Background:

“I enjoyed in every way my 12 years of playing Archie, and I wasn't personally sad about finishing a long job.” Carroll O'Connor  

American actor, producer and director Carroll O'Connor, born 1924, died in 2001, became famous for playing Archie Bunker on the CBS television sitcoms “All in the Family” (1971- 1979) and “Archie Bunker's Place” (1979-1983). The role brought him four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Peabody Award. He went on to star as Police Chief William (Bill) Gillespie on the NBC/CBS television crime/drama series “In the Heat of the Night” (1988-1995), from which he received an additional Emmy Award. At the end of his career in the late 1990s, O'Connor played recurring roles in “Party of Five” (1996, as Jake Gordon) and “Mad About You” (1996-1999, as Gus Stemple). O'Connor was named one of TV Guide's “50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time” in 1996. On March 17, 2000, he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame thanks to his great contribution to television.  

O'Connor was married to wife Nancy O'Connor from July 28, 1951 until his death on June  21, 2001. In 1997, the University of Montana graduate couple donated $1 million to the University of Montana's Center for the Rocky Mountain West, a regional studies and public policy institute. In September of that year, the Center was renamed “Carroll and Nancy Fields O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West.”


New Yorker

Childhood and Family:

In Manhattan, New York, on August 2, 1924, John Carroll O'Connor was born the eldest of three sons of Edward Joseph O'Connor, a well-connected lawyer, and Elise Patricia, a school teacher. The family lived well in Forest Hills, a community of Queens, New York before his father ran afoul of the law and was convicted of fraud. O'Connor graduated from Newtown High School in the New York City and continued his studies to Wake Forest University in North Carolina. However, he left school when the United States entered the WW II. Declined by the United States Navy, O'Connor attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, but soon quit to become a merchant seaman. In 1946, he enrolled at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, where he joined as an associate editor for the Montana Kaimin student newspaper until he quit in 1949. While in college, he also became a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.  

After receiving a degree in drama and English from the U of M in 1951, O'Connor married  college sweetheart Nancy Fields in Ireland in that same year on July 28. While continuing his  theatrical studies at the National University of Ireland, O'Connor performed at the Dublin Gate Theater and the Edinburgh Festival. He went on to work in theater in Europe until 1954 when he returned to New York City. Two years later, he returned to Missoula to earn a master's degree in speech. O'Connor spent some time at the Juilliard School of Fine Arts as an acting and dialogue professor.

On March 18, 1995, his only son, Hugh O'Connor, died as a result of suicide after a long battling with cocaine addiction. He was speaking with his father at the time. O'Connor did a public service announcement shortly before his death about the perils of drug abuse. After his son's death, O'Connor appeared in public service announcements for Partnership for a Drug Free America and worked tirelessly to raise awareness about drug addiction for the rest of his life. He played a significant  part in the passage of the Drug Dealers Civil Liability Act in California, which states that citizens can sue drug dealers whom they feel are responsible for the drug-related deaths of family members.  

“Nothing will give me any peace. I've lost a son. And I'll go to my grave without any peace over that.” Carroll O'Connor

O'Connor, who underwent open heart surgery in 1989 as a result of a long time cigar smoking, had a second surgery in 1998 to clear the blockage in a cardiac artery in order to reduce his risk of stroke.

On June 21, 2001, O'Connor died in Culver City, California from heart attack brought on by complications from diabetes. He is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery with his son Hugh's monument placed on his grave stone.    


In the Heat of the Night

Career:

Carroll O'Connor, who once wanted to become a journalist, decided to turn to the acting profession after a trip to Dublin in 1950. While studying at a Dublin college, he started working in productions of the Gate Theatre Company as well as played Shakespearean roles at the Edinburgh Festival. Arriving back in New York in 1954, O'Connor worked as a substitute schoolteacher for several years while trying to find acting work. His persistence paid off in 1958 when he landed a role in an Off Broadway production of “Ulysses In Nighttown.” Lured by his favorable performance on the show, he then was cast in what would be his breakthrough role of a domineering, greedy studio boss in an Off-Broadway production of Clifford Odets' “The Big Knife” (1959).

Early 1960s saw O'Connor begin taking television jobs with episodic credits on such shows as “Sunday Showcase,” “The United States Steel Hour,” “Adventures in Paradise,” “Armstrong Circle Theatre,” “Play of the Week,” “The Americans,” “The Untouchables,” “Death Valley Days,” “The Dick Powell Theatre,” “Bonanza,” “The Defender,” “The Outer Limits,” and others. He made his feature film debut as Matt Keenan in “A Fever in the Blood” (1961), a drama starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Angie Dickinson and Jack Kelly. He followed it up with appearances in “Parrish” (1961, starred Claudette Colbert, Troy Donahue and Karl Malden), “By Love Possessed” (1961), “Lonely Are the Brave” (1962) and “Lad: A Dog” (1962) before landing the co-starring role of Servilius Casca in the Joseph L. Mankiewicz  directed epic “Cleopatra” (1963), starring Elizabeth Taylor. Chronicling the struggles of Cleopatra VII, the young Queen of Egypt, to defy the imperialist ambitions of Rome, the film was a critical failure but managed to win four Academy Awards in the categories of Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Color and Best Effects, Special Visual Effects. The same year, the actor also had first television pilot with the unsuccessful Rory Calhoun starring vehicle “Luxury Liner” for NBC. After notable roles in John Boorman's “Point Blank” (1967, played Brewster) and Andrew V. McLaglen's action/war movie“The Devil's Brigade” (1968), O'Connor made his television movie debut in “Fear No Evil” (NBC), co-starring opposite Louis Jourdan and Lynda Day George.

Following guest spots in many other television shows like “Profiles in Courage,” “Dr. Kildare,” “Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre,” “The Wild Wild West,” “Mission: Impossible” and “Gunsmoke,” O'Connor eventually scored a big break on television when he was cast in the leading role of Archie Bunker, a working-class World War II veteran, on the CBS sitcom “All in the Family,” which was created by Norman Lear (based on the British TV show “Till Death Us Do Part,” created by Johnny Speight). Premiered on January 12, 1971, the show was a ratings success, reaching the top spot  in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976 and remaining in the top 10 for eight of its nine seasons. The show ended on April 8, 1979. Delivering a superb acting, O'Connor won a Golden Globe for Best TV Actor – Musical/Comedy (1972) and four Emmys in the categories of Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series (1972) and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1977, 1978 and 1979).

O'Connor continued to add a few film credits to his resume, such as “Kelly's Heroes” (1970), “Doctors' Wives” (1971) and “Law and Disorder” (1974), which marked his last feature film in nearly three decades. In 1971, the actor was spotted singing and dancing in the television special “Of Thee I Sing” (CBS). In 1975, O'Connor created and executive produced the television series “Bronk” (CBS), starring Jack Palance. The show received three Emmy nominations. He went on to executive produce the made for television movies “The Banana Company” (1977), “The Last Hurrah” (1977), which he also wrote and starred in, and “Bender” (1979).   

O'Connor again played Archie Bunker in the spin off and continuation show “Archie Bunker's Place,” which ran for four seasons from September 23, 1979 to April 4, 1983. He was handed the Peabody Personal Award in 1981 for his performance in the episode “Edith's Death.” In addition to acting, O'Connor also served as story editor as well as wrote and directed episodes.

In 1983, O'Connor returned to New York when he made his Broadway debut in “Brothers” at the Music Box Theatre. Two years later, he starred in “Home Front” at the Royale Theatre, New York. He also co-wrote, executive produced and starred in the made for television film “Brass” (1985).  Back to Hollywood, O'Connor wrote and directed the short lived sitcom “The Redd Foxx Show” (ABC, 1986), which ended after four months on air.

In 1988, O'Connor returned to series television as a regular on the crime/drama series “In the Heat of the Night,” executive produced by Fred Silverman, Juanita Bartlett, and O'Connor. Starring O'Connor as the white police chief William Gillespie, and Howard Rollins as the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs, the show aired on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995. He picked up a 1989 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and five Golden Globe nominations in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Drama for his wok on the series.  O'Connor also portrayed  William Gillespie in a series of television films like “In the Heat of the Night: Give Me Your Life” (1994), “In the Heat of the Night: A Matter of Justice” (1994), “In the Heat of the Night: Who Was Geli Bendl?” (1994), “In the Heat of the Night: By Duty Bound” (1995) and “In the Heat of the Night: Grow Old Along with Me” (1995).  

In 1996, O'Connor joined the cast of the Fox acclaimed series “Party of Five” in the recurring role of Jake Gordon (six episodes). The same year, he also began a recurring role as Gus Stemple,  Jamie Stemple Buchman's father, on the NBC sitcom “Mad About You” (4 episodes, until 1999). He next co-starred with Treat Williams and Kim Cattrall in the TNT original television movie “36 Hours to Die” (1999), directed by Yves Simoneau, and played Leo Barnes in the television movie “Gideon” (1999), opposite Christopher Lambert and Charlton Hestono.

Prior to his death, O'Connor was cast as Marty O'Reilly in “Return to Me” (2000), a romantic movie directed by Bonnie Hunt and starring David Duchovny as Bob and Minnie Driver as Grace. The film debuted at No. 4 at the North American box office with $7.8 million in its opening weekend, and went on to earn a total of $32,662,299.  
    

Awards:

Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, “In the Heat of the Night,” 1989
Peabody: Personal Award, “Archie Bunker's Place,” 1981
Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, “All in the Family,” 1979
Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, “All in the Family,” 1978
Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, “All in the Family,” 1977
Emmy: Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series, “All in the Family,” 1972
Golden Globe: Best TV Actor – Musical/Comedy, “All in the Family,” 1972 Show Less