Carroll O'Connor facts for kids

Carroll O'Connor was a famous American actor, producer, and director. He had a long career in television that lasted over 40 years! He is best known for playing Archie Bunker in the popular TV shows All in the Family (from 1971 to 1979) and its follow-up, Archie Bunker's Place (from 1979 to 1983). For his role as Archie, he won four Emmy Awards, which are big awards for TV shows.

Later, O'Connor starred as Police Chief William "Bill" Gillespie in the crime drama In the Heat of the Night (1988–1995). Near the end of his career, he played Gus Stemple on the show Mad About You. He won a total of five Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards during his amazing career.

Early Life and Education

Carroll O'Connor was born in Manhattan, New York City, on August 2, 1924. He was the oldest of three sons. His father, Edward Joseph O'Connor, was a lawyer, and his mother, Elise Patricia O'Connor, was a teacher. Carroll spent a lot of his childhood in Queens, New York, which is the same area where his famous character Archie Bunker would later live.

He went to Newtown High School. In 1941, he started at Wake Forest University, but he left when the United States joined World War II. During the war, he served in the United States Merchant Marine, which is a group of civilian ships that carry goods.

After the war, O'Connor attended the University of Montana. He worked as an editor for the student newspaper, Montana Kaimin. He even quit his job there to protest when the school administration tried to stop a cartoon that criticized the Board of Education. At the university, he also acted in student plays. This is where he met Nancy Fields, who later became his wife. She worked on makeup and lighting for a play he was in.

O'Connor left the University of Montana to help his younger brother go to medical school in Ireland. While there, Carroll finished his own studies at University College Dublin, graduating in 1952. He studied Irish history and English literature, and that's where he began his acting career. In 1951, he married Nancy Fields in Dublin. He later returned to the University of Montana to earn a master's degree in speech.

Becoming an Actor

After performing in plays in Dublin and New York in the 1950s, Carroll O'Connor got his big break. He was cast in a play on Broadway based on the book Ulysses.

O'Connor started acting on television in the early 1960s. He appeared in many popular TV shows like Bonanza, The Fugitive, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Mission: Impossible. He often played different kinds of characters, showing his range as an actor.

He also appeared in several movies during the 1960s and early 1970s. These included Cleopatra (1963) and Kelly's Heroes (1970). In many of his film roles, he played military or police officers.

All in the Family

Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton as Archie and Edith Bunker in All in the Family, 1973

In 1968, a producer named Norman Lear asked O'Connor to star in a new TV show. This show became All in the Family. O'Connor was chosen to play Archie Bunker, a character with strong, sometimes old-fashioned, views. The show was set in Queens, New York, just like where O'Connor grew up.

Carroll O'Connor didn't think the show would be a big hit. He even asked for a return plane ticket to Italy in case it failed! But he was wrong. All in the Family became one of the most watched shows on American television for five years in a row.

Even though O'Connor's own beliefs were different from Archie's, he played the character with humor and also showed his human side. The show often talked about important issues of the 1970s, like different cultures, equality, and politics. Archie Bunker became very popular, making O'Connor a huge star.

O'Connor was nominated for eight Emmy Awards for his role as Archie Bunker and won four times. His co-stars included Jean Stapleton as his wife Edith, Rob Reiner as his son-in-law Michael, and Sally Struthers as his daughter Gloria. Rob Reiner later said that O'Connor taught him a lot about acting and how important a good story is for actors.

Archie Bunker's Place and In the Heat of the Night

After nine seasons, All in the Family ended, but the story continued with Archie Bunker's Place. This show ran for four more years. Jean Stapleton, who played Edith, appeared in a few episodes before her character passed away from a stroke. This left Archie to deal with the loss. The show ended in 1983.

O'Connor then starred in another successful TV series, In the Heat of the Night. He played Police Chief Bill Gillespie, a tough police officer in a small town in Mississippi. The show started on NBC in 1988. O'Connor even cast his son, Hugh O'Connor, as Officer Lonnie Jamison in the show.

In 1989, O'Connor had heart surgery and had to miss some episodes. He later became one of the show's producers. The series moved to CBS in 1992 and ended in 1994. O'Connor continued to play Chief Gillespie in four TV movies that followed the series.

Career Honors

Carroll O'Connor received many awards and honors throughout his career:

• He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1972 for All in the Family.
• He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times (1972, 1977, 1978, 1979) for All in the Family.
• He won a Peabody Award in 1980 for an episode of Archie Bunker's Place called "Archie Alone."
• He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1989 for In the Heat of the Night.
• He also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1989 for In the Heat of the Night.
• In 1990, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame for his contributions to television.
• He received NAACP Image Awards in 1992 and 1993 for In the Heat of the Night.

Carroll O'Connor is the only male actor to have won the main acting Emmy Award in both comedy and drama TV series categories. In March 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal Life

In 1962, while filming in Rome, Carroll O'Connor and his wife Nancy Fields O'Connor adopted a baby boy. They named him Hugh O'Connor, after Carroll's brother who had passed away a year earlier. Hugh later worked on the set of Archie Bunker's Place and then played a role on In the Heat of the Night alongside his father.

Carroll O'Connor was a devoted Catholic. In 1989, after having heart surgery, he stopped smoking, a habit he had for 30 years.

In the late 1990s, O'Connor opened a small shop that restored classic cars. He owned several special cars himself, including a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and a Dodge Challenger.

In 1997, the O'Connors donated $1 million to their old university, the University of Montana. The university named a special center, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, in their honor. Carroll O'Connor also taught screenwriting there.

Death

Carroll O'Connor's grave

Carroll O'Connor passed away on June 21, 2001, at the age of 76. He died in Culver City, California, from a heart attack caused by complications from diabetes. His funeral was held at a Catholic church in Westwood, California. Many of his co-stars and friends attended, including Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers from All in the Family, and Larry Hagman, his best friend. Actor Martin Sheen gave a speech at the funeral.

O'Connor was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. His son Hugh's name is also on his gravestone. To honor his career, the TV channel TV Land showed a continuous marathon of All in the Family episodes. His wife, Nancy Fields O'Connor, passed away in 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

As Other

Author

• I Think I'm Outta Here (1999) - This was his autobiography, a book about his own life.

Accolades

Emmy Awards

Golden Globes

Walk of Fame

Images for kids

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  O'Connor as Archie Bunker in 1975

See also

In Spanish: Carroll O'Connor para niños