Milt Josefsberg Movies

Blanche Hefner has walked out on husband Barney several times in the past, but this time it's permanent. As usual, Barney tries to drown his sorrows at Archie's bar, thoroughly depressing the other patrons. Hoping to divest himself of Barney, Archie tries fixes his pal up with a wealthy and hefty widow named Martha Birkhorn (Peggy Rea). Written by Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, Phil Sharp, and Milt Josefsberg, "Barney the Gold Digger" was first telecast on February 5, 1979 (in a Monday-night slot, a brief departure from the series' customary Sunday-evening home). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Archie is shocked to discover that the new waitress hired by Harry is none other than Denise (Janis Paige), the woman with whom Archie nearly had an extramarital fling back in 1976. Unfortunately, Edith also learns that Denise is back in the neighborhood. Inevitably, the two women in Archie's life have a showdown -- with surprising and surprisingly touching results. Written by Milt Josefsberg and Phil Sharp, "The Return of the Waitress" was first broadcast on November 26, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Estelle Parsons appears as Blanche, the "straying" wife of Archie's pal, Barney Hefner. When Blanche throws Barney over in favor of an electrician, Barney drowns his sorrows at Archie's bar. Realizing that Barney's self-pity is driving away customers, Archie enlists Edith's aid in bringing the Hefners back together. Written by Milt Josefsberg and Phil Sharp, "Reunion on Hauser Street" first aired on October 8, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Archie is driven crazy by the persistent yapping of the dog owned by his neighbor Barney Hefner. Things get worse when Archie accidentally runs over the dog with his car, and tries to rush the animal to the vet without Barney knowing anything about it. As the episode draws to a conclusion, Archie's attitude towards animals in general and dogs in particular undergoes a few remarkable changes. Written by Charles Stewart, Ben Starr, Mort Lachman, and Milt Josefsberg, "Archie's Dog Day Afternoon" originally aired on March 12, 1977, as the final episode of All in the Family's seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, Archie is offered membership in a secretive "patriotic" organization. Only when it is too late does Archie realize that he's been "rushed" by the KKK, who have designated his own son-in-law, Mike, as their latest target for persecution. Dennis Patrick and Roger Bowen head the supporting cast as Gordie and Mitch, respectively. Written by Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, Mort Lachman, and Milt Josefsberg, part one of "Archie and the Ku Klux Klan" originally aired on November 27, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mike's liberalism is once more put to the test when he is faced with the iniquities of Real Life. Up for a prestigious teaching position at a Minnesota College, Mike may lose out to a black candidate thanks to what would later be called "affirmative action." Surprisingly, a gloating Archie agrees with the school's equal-opportunity policy. David Downing plays Mike's competitor, John Kasten, while Lee Bergere is cast as Dean Winslow. Written by Milt Josefsberg and Ben Starr, "Mike's Move" originally aired on February 2, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Archie and Edith's furnace breaks down, they temporarily move in with Gloria and Mike. An already tense situation is made even more so thanks to a power blackout which rapidly spreads throughout the neighborhood. Series stalwarts Larry Rhine, Mel Tolkin, and Milt Josefsberg were responsible for the script. Alternately known as "Mike and Gloria's House Guests," this episode originally aired on March 1, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pregnant Gloria's "due date" has come and gone. In fact, nine full days have passed since Gloria was supposed to have given birth. Frustrated beyond belief, Gloria explosively takes out her anger on Mike -- and before long even Edith has fallen victim to her daughter's crabbiness. Others in the cast include Robin Wilson as Sylvia, Garn Stephens as Dotty, and Madeline Fisher as Vicki. Written by Milt Josefsberg and Ben Starr, "Gloria Is Nervous" originally aired on December 8, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An old sitcom plot line is given a fresh new workout in this episode of All in the Family. Receiving a chain letter from superstitious Edith, Archie and Mike laugh off the "dire predictions" catalogued therein and disdainfully throw the letter away. But then, both men experiencing an uncanny streak of bad luck. Future Benson star Robert Guillaume appears as the doctor. Written by Lou Derman and Milt Josefsberg, "Chain Letter" originally aired on October 20, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"The program you are about to see is All in the Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show -- in a mature fashion -- just how absurd they are." With this carefully worded disclaimer, the CBS television network ushered in a new era of television comedy on January 12, 1971, with the premiere of All in the Family. Inspired by the British sitcom Till Death Do Us Part, the series was proposed by producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin in early 1968, and a pilot episode titled "Those Were the Days" was commissioned by ABC. From the beginning, Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton were "set" as leading characters Archie and Edith Bunker (original last name: Justice), though two unknowns were cast as the couple's daughter, Gloria, and son-in-law, Mike Stivic. Also from the beginning, it had been decided to retain the controversial nature of the original British series, with bigoted hard-hat Archie forever at odds with his flaming liberal son-in-law. Alas, ABC had just been burned by the hostile reception afforded another hot-potato project, Turn-On, and had lost its taste for controversy, even when Lear and Yorkin toned down the venom in a second pilot. But in 1970, CBS, in desperate need of a hit for its sagging Tuesday-night lineup, decided to take a chance on "Those Were the Days," which by now had been christened All in the Family, and had added Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner to the cast as Gloria and Mike. Worried that audiences might be unkindly disposed to Archie Bunker's incessant harangues against "hebes," "spics," and "coloreds," CBS prefaced the first episode with the aforementioned disclaimer. Though the opener ended up an anemic 54th in the ratings (due primarily to the decision by several affiliates not to air the program, or to reschedule it to a "fringe" time slot), the first All in the Family was the topic of conversation in virtually every household and place of business in America before the week was out.

By the time the series began in its second season in the fall of 1971, All in the Family was CBS' top-rated program, a status it enjoyed for the next five years. Archie Burnker, a loading-dock supervisor who resided at 704 Houser Street in Queens, NY, was a firm and immovable believer in America, right or wrong (but mostly far, far right). Offsetting Archie's racial slurs, antediluvian political beliefs, and incessant malapropisms was his somewhat foolish but fundamentally good-hearted wife, Edith (or "Dingbat," as Archie designated her); his budding-feminist daughter, Gloria; and Gloria's long-haired, radical husband, Michael Stivic (aka "Meathead" and "Polack"), who while attending graduate school lived with Archie and Edith, and all but ate them out of house and home. In virtually every episode, an Issue (with a capital "I") was brought to the forefront -- gun control, the sexual revolution, homosexuality, religion, integration, rape -- with Archie taking the diehard conservative viewpoint, Mike assuming the liberal stance, Gloria siding with Mike, and Edith sitting on the sidelines making inane (but sometimes surprisingly sensible) comments. Usually, Archie would be hoisted by his own bigoted petard, but sometimes Mike would be trapped in the morass of his good intentions. Whatever the case, All in the Family tackled subject matter that only a few years earlier would have been rejected out of hand on network television, using language that likewise had seldom if ever been heard on the small screen. In this respect, All in the Family can be regarded as the single most influential situation comedy in television history.

Over the years, Archie's character mellowed a bit, but fundamentally he remained the same opinionated jerk he'd been in the first episode. Through it all, however, one never doubted that the members of the Bunker family all loved one another dearly and intensely. In addition to the "core" regulars, several other recurring characters paraded past Archie's beloved easy chair: Lionel Jefferson (Mike Evans), a black friend of Mike and Gloria's who, much to Archie's dismay, became their across-the-street neighbor (Lionel's upscale black family would later be spun-off into their own series, The Jeffersons); Irene and Frank Lorenzo (Betty Garrett and Vincent Gardenia), who were every bit as broad-minded as Archie was not; Bert Munson (Billy Halop), an employee at the cab company where Archie moonlighted; Archie's co-worker and lodge buddy Barney Hefner (Allan Melvin); and Tommy Kelsey (Brendan Dillon, and later Bob Hastings), owner of Kelsey's Bar, Archie's favorite hangout. At the beginning of the 1975-1976 season, Gloria and Mike moved next door to Archie and Edith, and in December of 1975, Gloria gave birth to her first child, a boy named Joey. During the 1976-1977 season, Archie met yet another sociological opponent in the form of Puerto Rican boarder Teresa Betancourt (Liz Torres). And as the 1977-1978 season began, Archie made the momentous decision to quit his job and purchase Kelsey's bar, which he renamed Archie Bunker's Place. This season ended with Mike, Gloria, and Joey bidding farewell to Archie and Edith when Mike landed a teaching job in California. The Stivics' former sleeping quarters were taken over in 1978 by Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois), Edith's niece, who had been abandoned by her ne'er-do-well father.

All in the Family per se came to an end with the final episode of the 1979-1980 season; thereafter the multi-award-winning series was known as Archie Bunker's Place. In addition to its prime-time run, All in the Family was seen in rerun form as part of the CBS daytime lineup from December 1975 to December 1979; and in 1991, selected episodes of All in the Family were run in tandem with a newer but much (much) less successful Norman Lear production, Sunday Dinner, which debuted and wrapped within a month. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After another of her many fights with boss Mooney (Gale Gordon), Lucy (Lucille Ball) quits her job and signs up with the "Unique Employment Agency" (ironically the same firm that would employ Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon on the later sitcom Here's Lucy). For her first assignment, Lucy is sent to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Winslow to babysit for the couple's three children. Imagine our heroine's surprise when those "children" turn out to be a trio of trained simians--or, more specifically, the famous Marquis Chimps. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Singer-comedian Dennis Day guest stars as Cornelius Heatherington Jr. the octogenarian president of the Wesleyan bank. To keep Heatherington in a good mood while he and boss Cheever (Roy Roberts) arrange a banquet in the old guy's honor, Mooney (Gale Gordon) persuades Lucy to be Heatherington's date--a task that requires our heroine to don an elaborate "age" makeup, complete with grey wig and shawl. What results is one of The Lucy Show's most energetic episodes ever, as the young-at-heart Heatherington enthusiastically squires Lucy's superannuated alter ego "Amelia Van Dyne." (Trivia note: At the time this episode was filmed, Dennis Day was actually all of 49 years old--or roughly eight years younger than Lucille Ball!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi