A Tribute to Jean Stapleton: Edith Bunker, May You Rest in Peace

     I read with sadness that Jean Stapleton, acclaimed actress and star of the groundbreaking All in the Family, died yesterday (Saturday, June 1, 2013).  Although she was 90 years old and she, without a doubt, left her mark on American pop culture, Stapleton's passing leaves a whole in my heart as well as that of Hollywood.

     All in the Family dared to go where no one had gone before.  Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker was a classic bigot who said things no one dared to say.  The show was classic, one of the best comedies of all time with Stapleton's Edith foiling O'Connor's Archie in a way that made Archie lovable.

    The show itself is a great example of the times.  The series ran from 1971 to 1979, with its premiere coinciding with the ending of the Vietnam era and marking the beginning of the public's disillusionment and questioning of traditional norms and government policies.  Merely a year after the show premiered, America faced the Watergate scandal, further questioning the morals and trustworthiness of government officials, especially since the top official was at the root of the Watergate scandal.  Archie epitomized the WASP attitude and his character's bluntness, bigotry, and ultra-conservative views were portrayed humorously in a way that allowed America to poke fun at those outdated traditional views that blindly trusted governmental policies as well as feared changes brought about by Civil Rights of the previous decade.

     Enter Edith Bunker, played so brilliantly by Jean Stapleton.  Edith, often called "Dingbat" by her husband, was the perfect foil to Archie's bigot.  She was often deemed naive and too-trusting, but she had a better insight into the human spirit than any other character on that show, including liberal daughter, Gloria and her ultra-liberal husband, nicknamed Meathead.    "No one gave more profound 'how to be a human being' lessons than Jean Stapleton," said Norman Lear, who produced and directed "All in the Family." "Goodbye Edith, darling" (CNN.com).

     So, in a final tribute to Jean Stapleton, aka Edith Bunker:

Boy the way Glen Miller played 

Songs that made the hit parade. 

Guys like us we had it made, 

Those were the days. 

And you knew who you were then, 

Girls were girls and men were men, 

Mister we could use a man 

Like Herbert Hoover again. 

Didn't need no welfare state, 

Everybody pulled his weight. 

Gee our old LaSalle ran great. 

Those were the days.