!!!

Yay!!!! What a great way to start a Friday morning!! One of my all-time favorite episodes of All in the Family!! I am really looking forward to this reaction!! Enjoy you all a lot!!😎😎

As an Afro-Latina I am often in circles where purple don't think about whether or not I'm black and say derogatory things about Black people, Black cultureand more. I'm not easily offended, but sometimes it has been jaw dropping the things I've heard. I used to try to ignore it because I didn't know what to say but I learned that people who are willing to make racist jokes ARE racist so I do say something. People get embarrassed. If your embarrassed don't say embarrassing, racist crap. Fun and games is fine. We can all make fun of each other's cultures or people sometimes in jest with close friends. But there is a line. People know what that is.

Stretch Cunningham did a couple of episodes. He was Archie’s best friend hd got his nick name as he was a very tall and skinny guy who told bad jokes.

The writing of this show was AMAZING and Carroll O’Connor’s acting was superb.

It's interesting to hear your commentaries. Back in those days, when your buddies or friends made fun of you or your ethnicity, it meant they liked and accepted you. Humor was a bonding agent that allowed us to lightheartedly understand our differences. Today's world is too stiff.

Archie Bunker, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son etc... These are comedies that were real and raw and we weren't offended. We could all laugh together and move on without getting butt hurt and needing safe spaces. Man I miss those days.

Norman Lear, creator of "All in the Family", "The Jeffersons", and "Maude" passed away today at 101. RIP.

This one hit in so many ways....good & bad. I wish more people would be open to watching this show. They had great writers on this show & were blessed with great actors as well. This show was a blessing in & of itself. We need shows like this now....more than ever!

RIP Norman Lear (July 27, 1922 - December 5, 2023) 🙏

RIP Norman Lear! 🙏. I feel fortunate to have grown up watching the shows created by you! They helped everyone in different ways....God Bless You!

The writing of this show was AMAZING and Carroll O’Connor’s acting was superb. The guy who played Stretch is still alive.

The round table discussion after is wonderfully inciteful. Norman Lear's magic touched off many, many discussions in households across the country. Grew up watching this as a kid in the 70's. Saturday night was the gold standard of tv with All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart followed by The Carol Burnett Show. Amazing.

I watched this episode in the 1970s, and I have seen it many times. I just realized from this clip that Stretch's widow looks a lot like Stretch. That's funny. Stretch was played by the actor James Cromwell.

The acting and writing for this show was impecable.

So sad to hear that Norman Lear the creator of All in the Family just passed away

RIP Norman Lear. Thank you and bless you for giving us Archie Bunker. Study him and you learn the whole Maga playbook.

Edith was always able to see the world in the purest and simplest way. She saw people as they were.

Joke. I see this guy in a Spanish neighborhood outside of this apartment building constantly. So I asked him are you Spanish, do you live here? He said No I am half Polish half Jewish, I am the janitor but I own the building.

Back in the day, we were not as sensitive as people are now. We could laugh at ourselves and our friends because we knew that we all have our "quirks". But now it is all so personal and serious because we are all so insecure. Like the comment about "man-splane" by that chick.

I once made a comment about the heritage of someone I worked with and liked very much. The word I used for that partucular group of people was what I had heard my whole life. She didn't get offended. She was so gracious. She just informed me that the term was deragotory. I wanted to crawl in a hole. I apologized profusely to her. I truly thought the word I used was a legitimate name for people of her heritage. She taught me a great lesson that day. I need to put my brain in gear before putting my mouth in motion! Never assume that what you believe to be true is true. Thank you, Jennifer. RIP🙏

Hey guys everyone has had their Archie Bunker moments, that’s why we forgive others for their offenses. I’m a 70 year old man and you young folks make me proud and give me peace in my heart that everything will be fine, despite the lunacy and the mess that my generation has laid on all of you . The generation of teens who are becoming adults are phenomenal and they are the ones who will save us from our past mistakes. Anyway, I love watching and listening to you all reacting to something that I experienced when I was your age. May God bless all of you and your KZfaq channel too. You guys keep making them and I will keep watching them. Later

Just found your channel today boy do these shows bring me back to my childhood i remember coming home from school and turning on the tv and wed watch all in the family ,good times the jeffersons Another good one is welcome back kotter , also growing pains with mike sever ,happy days, they just don't make tv shows like these anymore.. nice seeing the younger generation enjoying these classic shows. Glad i found your channel

Caroll O’Connor was a master at "dramedy" (comedy/drama). DT picked up on that right away. 😁

Carroll O'Connell was hilarious as Archie and was an all out great actor. He played as such a prejudice northern biggot in All in the Family. But then he later stared on IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT having a more serious role as a Southern Law Officer with a black partner. He played such a great role in both characters that unless you done some digging you really couldn't tell if he was actually from the north or from the south lol.. He was truly one of the greats !

Caroll O'Connor could tell a story just by raising an eyebrow.

A detail that was kind of thrown away was his original birth name as a character was not Cunnigham. Think about the time the Holocaust had just happened and in the postwar period Jews starting their lives after the war might have felt a need to Anglicize their names and conceal or abandon their Jewishness to pass as Christian or non religious, possibly fearful that Jews might be singled out again. The Cunnigham character probably lived a life of passing much like light skinned blacks or masculine closeted gay men or feminine closeted lesbians. The impact on Archie of the weight of knowing stretch was scared to share his Jewishness with others was there in Carroll O’Connell’s portrayal of Archie. Audiences who knew Jewish survivors knew the pain of Jews who survived the war afraid to be themselves living emotionally isolated existences. A whole generation lived with a bag packed looking over their shoulder even if the closest they got to the camps was as a US GI stationed there fearing Nazi capture.

Yes, we were just as shocked then as we still are today. We never knew what he was going to say on the show, the counter part show was the Jefferson's. Each week everyone was waiting for the next show of each. It was shocking but we knew there were some people that were like that, and we wanted to see it and be kinda shocked. The thing was, as it is now, those people were just actors playing a part, they were just everyday people making a living as an actor/actress.

Caroll should get an Oscar just for the dialogue delivery and acting in this one scene. Absolutely amazing.

Luv watching you guys discuss things through these clips of things I've always loved! You're all very attractive on the eyes as well😉 Btw, LOVE "The Lost Boys" too! Total classic🤗

"Let's bring down the temperature in here" says the guy wearing the winter hat inside

It’s just been reported that Norman Lear, creator of tons of television shows has passed at the age of 101. Your reaction…

Archie Bunker was and is an American icon. America was real, bold and great in the 70's

Rip Norman Lear. Enjoying your reactions. 😊

A few decades ago, when I was young, I used to go clubbing with a bunch of my straight buddies- all of whom had a great sense of humor and nothing was off limits. When I told them I was gay, the first words out of their mouths was sometimes, "Oh my God, I hope I never said anything that offended you." I always told them, "No, everybody loves a good joke. I know you wouldn't offend me intentionally. I know your heart. Don't ever worry about offending me." Those people remained friends for years after - and some are still close friends. People have to be free to be themselves, to play around, to see the humanity in one another but not take anything too seriously. The minute people have to watch what they say to their friends "for fear of offending" is the minute that friendships stop growing. You can never get to know someone well if they feel they have to be careful about what they say. To all people who are being trained to think that courtesy is more important than honesty, love and friendship: Think again. The gift of allowing people to be themselves without fear of hurting you is probably the gift that will come back to you seven-fold. Relax. What is most important is that they be allowed to be themselves.

over the course of the show, we got to see archie evolve, and we got to see the other characters evolve, for instance we got to see his liberal son in law Mike get a little bit more conservative on some things after he finished school and started working, and archie get more understanding and soften up. The episode where archie beat the butcher up for insulting his housekeeper who was black, that was a great episode, little evolution for Archies character. The episode where archie went after the KKK is another one worth checking out. Archie they threaten to burn a cross in archies neighborhood, and archie threatens them, they call him out on it, he tells them he and his brothers would be down to speak with the KKK then....see archie had surgery in an earlier season and he had blood given to him from a black man so now he's sure he's part black.

I have been watching this show since the 70's. This comedy wouldn't work today. It worked for Archie because he was clueless and didn't know any better. They are people I have met like him still.

Back in the day my friends n I used to diss each other constantly about race in a joking friends way. We never got insulted, it was never malicious. That's missing today cuz jokes like that diffuse tensions & take power away from slurs. The censorship of comedians has made tensions rise & given power back to bad racial words even to the point ppl get offended no matter the context.

Love this show, by the way. Always have. By the way, I apologize if you don't recognize me because of my new account. This is Paul. (Hi Joe, DT, Holly, hola Felipe.) It's always cool seeing how you guys enjoy shows I grew up on. Love the channel.

They should have came in early when a relative came to the Bunker's yo ask Archie to say some words at the ceremony. When the family member left, Archie says to Edith "I don't know, I've never delivered the "UROLOGY" before!

I would love to see you watch a 70s show called Soap. One of my all time favorites. It is about two families and all the interesting people in it, there is a son in the mob, a son who is gay, a son who lives through his ventriloquist dummy, an old man with dementia, a flighty mom, a dad who things he is invisible, a dad who murdered someone, a sarcastic butler, a possessed baby, and the list goes on. It was easiest to search for it by putting “best of Soap the tv show” otherwise you will just get stuff about different soaps. Lol

~ O’Conner was a highly respected film character actor for quite a while before accepting this role. One of the most difficult character portrayals in television history to have successfully pulled off. One of those shows that wouldn’t have worked at all without just the right actor, which they had ~

Watched this all time. Great job reacting

As a millennial, I have noticed that my generation is much more "woke" than previous generations. We get so offended at every single little thing today that we can't even coexist with other people. I'm NOT saying that we need to laugh when someone uses the "n" word to refer to someone who's of African descent, but I AM saying that if a Baby Boomer says something about another racial group or says something that is "sexist" by today's standards that we simply smile awkwardly and let it go. We have to remember that things were very different in the past, and that it's very difficult for some people to accept change. On the flip side of the coin, due to globalization, we now live in a country where many different people from many different countries call the U.S. "home." Consequently, we have to remember that some of those people may not be accustomed to hearing jokes that make fun of other nationalities, religions, etc., and it's always a good idea to refrain from making those types of jokes in their presence.

I really enjoy watching your reactions to and appreciation of these old shows. I’m so glad you understand that it’s poking fun at racism and talking about it without talking about it. I hope you understand what I mean. It made people think even if they didn’t speak. 🇨🇦🖖🏻

Pretty sure Archie's friend didn't tell anyone he was Jewish because he wouldn't have wanted them to look at him differently. To spark prejudice or bias at work. It was (is) a real thing.

"Stretch" was usually a nickname for a tall guy

Stretch Cunningham was a recurring character played by James Cromwell, who later gained renown for playing the farmer in Babe and Prince Phillip in The Queen.

I'm shocked she mentioned The Little Rascals!!!! Great show!!

This show was from the 1970s. The character of stretch had already had changed his last name. Three decades earlier was the holocaust. Maybe he was connected in someway. He was hiding his identity from his coworkers. Maybe he was afraid. It was a different time. Layers in the writing of this show…RIP Norman Lear

One more... the Vincent Price episode on the Carol Burnett Show where he ends with the Declaration of Independence.

Watch Archie's bicentennial minute hallarious

Social pressure is easy to let go of when You are *very* comfortable with Yourself. *Sometimes* years of experience are required before arriving at that.

Hey, if you haven't already done it, find the skit "the interrogator" from the Carol Burnett show. It's for us folks. It is hilarious

With "All in the Family," Norman Lear influenced tens of millions of people to have a more open mind and to realize that we are all the same underneath our skin color. THAT is world-changing influence.

Hey guys, just a thought. You should watch Archie turn into a southern sheriff as he portrys a tottaly different role. I believe he is one of the greatest charther actors of all time.

Great time period comedy, only once never again. Brilliant writing

There is a video of the actress thst played archies wife at a rave with Alice Cooper wearing a leather thingy, so there's that

Norman Lear passed away at 101 he created All in the Family

So many clips out there of All in the Family have comments showing that some don’t really get the point of the show. It wasn’t to say, “Making jokes about race is all in fun, don’t be so woke.” The point of Archie was to point out how stupid and ridiculous it was to think the way he did, and point that out to people. I know back then and later there were some who didn’t like humanizing the bigoted character. But the show grew so much and Archie evolved over the seasons. And the creator Norman Lear and actors like Carroll O’Connor and Rob Reiner were very much liberal. So while they wouldn’t have been “politically correct”, they definitely were not conservatives.

This show was from the 1970s. The character of stretch had already had changed his last name. Three decades earlier was the holocaust. Maybe he was connected in someway. He was hiding his identity from his coworkers. Maybe he was afraid. It was a different time.

~ Bunker was speaking of the decades he spent with Stretch, which would put them back in the WW2 era, at a time when being Jewish was a deadly affair in more weighs than one. It was much more than making fun of an idiosyncratic affectation or most any other religion at the time. Hence, MANY Jews at the time changed their names to avoid trouble ~

People think "Jew you down" is a perfectly acceptable way to say someone's cheap. NOT.

Norman Lear and Caroll O’Connor were both geniuses

Hopefully you will get to know the Stretch Cunningham character, through other episodes. I think I can say that he would've laughed at anything that was meant to be funny. His character wasn't the sharpest glass in the broken window.

Stretch was a tall goofy guy. I think they had some other actor play him once that wasn't as tall The episode I'm thinking is "Archie is Missing". Stretch was played by James Cromwell.

I used to watch these shows when I was little, mostly cause a grown up was already watching it. And…I knew even at 10 years old that Archie was inappropriate, but that was kind of the reason for him. To actually show people how idiotic racism and bigotry really sounds. The fact that your generation finds it so shocking and abnormal proves that progress HAS been made.