36 Facts About Carroll O'Connor

John Carroll O'Connor was an American actor whose television career spanned over four decades.

Carroll O'Connor found widespread fame as Archie Bunker, the main character in the CBS television sitcoms All in the Family and its continuation, Archie Bunker's Place.

In 1996, O'Connor was ranked number 38 on TV Guides 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Carroll O'Connor won five Emmys and one Golden Globe Award.

Carroll O'Connor, the eldest of three sons, was born on August2,1924, in Manhattan, New York City, to Edward Joseph O'Connor, a lawyer, and his wife, Elise Patricia O'Connor, a teacher.

Carroll O'Connor spent much of his youth in Elmhurst and Forest Hills, Queens.

Carroll O'Connor did not take any drama courses as an undergraduate at the University of Montana, but he did act in student theater productions.

Carroll O'Connor later left that university to help his younger brother Hugh get into medical school in Ireland, where Carroll completed his undergraduate studies at University College Dublin.

In 1956, Carroll O'Connor returned to the University of Montana to earn a master's degree in speech.

Carroll O'Connor made his television acting debut as a character actor on two episodes of Sunday Showcase in 1960.

Carroll O'Connor guest-starred as Josef Varsh in the first season of Mission Impossible, season one, episode 18 "The Trial".

Carroll O'Connor was among the actors considered for the roles of the Skipper on Gilligan's Island and Dr Smith in the TV show Lost in Space, and he was the visual template in the creation of Batman nemesis Rupert Thorne, a character who debuted at the height of All in the Family success in Detective Comics No 469.

Carroll O'Connor was living in Italy in 1968 when producer Norman Lear asked him to come to New York City and star in a series that he was creating for ABC titled Justice For All.

Carroll O'Connor accepted the role because he did not expect the show to succeed, and he believed that he would move back to Europe when it failed.

Bunker was famous for his English language malapropisms, but Carroll O'Connor was in truth a highly educated and cultured man and taught English before he turned to acting.

Archie Bunker's popularity made Carroll O'Connor a top-billing star of the 1970s.

Carroll O'Connor was apprehensive of being typecast for playing the role, but at the same time he was protective, not just of his character, but of the entire show.

Carroll O'Connor loved his wife even though he acted the way he did, and he loved his daughter.

At the time, Carroll O'Connor was receiving $200,000 an episode, making him one of the highest paid stars on television.

Carroll O'Connor was angered about the show's cancellation, maintaining that the show ended with an inappropriate finale.

Carroll O'Connor cast his inexperienced son Hugh O'Connor as Officer Lonnie Jamison.

In 1989, while working on the set, Carroll O'Connor was hospitalized and underwent open heart surgery, which caused him to miss four episodes at the end of the second season.

Carroll O'Connor reprised his role the following year for four two-hour In the Heat of the Night television films.

Carroll O'Connor was joined by Grand Ole Opry star mandolinist Jesse McReynolds, Nashville accordionist Abe Manuel Jr.

Carroll O'Connor joined other members of the cast for a recording of "Jingle Bells" with vocals by Country Music Hall of Fame members Little Jimmy Dickens, Kitty Wells, Pee Wee King, The Marksmen Quartet, Bobby Wright, Johnnie Wright and Ken Holloway.

Carroll O'Connor became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971.

Carroll O'Connor is the only male actor to have won the lead acting Emmy Award in both the comedy and drama series categories.

In March 2000, Carroll O'Connor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was given a St Patrick's Day tribute by MGM.

Carroll O'Connor's caricature is displayed at Sardi's restaurant in New York City's Theater District.

Carroll O'Connor eventually created the role of Officer Lonnie Jamison on In the Heat of the Night for his son.

In 1989, Carroll O'Connor was admitted to the hospital for heart bypass surgery and quit his 30-year smoking habit.

Carroll O'Connor 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.

Carroll O'Connor called Harry Perzigian "a partner in murder" and a "sleazeball", and Perzigian countered with a defamation lawsuit against O'Connor.

In 1998, Carroll O'Connor underwent a second surgery to clear the blockage in a carotid artery in order to reduce his risk of stroke.

Carroll O'Connor died at age 76 on June 21,2001, in Culver City, California, from a heart attack brought on by complications from diabetes.

Carroll O'Connor's body was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery with his son Hugh's cenotaph placed on his gravestone.