Carroll O'Connor

If you know more information about Carroll O'Connor help us to improve this page

Birthday:

2 August 1924, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name:

John Carroll O'Connor

Height:

180 cm

Carroll was born in Manhattan and raised in Forest Hills, a heavily Jewish community in New York City's borough of Queens. After graduating from high school in 1942, O'Connor joined the Merchant Marines and worked on ships in the Atlantic. In 1946, he enrolled at the University of Montana to study English. While there, he became interested in theater. During one of the amateur productions, he met his future wife, Nancy Fields, whom he married in 1951. He moved to Ireland where he continued his theatrical studies at the National University of Ireland. He was discovered during one of his college productions and was signed to appear at the Dublin Gate Theater. He worked in theater in Europe until 1954 when he returned to New York. His attempts to land on Broadway failed and he taught high school until 1958. Finally in 1958, he landed an Off-Broadway production, "Ulysses In Nighttown". He followed that with a Broadway production that was directed by 'Burgess Meredith', "God and Kate Murphy", in which he was both an understudy and an assistant stage manager. At the same time, he was getting attention on TV. He worked in a great many character roles throughout the 1960s. A pilot for "Those Were The Days" was first shot in 1968 based on the English hit, "Till Death Do Us Part", but was rejected by the networks. In 1971, it was re-shot and re-cast as All in the Family (1971) and the rest is history. Show less «

Get between your kid and drugs any way you can.

People see Archie Bunker everywhere. Particularly girls-poor girls, rich girls, all kinds of girls are always coming up to me and telling me...Show more »

People see Archie Bunker everywhere. Particularly girls-poor girls, rich girls, all kinds of girls are always coming up to me and telling me that Archie is just like their dad. Show less «

Get between your kids and drugs any way you can if you want to save the kid's life.

Nothing will give me any peace. I've lost a son. And I'll go to my grave without any peace over that.

[When asked to explain the remarks, he replied]: I think you all have been in a position where you all have said something out of pure emoti...Show more »

[When asked to explain the remarks, he replied]: I think you all have been in a position where you all have said something out of pure emotion that is not all true. There are semi-literates. They write bad grammar. A lot of them copy what other people write and add a little twist of their own so that it appears the local boy has the inside track. Show less «

[In 1976]: I'm going to keep the bigotry Edwin O'Connor had in the novel, but I'm going to play it as an undertone rather than as the main t...Show more »

[In 1976]: I'm going to keep the bigotry Edwin O'Connor had in the novel, but I'm going to play it as an undertone rather than as the main theme. Show less «

[In 1972]: It happens everytime I wear this here suit. I get a helluva hand.

[When approached to do The Last Hurrah]: I say okay, but I wanted to see the Tracy movie. So I did. I didn't think I could repeat what I saw...Show more »

[When approached to do The Last Hurrah]: I say okay, but I wanted to see the Tracy movie. So I did. I didn't think I could repeat what I saw on the screen, so I said, 'Let me see the old screenplay ... maybe what was on the screen wasn't the screenplay.' Show less «

[Who cursed one critic vehemently, called critics in general, jerks]: I concluded too many of you don't know what you're doing.

[Who told his congressman, who got elected, despite the fact that he was Polish]: The Polacks voted for him to get even with the Irish for t...Show more »

[Who told his congressman, who got elected, despite the fact that he was Polish]: The Polacks voted for him to get even with the Irish for tellin' all those Polish jokes; the Italians voted for him to prove it was the Irish; and the colored people voted for him 'cause they like Polish jokes and they thought he was the best one yet. Show less «

[In 1974]: Television audiences are seeing more of the good and admirable qualities of blacks than they have ever seen before. Some of these...Show more »

[In 1974]: Television audiences are seeing more of the good and admirable qualities of blacks than they have ever seen before. Some of these shows are causing the fears that underlie prejudice to be a bit dissipated. Show less «

[on his popularity while playing the fifty-something Archie Bunker on All in the Family]: Archie is what he is. He is over 50 and you can't ...Show more »

[on his popularity while playing the fifty-something Archie Bunker on All in the Family]: Archie is what he is. He is over 50 and you can't expect any turnover in his character. He might modify his racist language in the house because he grows tired of his wife and kids jumping all over him. I am not playing Archie with any axe to grind. As I have said before, Archie is made up of persons who really exist. I have seen them. Show less «

[Who moved on with his life after his son's death]: The biggest part of my life was the acquiring and the loss of a son. I mean, nothing els...Show more »

[Who moved on with his life after his son's death]: The biggest part of my life was the acquiring and the loss of a son. I mean, nothing else was as important as that. Show less «

[At one point, All in the Family (1971), was getting cancelled]: I thought that the public would kick us off the air, because of this egregi...Show more »

[At one point, All in the Family (1971), was getting cancelled]: I thought that the public would kick us off the air, because of this egregious guy. No. They loved ... they knew him. Show less «

[on auditioning for Archie Bunker] I was approached in 1968 and [a producer had] secured the rights to a show that was a big success in Engl...Show more »

[on auditioning for Archie Bunker] I was approached in 1968 and [a producer had] secured the rights to a show that was a big success in England and it was called 'Till Death Us Do Part,' I thought we'd never do a show that outrageous in this country. And I wanted to do something outrageous. I didn't think we'd last a month. Show less «