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Archie Bunker's Place is an American television sitcom produced as a continuation of All in the Family. It aired on CBS from September 23, 1979 to April 4, 1983. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last four seasons. It performed so well during its first season that it displaced Mork & Mindy from its Sunday night time slot; a year earlier, during its first season, Mork & Mindy had been the No. 3 show on television. Background Although the Bunker home, long familiar to viewers, continues to be featured, the scenes are primarily set in the title's neighborhood tavern in Astoria, Queens, which Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) purchased in the eighth-season premiere of All in the Family. During the first season as Archie Bunker's Place, Bunker takes on a Jewish partner, Murray Klein (Martin Balsam), when co-owner Harry Snowden decides to sell his share of the business. Early in the first season, to increase business, Archie and Murray build a restaurant onto the bar: the additions include a separate seating area for the restaurant and a well-equipped kitchen with a service window. Regular patrons include Barney Hefner, Hank Pivnik, and Edgar Van Ranseleer. Archie Bunker's Place is the sounding board for Archie's views, support from his friends, and Murray's counterpoints. Later in the series, after Murray remarries and leaves for San Francisco, Archie has one of his attorneys, Gary Rabinowitz (Barry Gordon), take on the role of business manager. Gary's views are liberal, in contrast to Archie's conservatism. Jean Stapleton In December 1978, in the middle of the ninth season of All in the Family, Jean Stapleton announced that she did not want to renew her contract at the end of that season, saying that she felt her character, Edith Bunker, had run its course on the show. At that time, Norman Lear, the creator of All in the Family, wanted the series to end while it was still on top, but Robert Daly, then vice president of CBS Television, persuaded Carroll O’Connor to continue with All in the Family for at least another year. Daly felt that since the show was still garnering high ratings, it was still valuable to the network and could run at least another year. Since Lear was insistent on ending the program, Daly asked O’Connor to get Lear to reconsider. After meeting with O’Connor, Lear agreed to let the show's characters continue but refused to allow the series to be called All in the Family anymore. As a result, Archie Bunker’s Place was created and the show's plots centered less on Archie's home life and more on his bar and his colleagues and patrons who frequented it. To help with this transition, Stapleton agreed to play Edith on the newly titled series in five appearances during the 1979–80 season. At the start of the next (1980–81) season, Edith died (off screen) and was written out of the series. Characters Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, a blue-collar worker whose ignorant stubbornness tends to cause his arguments to self-destruct. By the time of Archie Bunker's Place, however, the character has mellowed somewhat and is no longer as explicitly bigoted as he had been during the first seasons of All in the Family, even agreeing to go into business with Murray, who is Jewish, and becoming close friends with him. Jean Stapleton continued to play Archie's wife Edith Bunker when Archie Bunker's Place premiered. The show featured Edith five times during the first 14 episodes of the first season, but Stapleton decided to leave the series late in 1979; her character was referred to but unseen during most of the 1979–80 season. The writers and producers addressed Stapleton's departure in the Season 2 premiere, explaining that Edith had died of a stroke. Archie reflected on his wife's death and eventually began dating again. Martin Balsam as Murray Klein (1979–81). Murray was Archie's Jewish partner, who held liberal views similar to those of Archie's son-in-law Michael Stivic. Unlike Mike, Murray was much more tolerant and patient with Archie's views. Danielle Brisebois as Stephanie Mills, the Jewish daughter of Edith's step-cousin, Floyd Mills. Archie and Edith take Stephanie in after her father, a chronic, unemployed drunk, abandoned her during the final season of All in the Family. Stephanie, 10 years old at the start of the series, loved to sing and dance, and her talents were showcased in several episodes. Celeste Holm as Estelle Harris (1981–83), Stephanie's wealthy maternal grandmother, who would often be at odds with Archie over his rearing of Stephanie. Allan Melvin as Barney Hefner, Archie's best friend and a regular at the bar. Their friendship was first established in 1972 during an episode of All in the Family. Barney was married to a friend of Edith's named Blanche (played by Estelle Parsons) (although in earlier seasons she was called Mabel). Blanche left Barney numerous times before the couple divorced in 1979, and Barney was ordered to pay alimony. Danny Dayton as Hank Pivnik, another regular. He first appeared in 1976 on All in the Family. Hank disappeared without explanation after the 1979–80 season. Bill Quinn as Edgar Van Ranseleer (a.k.a. "Mr. Van R"), a former schoolteacher and regular at the bar. He was blind, and usually even-tempered. He was very rarely referred to by his first name—almost everyone called him Mr. Van Ranseleer or Mr. Van R. His first appearance was in 1978 on All in the Family. Jason Wingreen as Harry Snowden, Archie's former business partner, who continued to work at the tavern as a bartender. Another holdover character from All in the Family, which Wingreen joined in 1976. Abraham Alvarez and Joe Rosario as Jose Perez and Raoul Rosario, two Latin-American immigrants employed as assistant cooks at Archie's bar. Archie later learns they are illegal immigrants after they refuse to give a statement to police after having witnessed a mugging. Anne Meara as Veronica Rooney (1979–82), the cook at Archie Bunker's Place. She often made wisecracks and gave Archie a hard time. She insisted that Archie also hire her openly gay nephew Fred as a waiter to help him pay for law school. She was an alcoholic and privately pined to reconcile with her ex-husband, Carmine (who appeared in a few episodes and was played by Meara's real-life husband Jerry Stiller), but knew it wasn't going to happen. Meara appeared sporadically throughout the show's third season and left the show before the fourth and final season. Dean Scofield (1979–80) as Fred Rooney, a gay waiter, and Veronica's nephew. Quits because of Archie's attitude toward his personal life. Barbara Meek as Ellen Canby (1980–82). Ellen was a black housekeeper who was hired by Archie after Edith's death. She also took care of Stephanie, and helped keep Archie's tongue in check. Though Archie still harbored some prejudice toward black people by the time she arrived on the scene, he deeply respected Ellen and was grateful for th.... Discover the Archie Superstars popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Archie Superstars books.