Carroll O'Connor Is Still Standing Tall

In 1972, when "All In The Family" was the No. 1 television show in America, the star of that series wouldn't cross the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union picket line to go to work in the CBS studios to tape the show.

Instead, while every other CBS cast (including his "All In The Family" colleagues) crossed the union line, the lead star of the most successful show brought the striking workers coffee and donuts.

And while he was threatened with lawsuits from show producers, actor Carroll O'Connor wouldn't budge.

In the end, the union won.

That is a story not often told, and not widely known. But to the men and women of the IBEW, O'Connor's defiant act is legendary.

For O'Connor, it was simply the right thing to do.

Now, meet the man who refused to cross the picket line and the actor who brought us Archie Bunker.

Those Were The Days
"I was hired before I even met Norman Lear."

Carroll O'Connor, 76, is telling me about how he landed the role of Archie Bunker on "All In The Family" and the producer who brought the show to television.

"I was approached in 1968 and (a producer had) secured the rights to a show that was a big success in England and it was called "To Death Us Do Part," O'Connor says.

"I thought we'd never do a show that outrageous in this country. And I wanted to do something outrageous. I didn't think we'd last a month."

But to O'Connor's surprise, "All In The Family" not only lasted a month, but for nine seasons. "All In The Family" was a huge hit, breaking ratings records while delivering ground breaking television. To this day, television fans of all ages know about Edith, Gloria and Meathead.

But it is the character of Archie Bunker that has been forever etched into the American conscious. O'Connor brought to life the "everyman" with all his foibles and prejudices.

And in the process, he made us laugh.

For his work, O'Connor garnered a Golden Globe and four Emmy Awards. After "All In The Family" went off the air, he would revive this character, in the critically acclaimed "Archie Bunker's Place" for four more years.

And why does O'Connor believe viewers responded so enthusiastically to the character?

"Well the public knew what we were doing. They knew this was not a sitcom. I don't think (the average guy) was erudite to know that we were doing a satire. But he knew what he was looking at," O'Connor tells me.

O'Connor does concede, however, that the satirical approach allowed the show to send a strong message about bigotry and in that respect, O'Connor says, "We were kidding the socks off the whole country."

Deep Impact
After "All In The Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place," O'Connor continued to act, direct, and produce.

In 1988, O'Connor launched his third highly popular series, the drama "In The Heat of the Night." O'Connor played Bill Gillispie, a sheriff in a small southern town.

"I'm very pleased with the work I did on 'In the Heat of the Night,'" O'Connor says of the series, which ran from 1988 to 1993 and can still be seen in syndication on TNT.

"Like 'All In The Family,' it had meaning," O'Connor said of the show. "And meaning for American society."

O'Connor won his fifth Emmy and a NAACP Image Award for his work on the show.

Does he believe that his groundbreaking shows have changed society the way in which he had hoped?

"No. People say that it had some effect on bigotry and racism. But racism seems to be acute now as ever and maybe more. I don't think we changed anything," O'Connor says.

Back To Business
After more than 30 years in the spotlight, O'Connor is still hard at work. He is currently starring in the charming, good old-fashioned romantic comedy "Return To Me."

"Return To Me" is about a grandfather (O'Connor) intent on setting up his granddaughter (Minnie Driver) with a guy who has recently lost his wife in a car accident (David Duchovny).

"(Bonnie Hunt) wrote this part for me," O'Connor tells me. "An Irish man who own this restaurant in Chicago and he's got an Italian partner so they call it O'Reilly's Italian Restaurant."

Hunt wrote the script, acted, and directed the film.

"(She's) one of the most gifted and talented women in the business today," O'Connor says of Hunt.

"She's a find and I'm told that Fox has signed her to a multiple picture deal and I think they're very shrewd," O'Connor tells me. "She's a helluva director and a helluva creative girl."

No arguments here.

And what about co-stars Duchovny and Driver?

"David Duchovny, a lovely actor" will be one of the leading men of our time, O'Connor says.

And he tells me that Minnie Driver is "a gem."

Remembering You
After five Emmy Awards and a place in American popular history, what is O'Connor most proud of?

"The work that I've done on television including one of two television movies that I'm very fond of," O'Connor says.

Specifically, he says, "A version of 'The Last Hurrah,' a novel by Edwin O'Connor who's a distant cousin of mine. I wrote a version of that. I think that's my best work."

And what's the best thing about being Carroll O'Connor?

"Oh, I'm here, in spite of all my operations and everything else," he jokes. "I've been operated so many times in the last few years, you can call me Mac The Knife. I thank God I'm here."

We do, too.

What's The Buzz?

Eye Khandi: Catch the HBO miniseries starring the venerable actress Khandi Alexander. "The Corner" started Sunday night and will run six nights. The buzz is exceptionally good about her performance.

Suddenly Sirtis: The delightful actress Marina Sirtis tells me that she's flying to Vancouver to tape an episode of the syndicated series "Stargate." The actress best known for her role as Deanna Troi of "Star Trek" fame will play a Russian scientist. (Read my interview with her.)

Heap of Faith: Hollywood gossip maven Kitty Wibaux called me to say "don't bother." That is, don't bother seeing "Keeping The Faith" starring Ben Stiller, Jenna Elfman, and Ed Norton. But even the outstanding star-studded cast can't save the movie from predictability. Wibaux says she had a hard time keeping awake, let alone the faith, through this (way too long) snoozer.

Heaven Sent: Heard from actress Cloris Leachman that she's off to start filming a new feature called "Manna From Heaven." The deal isn't final yet, but Jennifer Tilly and Ed Asner are expected to star with her. Leachman was most recently in "Hanging Up" and "Music of the Heart." Seven-time Emmy winner (the last in 1998) and Best-Supporting Oscar winner Leachman is still my number one gal because she was the first star featured in this column.

Star Grazing