 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Carroll O'Connor" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Carroll O'Connor | |
|---|---|
 O'Connor asArchie Bunker in 1975 | |
| Born | John Carroll O'Connor (1924-08-02)August 2, 1924 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 21, 2001(2001-06-21) (aged 76) Culver City, California, U.S. |
| Burial place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | United States Merchant Marine Academy,University College Dublin (BA), University of Montana (MA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950–2001 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Hugh O'Connor |
John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor whose television career spanned over four decades. He found widespread fame asArchie Bunker (for which he won fourEmmy Awards), the main character in theCBS television sitcomsAll in the Family (1971–1979) and its continuation,Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983). He later starred in theNBC/CBS televisioncrime dramaIn the Heat of the Night (1988–1995), where he played the role of police chief William "Bill" Gillespie. In the late 1990s, he played Gus Stemple, the father of Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) onMad About You. In 1996, O'Connor was ranked number 38 onTV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[1] He won five Emmys and oneGolden Globe Award.
Carroll O'Connor, the eldest of three sons, was born on August 2, 1924, inManhattan,[2] New York, to Edward Joseph O'Connor,[3] a lawyer, and his wife, Elise Patricia O'Connor (née O'Connor), a teacher. Both of his brothers became doctors: Hugh, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1961, and Robert, a psychiatrist in New York City.[2] O'Connor spent much of his youth inElmhurst andForest Hills, Queens.[4]
O'Connor graduated fromNewtown High School in Elmhurst. In 1941, he enrolled atWake Forest University in North Carolina but dropped out when the United States enteredWorld War II. During the war, he was rejected by theUnited States Navy and enrolled in theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy for a short time. After leaving that institution, he became a merchant seaman and served in theUnited States Merchant Marine during the war.[5]
After the war, O'Connor attended theUniversity of Montana, where he worked at theMontana Kaimin student newspaper as an editor; in 1949 he resigned his editing position in protest to the pressure from the campus administration that led tothe confiscation and destruction of an issue of the paper, which carried a cartoon depicting theMontana Board of Education as rats gnawing at a bag of university funds. At the University of Montana, he also joined theSigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.[6] O'Connor did not take any drama courses as an undergraduate at the University of Montana, but he did act in student theater productions. He met Nancy Fields (born 1929), who later became his wife, when she was working as a makeup artist and lighting technician in a student-produced production ofOur Town. He later left that university to help his younger brother Hugh get intomedical school in Ireland, where Carroll completed his undergraduate studies atUniversity College Dublin. There he studied Irish history and English literature, graduated in 1952, and began his acting career.[2]
After O'Connor's fiancée, Nancy Fields, graduated from the University of Montana in 1951 with degrees in drama and English, she sailed to Ireland to study atTrinity College Dublin and met Carroll, who was visiting his brother, Hugh.[7] The couple married in Dublin on July 28, 1951.[3] In 1956, O'Connor returned to the University of Montana to earn a master's degree in speech.[7]
After acting in theatrical productions in Dublin and New York during the 1950s, O'Connor's breakthrough came when he was cast by directorBurgess Meredith (assisted byJohn Astin) in a featured role in the Broadway adaptation ofJames Joyce's novelUlysses. O'Connor and Meredith remained close, lifelong friends.[8]
O'Connor made his television acting debut as acharacter actor on two episodes ofSunday Showcase in 1960. These two parts led to other roles on such television series asThe Americans,The Eleventh Hour,Bonanza,The Fugitive,The Wild Wild West,Armstrong Circle Theatre,The Outer Limits,The Great Adventure,The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,Dr. Kildare,I Spy,That Girl,Premiere,Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea andInsight, among many others. O'Connor guest-starred as Josef Varsh in the first season ofMission Impossible, season one, episode 18 "The Trial". Late in his career, he appeared on several episodes ofMad About You as Gus Stemple, the father of Helen Hunt's character.
He was among the actors considered for the roles of the Skipper onGilligan's Island and Dr. Smith in the TV showLost in Space, and he was the visual template in the creation ofBatman nemesisRupert Thorne, a character who debuted at the height ofAll in the Family's success inDetective Comics No. 469 (published May 1976 byDC Comics).
O'Connor appeared in a number of studio films in the 1960s and early 1970s, includingLonely Are the Brave (1962),Cleopatra (1963),In Harm's Way (1965),What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966),Hawaii (1966),Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966),Warning Shot (1967),Point Blank (1967),The Devil's Brigade (1968),For Love of Ivy (1968),Death of a Gunfighter (1969),Marlowe (1969),Kelly's Heroes (1970) andDoctors' Wives (1971). In many of his roles he portrayed a military or police officer, in several a particularly blustery one.
In the 1960s, O'Connor appeared in episodes of notable television series such asThe Americans,The Untouchables,Naked City,Death Valley Days,Bonanza,The Defenders,The Outer Limits,The Fugitive,The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,Ben Casey,Dr. Kildare,I Spy,The Wild Wild West,Mission: Impossible,The Time Tunnel,That Girl andGunsmoke (1966 - "The Wrong Man"; S12E7).
O'Connor also performed in anthology television shows such asNBC Sunday Showcase,The United States Steel Hour,Armstrong Circle Theatre,The Play of the Week,The Dick Powell Show,Alcoa Premiere,The DuPont Show of the Week,Profiles in Courage andBob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre.
O'Connor was living in Italy in 1968 when producerNorman Lear asked him to come toNew York City and star in a series that he was creating for ABC titledJustice for All. Lear recruited O'Connor to play the role of Archie Justice, a bigot who was able to bring forth some measure of empathy from the audience. After twotelevision pilots of the sitcom were produced (between 1968 and 1970), the hosting network was changed to CBS.[9] For the third pilot, the last name of its main character was changed to Bunker, and its title was changed toAll in the Family. The show was based on theBBC'sTill Death Us Do Part, and Bunker was based onAlf Garnett, but he was somewhat less abrasive than the original British character.O'Connor's Queens background and his ability to speak with a working-class New York accent both influenced Lear to set the show in Queens.[10]
Desiring a well known actor to play the lead, Lear approachedMickey Rooney, but he declined the role.[11] O'Connor accepted the role because he did not expect the show to succeed, and he believed that he would move back toEurope when it failed. In her bookArchie & Edith, Mike & Gloria: the Tumultuous History of All in the Family, Donna McCrohan revealed that O'Connor had requested that Lear provide him with a return airplane ticket toRome as a condition of his acceptance of the role so that he could return to Italy when the show failed. Instead,All in the Family became the highest-rated show on American television for five consecutive seasons.
While O'Connor's personal politics were liberal, he understood the Bunker character and played him not only with bombast and humor but with touches of vulnerability. The show's writing was consistently left of center, but O'Connor, while his character held right-wing views, could also deftly skewer the liberal pieties of the day. Bunker was famous for his English languagemalapropisms, but O'Connor was in truth a highly educated and cultured man and taught English before he turned to acting.[12] Archie Bunker's long-suffering wifeEdith was played byJean Stapleton, also from New York City, aBroadway actress whom Lear remembered from the play and filmDamn Yankees. The show also starred then-unknown character actorsRob Reiner as Archie's liberal son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic andSally Struthers as Gloria, Archie and Edith's only child and Mike's wife.
CBS debated whether the controversial subject matter ofAll in the Family would mesh with a sitcom.Racial issues, ethnicities, religions, sexuality, class, education, women's equality, gun control, politics, inflation, the Vietnam War, energy crisis, Watergate and other timely topics of the 1970s were addressed. Like its British predecessorTill Death Us Do Part, the show lent dramatic social substance to the traditional sitcom format. Archie Bunker's popularity made O'Connor a top-billing star of the 1970s. O'Connor was apprehensive of beingtypecast for playing the role, but at the same time he was protective, not just of his character, but of the entire show.[13]
A contract dispute between O'Connor and Lear marred the beginning of the show's fifth season. Eventually O'Connor received a raise and appeared in the series until it ended. For his work as Archie Bunker, he was nominated for eightEmmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; he won the award four times (1972, 1977, 1978 and 1979). At the end of the eighth season in 1978, Reiner and Struthers left the series to pursue other projects.[14]
Rob Reiner said in a 2014 interview about his on- and off-screen chemistry with O'Connor: "We did over 200 shows in front of a live audience. So I learned a lot about what audiences like, what they don't like, how stories are structured. I would spend a lot of time in the writing room and I actually wrote some scripts. And from Carroll O'Connor I learned a lot about how you perform and how important the script and story are for the actors. So the actor doesn't have to push things. You can let the story and the dialogue support you if it's good. I had great people around me, and I took from all the people who were around." Comparing O'Connor's character to Archie Bunker, Reiner said: "Carroll O'Connor brought his humanity to the character even though he had these abhorrent views. He's still a feeling human being. He loved his wife even though he acted the way he did, and he loved his daughter. Those things come out. I don't think anybody's all good or all bad."[15]
WhenAll in the Family ended after nine seasons,Archie Bunker's Place continued in its place and ran for four additional years. Longtime friend and original series star Jean Stapleton appeared as Edith Bunker on the new show, but made only five guest appearances during the first season. Stapleton decided she did not want to continue in the role, and in the second-season premiere, it was revealed that her character had died of a stroke, leaving Archie to cope with the loss. At the time, O'Connor was receiving $200,000 an episode, making him one of the highest paid stars on television.[16] The show was canceled in 1983. O'Connor was angered about the show's cancellation, maintaining that the show ended with an inappropriate finale.[citation needed] He would later work for CBS again when he starred inIn the Heat of the Night onNBC and they decided not to renew the series. CBS allowed the series to continue for two more years and have a proper ending.[17]
While coping with his son's drug problem, O'Connor starred asSparta, Mississippi, Police Chief Bill Gillespie, a tough veteran cop onIn the Heat of the Night. Based on thenovel by John Ball and the1967 movie of the same name, the series debuted onNBC in March 1988 and performed well. He cast his inexperienced sonHugh O'Connor as Officer Lonnie Jamison. The headquarters of the Sparta Police Department was actually the library inCovington, Georgia.
In 1989, while working on the set, O'Connor was hospitalized and underwent open heart surgery, which caused him to miss four episodes at the end of the second season. (ActorJoe Don Baker took his place in those episodes as an acting police chief.) O'Connor would later serve as one of the executive producers for the series, starting with the third season. The series was transferred from NBC to CBS in 1992 and cancelled two years later after its seventh season. O'Connor reprised his role the following year for four two-hourIn the Heat of the Night television films.[18]
While on the series, O'Connor recorded "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella" for the 1991In the Heat of the Night Christmas CDChristmas Time's A Comin'. He was joined by Grand Ole Opry star mandolinistJesse McReynolds, Nashville accordionist Abe Manuel Jr., and Nashville fiddlersBuddy Spicher andRandall Franks. CD Producer and series co-star Randall Franks created the arrangement which was co-produced by series co-starAlan Autry. He joined other members of the cast for a recording of "Jingle Bells" with vocals by Country Music Hall of Fame membersLittle Jimmy Dickens,Kitty Wells,Pee Wee King, The Marksmen Quartet, Bobby Wright, Johnnie Wright and Ken Holloway.[19] According to MeTV, O'Connor wrote several episodes under the pseudonym Matt Harris.
He became a lifelong member of theActors Studio[20] in 1971.
In 1973, his fraternity conferred its highest honor, the Sigma Phi Epsilon Citation, on him.[6]
O'Connor is the only male actor to have won the lead acting Emmy Award in both the comedy and drama series categories.
In July 1991, O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Reiner, and Sally Struthers reunited to celebrate the 20th anniversary ofAll in the Family. Withreruns airing in syndication onTV Land,Antenna TV and CBS, the show's popularity continued.
In March 2000, O'Connor received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame and was given aSt. Patrick's Day tribute byMGM.
O'Connor'scaricature is displayed atSardi's restaurant in New York City'sTheater District.
In 1962, while he was in Rome filmingCleopatra, O'Connor and his wife Nancy Fields O'Connor[21] adopted a six-day-old boy, naming himHugh[22] after O'Connor's brother who had died a year earlier. At age 17, Hugh worked as a courier on the set ofArchie Bunker's Place. O'Connor eventually created the role of Officer Lonnie Jamison onIn the Heat of the Night for his son.
O'Connor was a devoutCatholic who regularly attendedMass.[23]
In 1989, O'Connor was admitted to the hospital for heartbypass surgery and quit his 30-year smoking habit.[24]
On March 28, 1995, O'Connor's son Hugh died bysuicide after a long-time struggle withdrug addiction.[25][26] Following his son's death, O'Connor appeared inpublic service announcements for thePartnership for a Drug-Free America and spent the rest of his life working to raise awareness about drug addiction. O'Connor also successfully lobbied the state of California to pass legislation allowing family members of an addicted person or anyone injured by a drug dealer's actions, including employers, to sue for reimbursement for medical treatment, rehabilitation costs and other economic and noneconomic damages.[citation needed] The law, known as the Drug Dealer Civil Liability Act, went into effect in 1997. It is also referred to as the Hugh O'Connor Memorial Law. The act is based on the 1992 Model Drug Dealer Liability Act, which has been passed in 17 states and theU.S. Virgin Islands. Cases have been brought under the act in states such as California, Illinois, and Utah.
His son's suicide inspired him to start a crusade against the man who had sold the drugs to Hugh. He called Harry Perzigian "a partner in murder" and a "sleazeball",[26] and Perzigian countered with a defamation lawsuit against O'Connor.[26] In 1997, a California jury decided in O'Connor's favor.[27][28] In an interview onCNN'sLarry King Live soon after the verdict, O'Connor said that he would never be able to put his son's death behind him, saying: "I can't forget it. There isn't a day that I don't think of him and want him back and miss him, and I'll feel that way until I'm not here anymore."
During the late 1990s, O'Connor established a small automotive restoration shop in Newbury Park, California. Called Carroll O'Connor Classics, the shop contained many of O'Connor's personal vehicles and the cars once owned by his late son.[29] Among the cars O'Connor owned were aRolls-Royce Silver Shadow sold to him byWilliam Harrah, aMaserati 3500 GT, and aDodge Challenger equipped with a 440-cubic inch V-8, which he drove during production ofAll in the Family.
In 1997, the O'Connors donated US$1 million (equivalent to $1,958,748 in 2024) to their alma mater to help match a challenge grant to theUniversity of Montana from theNational Endowment for the Humanities. The university named a regional studies and public policy institute the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West.[7] Afterward, O'Connor taught screenwriting at the university.
In 1998, O'Connor underwent a second surgery to clear the blockage in a carotid artery in order to reduce his risk of stroke.
O'Connor died at age 76 on June 21, 2001, inCulver City, California, from a heart attack brought on by complications fromdiabetes. Hisfuneral mass was celebrated atSt. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church inWestwood, and was attended byAll in the Family cast membersRob Reiner,Sally Struthers, andDanielle Brisebois, as well as producerNorman Lear.Jean Stapleton, a close friend of O'Connor's since the early 1960s and hisAll in the Family co-star, was unable to attend the service because of a commitment for a stage performance.[30]
O'Connor's best friendLarry Hagman and his family attended the funeral, along with the surviving cast ofIn the Heat of the Night, includingAlan Autry andDenise Nicholas. ActorMartin Sheen, then starring onThe West Wing, delivered the eulogy. O'Connor was interred atWestwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery with his son Hugh'scenotaph placed on his gravestone.
In honor of O'Connor's career,TV Land moved an entire weekend of programming to the following week in order to show a continuous marathon ofAll in the Family. During the commercial breaks, TV Land also showed interview footage of O'Connor and variousAll in the Family actors, producers with whom he had worked, and other associates. His wife, Nancy Fields O'Connor, died on November 10, 2014, at age 84.[31]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Convicted | Correction Officer | uncredited |
| 1958 | The Defiant Ones | Truck Driver | uncredited |
| 1961 | A Fever in the Blood | Matt Keenan | |
| 1961 | Parrish | Firechief | uncredited |
| 1961 | By Love Possessed | Bernie Breck | |
| 1962 | Lonely Are the Brave | Hinton | |
| 1962 | Lad: A Dog | Hamilcar Q. Glure | |
| 1963 | Cleopatra | Casca | |
| 1965 | In Harm's Way | Lieutenant Commander Burke | |
| 1966 | What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? | General Bolt | |
| 1966 | Hawaii | Charles Bromley | |
| 1966 | Not with My Wife, You Don't! | General Maynard C. Parker | |
| 1967 | Warning Shot | Paul Jerez | |
| 1967 | Point Blank | Brewster | |
| 1967 | Waterhole #3 | Sheriff John Copperud | |
| 1968 | The Devil's Brigade | Major General Maxwell Hunter | |
| 1968 | For Love of Ivy | Frank Austin | |
| 1969 | Death of a Gunfighter | Lester Locke | |
| 1969 | Marlowe | Lieutenant Christy French | |
| 1970 | Kelly's Heroes | General Colt | |
| 1971 | Doctors' Wives | Dr. Joe Gray | |
| 1974 | Law & Disorder | Willie | |
| 1998 | Gideon | Leo Barnes | |
| 2000 | Return to Me | Marty O'Reily |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | The Whiteheaded Boy | Donagh Brosnan | TV movie |
| 1960 | The Citadel | unknown role | TV movie |
| 1960 | Sunday Showcase | Frederick Katzman | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | The United States Steel Hour | Tom O'Bryne | "Shadow of a Pale Horse" |
| 1960 | Adventures in Paradise | Henry Greshham | "Hangman's Island" |
| 1960 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | Appleyard | "The Black Arrow" |
| 1960–61 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Doc Turner/Rudolf Höß/Rudolf Höess/Stanley Morgan | 4 episodes |
| 1961 | Play of the Week | unknown role | "He Who Gets Slapped" |
| 1961 | The Aquanauts | The Lieutenant | "The Double Adventure" |
| 1961 | The Americans | Captain Garbor | "The Coward" |
| 1961–62 | The Untouchables | Arnie Kurtz/Barney Lubin | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | Belle Sommers | Mr. Griffith | TV movie |
| 1962 | Naked City | Tony Corran/Owen Oliver | 2 episodes |
| 1962–63 | The Dick Powell Theatre | Dr. Lyman Savage/Leonard Barsevick | 2 episodes |
| 1962–63 | The Defenders | Dr. Hugh Morgan/Joshua Ryder | 2 episodes |
| 1962–65 | Ben Casey | Dr. Wendel Clarke/Father Joseph McGavin | 2 episodes |
| 1962–65 | Dr. Kildare | David Burnside/Roy Drummond | 2 episodes |
| 1963 | Death Valley Days | Senator Dave Broderick | "A Gun Is Not a Gentleman" |
| 1963 | Stoney Burke | Harry Clark | "Web of Fear" |
| 1963 | Alcoa Premiere | Charles Compion | "The Dark Labyrinth" |
| 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Dr. Ben Conway | "Pressure Breakdown" |
| 1963 | Bonanza | Tom Slayen | "The Boss" |
| 1963 | East Side/West Side | George Audette | "Age of Consent" |
| 1963 | The Silver Burro | unknown role | TV movie |
| 1963 | The DuPont Show of the Week | N.S. Kellogg | "The Silver Burro" |
| 1963–64 | The Great Adventure | Johann Sutter/O'Rourke | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | The Outer Limits | Deimos | "Controlled Experiment" |
| 1964 | The Fugitive | Sheriff Bray | "Flight from the Final Demon" |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Walter B. Brach | "The Green Opal Affair" |
| 1964 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | Old John | "Long Live the King" |
| 1964 | The Yellowbird | unknown role | TV movie |
| 1964–66 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Captain Ted Eyck/Lawson | 2 episodes |
| 1965 | Profiles in Courage | Grover Cleveland | "Grover Cleveland" |
| 1965 | Slattery's People | Lieutenant Wayne Altman/Victor Newleaf | 2 episodes |
| 1966 | I Spy | Karolyi | "It's All Done with Mirrors" |
| 1966 | The Time Tunnel | General Southall/Colonel Phil Southall | "The Last Patrol" |
| 1966 | The Wild Wild West | Fabian Lavendor | "The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse" |
| 1966–67 | Gunsmoke | Major Vanscoy/Hootie Kyle | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | Mission: Impossible | Josef Varsh | "The Trial" |
| 1967 | That Girl | Giuseppe Casanetti | "A Tenor's Loving Care" |
| 1967 | Dundee and the Culhane | McJames | "The Duelist Brief" |
| 1967–70 | Insight | Kelly/Clerk | 2 episodes |
| 1968 | Premiere | James Van Ducci | "Walk in the Sky" |
| 1968 | Justice for All | Archie Justice | TV movie |
| 1969 | Fear No Evil | Myles Donovan | TV movie |
| 1969 | The Magical World of Disney | Mr. Davis | 2 episodes |
| 1969–70 | The Governor & J.J. | Orrin Hacker | 2 episodes |
| 1971 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Himself (Guest Performer) | "Carroll O'Connor" |
| 1971 | The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour | The CBS Censor | "Glenn Ford, Carroll O'Connor, Robert Merrill, Harvey Korman, Steve Martin" |
| 1971 | Dinah's Place | Himself (Guest) | 12.28.1971 |
| 1971–73 | The Dean Martin Show | Himself (Guest) | 2 episodes |
| 1971-79 | All in the Family | Archie Bunker/Archie Justice | series regular (208 episodes) |
| 1972 | Of Thee I Sing | John P. Wintergreen | TV movie |
| 1972 | The ABC Comedy Hour | Himself (Guest) | "The Friars Roast Sammy Davis Jr." |
| 1972 | The Electric Company | Himself (Guest) | "166" |
| 1972–89 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Himself (Guest) | 10 episodes |
| 1973 | The TV Comedy Years | unknown role | TV movie |
| 1974 | Dinah! | Himself (Guest) | 3 episodes |
| 1974–76 | Tony Orlando and Dawn | Himself (Guest) | 3 episodes |
| 1975 | Sammy and Company | Himself (Guest) | "Carroll O'Connor/Vicki Lawrence/Waylon Jennings/Willie Tyler & Lester" |
| 1976 | American Bandstand | Himself (Guest) | "#19.37" |
| 1976 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (uncredited) | "Norman Lear/Boz Scaggs" |
| 1977 | The Last Hurrah | Frank Skeffington | TV movie |
| 1977 | The Jacksons | Himself (Guest) | "Carroll O'Connor" |
| 1977 | An All-Star Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor | Himself | Documentary |
| 1979–83 | Archie Bunker's Place | Archie Bunker | series regular (97 episodes) |
| 1982 | Gloria | Archie Bunker | "Gloria, the First Day" |
| 1985 | Brass | Frank Nolan | TV movie |
| 1985 | The GLO Friends Save Christmas | Santa Claus (voice role) | TV movie |
| 1986 | The Redd Foxx Show | Pat Cleary | "Old Buddies" |
| 1986 | Convicted | Lewis May | TV movie |
| 1987 | The Father Clements Story | Cardinal Cody | TV movie |
| 1988–95 | In the Heat of the Night | Chief/Sheriff William O. "Bill" Gillespie | series regular (146 episodes) |
| 1989–91 | The Arsenio Hall Show | Himself (Guest) | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Party of Five | Jacob Gordon/Jake Gordon | recurring role (6 episodes) |
| 1996–99 | Mad About You | Gus Stemple | recurring role (4 episodes) |
| 1997 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Himself (Guest) | #5.134" |
| 1998 | The Rosie O'Donnell Show | Himself (Guest) | "03.04.1998" |
| 1999 | 36 Hours to Die | Jack "Balls" O'Malley | TV movie |
| 2000 | Donny & Marie | Himself (Guest) | "04.24.2000" |
| 2000 | E! True Hollywood Story | Himself | "All in the Family" |
| 2001 | Biography | Himself | "Carroll O'Connor: All in the Family" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | God and Kate Murphy | Patrick Molloy understudy/Assistant Stage Manager | 12 performances |
| 1983 | Brothers | Jim/Director | 7 previews; 1 performance |
| 1985 | Home Front | Bob | 11 previews; 13 performances |
| Year | Title | Contribution | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–79 | All in the Family | Composer/Lyricist/Performer | Composer/Lyricist: Closing theme "Remembering You" (194 episodes) Performer: "Those Were the Days" (207 episodes) | |
| 1973 | Carroll O'Connor Special | Writer | Himself | TV special |
| 1979–83 | Archie Bunker's Place | Composer | Closing theme (97 episodes) | |
| 1975–76 | Bronk | Creator/Executive Producer/Executive Consultant | Creator (25 episodes) Executive Producer: "Pilot" Executive Consultant (24 episodes) | |
| 1977 | The Banana Company | Executive Producer | TV movie | |
| 1977 | The Last Hurrah | Executive Producer/Writer | TV movie | |
| 1979 | Bender | Executive Producer | TV movie | |
| 1980–82 | Archie Bunker's Place | Director/Story Editor/Writer | Director (9 episodes) Story Editor: 27 episodes Writer: 1 episode Story by: 2 episodes | |
| 1981 | Man, Myth and Titans | Writer | TV movie documentary (teleplay) | |
| 1985 | Brass | Executive Producer/Writer | TV movie | |
| 1986 | The Merv Griffin Show | Music | 7.11.1986 Music: "Remembering You" | |
| 1986 | The Redd Foxx Show | Director/Writer | "Old Buddies" | |
| 1988–95 | In the Heat of the Night | Director/Story Editor/Writer/Supervising Producer/Executive Producer/Lyricist | Director (4 episodes) Story Editor (46 episodes) Writer (20 episodes) Story by (4 episodes) Teleplay (3 episodes) Supervising Producer (Episode: "Fairest of Them All") Executive Producer (115 episodes) Lyricist: (2 episodes) — "When the Music Stopped" (1992); Original Song "About a Mile" — "Ches and the Grand Lady" (1994); Original Song "Gray Sundays In" |
| Year/Ceremony | Category | Title | Results | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 — 29th Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actor in a Television — Comedy or Musical | All in the Family | Won | [32] |
| 1973 – 30th Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1974 — 31st Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1975 – 32nd Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1976 — 33rd Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1978 – 34th Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1989 – 45th Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama | In the Heat of the Night | Nominated | |
| 1990 – 46th Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1991 – 47th Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1992 – 49th Golden Globes | Nominated | |||
| 1994 – 51st Golden Globes | Nominated |
| Year/Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 – March 17, 2000 | Television — 7080 Hollywood, Blvd. | Honoree |
