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Jackie Gleason and Carroll O'Connor wrote to each other about the similarities between Ralph Kramden and Archie Bunker
The two TV heavyweights had a real-life crossover.
Do you know the saying, "History doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes"? It's a great pair of glasses to view the world in. One of life's biggest lessons is that nothing is exactly the same twice, but sometimes things can feel so familiar it's like you're putting a mirror up to your own memories.
We were lucky enough to watch history rhyme when, in 1971, just 15 years after we said goodbye to Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners, we were introduced to Archie Bunker in Norman Lear's All in the Family. The two characters share a number of traits that make both of them memorable; Archie and Ralph are both quick to anger, known for their outbursts and overconfidence and aren't afraid to share their opinions (loudly, if necessary).
These similarities were visible to viewers and fans, but it also wasn't lost on the actors themselves. As discussed in the book Archie & Edith, Mike & Gloria: The Tumultuous History of All in the Family by Donna McCrohan, actors Carroll O'Connor and Jackie Gleason understood that the two men were more alike than different, so much so that they actually chatted about it at one point.
According to an article in The Washington Post, Carroll O'Connor wrote to Jackie Gleason regarding his role in All in the Family and the inspiration that Gleason had served in his portrayal of Bunker. O'Connor apparently wrote, "I know I am doing some of the things you did." Gleason responded to O'Connor, and wrote, "I wish I had done some of the things you're doing."
While both characters are entertaining to watch and laugh at, the creators of All in the Family and The Honeymooners, Norman Lear and Jackie Gleason, respectively, ensured that these characters weren't so wild that they became too theatrical. Moreover, both creators were also sure to point out that, like everyone, Kramden and Bunker both had moments where they could be downright tolerable.
While O'Connor was basing his portrayal of Bunker on Ralph Kramden, Lear was writing the character based on his own father. Lear once said of his father, "I could never forgive him for being a bigot. But I found there were other things to love him for." So while Archie Bunker obviously isn't a carbon copy of Ralph Kramden, it's interesting to find that there are slivers of similarity to other people in the character's journey throughout the series, both fictional and real.
16 Comments
That's a hilarious way to look at the two characters! Ralph Kramden never got into any political discussions with either wife Alice, or good friend Ed. He was mostly into getting tricked (or bad luck) into some get-rich-quick scheme. It was Archie who spouted the political lines (some outdated now with Nixon then the president), that he loved. One of my favorite and funniest lines said by Archie was on the gun control discussion with his family. Archie said this after daughter Gloria said something about needing more control: "Would you be happier if they were pushed out of windows?!" Hey, a murder is a murder, the "weapon" is not that important, it is the mindset of the murderer who will use any type of way to kill someone he wants to murder. So, Archie had a good point. The same for knife murders, baseball-bat murders, car murders, etc. Murder is murder, so as in car murders, nobody blames or demands "car controls." So, why is the inanimate object (only the gun) highlighted [by loony left-wing wackos, who demand only government owns them--contrary to the desire of liberty and the U.S. Constitution] when other inanimate (i.e., no-brain objects that can't do anything without a human) things are not blamed? Nothing special about a gun, just as in a knife, a car, a scarf (strangulation), a baseball bat, etc.!
There are no “car controls”. I don’t need a license to drive a car, the car doesn’t have to be registered….
Oh, wait….
25 years would put it at approximately the year 2000. A glaring miscalculation. When they should've added, what, another 50 years to the calculation. Irrespective of "Specials" wasn't the Series in its heyday, in the Fifties. Which would represent the true mindset of those times (rather than even the Seventies being quite different in perspective).
Gleason, on the other hand, presented a novel approach to (physical) comedy. Through gestures, expressions, euphemisms, assumptions, and a whole array of (very quickly) revolving emotions. The real difference was in how close the Ralph Kramden character bordered on spousal abuse. Again, the comedic approach was supposed to excuse his character flaw. Meaning with a (shallow) hug and a kiss or his profession of love at the very end. But seldom within the episode itself. Which definitely made Alice to be the long suffering spouse trapped with Kramden who seldom suffered much (if any) consequence. Except a dent to his pride, or a financial setback. Audiences of the times were very forgiving, and prejudiced towards male (familial) supremacy. As if the Writers back then, couldn't think any differently. This premise required very talented and comically talented actors to pull off, well. Meaning they have to be extremely likeable, so that audiences would keep rooting for them to succeed!