Sally Struthers Slams Beloved Icons Norman Lear & Betty White in New Interview
Sally Struthers recently appeared on the Let’s Talk About That! With Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellotti podcast and shared some surpising insight from her time working on All in the Family in the 1970s. First, she claimed that the sitcom’s creator Norman Lear actually stole the idea for the show … from the lead actor himself.
She said that Lear, who passed away in December 2023 at the age of 101, stole the idea from Carroll O’Connor, who played Archie Bunker in the series. She added that Lear “pretended for the next 52 years that he created it.”
CBS/Everett Collection
Struthers also said that she never had the best relationship with Lear, and noted that the other stars of All in the Family would get invited to Lear’s home for parties, while she did not. She also alleged that he wasn’t nice to her on set and once said, “So we hired you because, just like Carroll O’Connor, you have blue eyes and a fat face.”
Struthers even spent around $40,000 in lawyer’s fees in order to try to get out of her contract and leave the show, but ultimately lost. She remained on the show and appeared in its spinoff, Archie Bunker’s Place, and her own series, Gloria.
Touchstone Television/courtesy Everett Collection
After dissing Lear, she spoke about her experiences with Betty White, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 99. She said that she found her to be a “very passive-aggressive woman.” Struthers recalled a time when she was working with White on a game show pilot, and reached for a cookie during a break on set.
“She said in front of everyone, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, dear, you don’t need a cookie,'” Struthers said. “Totally fat-shamed me in front of the rest of the people in the room.”
Share in the comments what you think about all of this and catch the entire interview below:
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1970s Fall TV
September 2023
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