Carroll O'Connor (1924–2001)

Carroll O'Connor was born John Carroll O'Connor on August 2, 1924 in New York. In 1941, Carroll O'Connor enrolled at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, but dropped out when the United States entered World War II. He became a merchant seaman and served in the United States Merchant Marine show more during World War II. After the war, O'Connor attended the University of Montana-Missoula, where he met Nancy Fields, who would later become his wife. He also worked at the Montana Kaimin student newspaper as an editor. O'Connor later left the University of Montana to help his brother Hugh get into medical school in Ireland, where he completed his studies at the University College Dublin. It was there that he began his acting career. O'Connor was living in Italy in 1968 when producer Norman Lear first asked him to come to New York to star in a pilot he was creating for ABC called Justice For All, with O'Connor playing Archie Justice, a lovable yet controversial bigot. After three pilots, a network change to CBS, and the last name of the character changed to Bunker, the new sitcom was renamed All in the Family. The show became the highest-rated television program on American television for five consecutive seasons. For his work as Archie Bunker, he was nominated for eight Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; he won the award four times (1972, 1977, 1978, and 1979). O'Connor went on to other TV series such as Archie Binker's Place and In the Heat of the Night. He passed away on June 21, 2001 of a heart attack. show less