Sally Struthers, best known for her role as Gloria Stivic on the groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family, recently revisited some of the more difficult memories from her time on the show — particularly those involving series creator Norman Lear. In a candid recollection, Struthers revealed that despite working closely together for years, Lear never once invited her to his home for dinner, a gesture she noted he extended to other cast members. The distance between them became even more glaring in light of what Lear once told her directly: that she was cast in the role of Gloria simply because she had “blue eyes and a fat face,” a comment Struthers said left her stunned and unsure how to respond.
Struthers also shared that by the end of the fifth season, she was growing increasingly frustrated with her limited role on the show and made a serious attempt to exit the series. She took the matter to arbitration, hiring legal representation and spending $40,000 in fees. Despite her efforts, she lost the case and ultimately returned to All in the Family for three additional seasons. Ironically, those final years turned out to be some of the most creatively fulfilling for Struthers, as her character finally experienced deeper development through motherhood and a storyline that moved Gloria and Mike into their own home next door.
Sally Struthers is getting honest about her time on the series All in the Family and showrunner Norman Lear. On the Jan. 13 episode of Let’s Talk About That! With Larry Saperstein and Jacob Bellotti, the actress, 77, opened up about working with the acclaimed producer, who died in 2023 at age 101.
Struthers told the podcast hosts that she felt comfortable opening up about him now because “he’s gone.” She noted, “I wasn’t a huge fan of his.”
“All those years on the show, Norman and his wife would have dinner parties,” she said. They would invite the other stars of the show — Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton and Rob Reiner — and their spouses often. Struthers revealed, “I wasn’t, in eight years, invited to his home. It didn’t feel good.”
Struthers also shared an upsetting exchange she said she had with Lear during the show’s first season, when the series was first finding success. “He was on the sound stage watching us rehearse, and we were on a break,” she said.
“I said, ‘I can’t believe that we’re doing this and we’re about to hit number one on the air,’ ” she remembered. After noting how he “saw so many young ladies” for her role of Gloria — including Reiner’s then-wife Penny Marshall — she asked Lear, “Was I really the funniest one? And he said, ‘No.’ ”
As All in the Family fans celebrate Sally Struthers’ 78th birthday, the iconic actress is looking back on her time as Gloria Stivic with honesty, wit, and a healthy dose of humility. While the groundbreaking sitcom brought her national fame and two Emmy Awards, Struthers admits her experience on the show was far more complex than many viewers might realize.
In a candid conversation, Struthers recalled a memorable comment from series creator Norman Lear that still lingers in her mind. When casting the role of Gloria, Lear explained the decision by saying that Archie Bunker played by Carroll O’Connor needed a daughter who could “soften him up.” Archie, known for his bigoted and blunt persona, would be more palatable to audiences, Lear reasoned, if he had a tender relationship with his daughter.
Struthers remembered Lear telling her, “So we hired you because just like Carroll O’Connor, you have blue eyes and a fat face.” Caught off guard by the remark, she said she didn’t know how to respond and simply walked away.
Despite her success on the show, Struthers shared that she often felt like a background character. “I was the fourth banana,” she quipped, referring to her place behind the show’s three main stars — O’Connor, Jean Stapleton, and Rob Reiner. She explained that the show’s writing staff, many of whom she described as “older, brilliant Jewish faith writers,” struggled to develop material for her character.
Most weeks, she said, her lines were limited to variations of the same three phrases: “I’ll help you set the table, Ma,” “Michael, where are you going?” and “Oh, Daddy, stop it.” If her character didn’t have a role in a particular scene, the writers would simply send her “upstairs to take a bath or wash my hair.” It was, she admitted, deeply frustrating.
By the end of the fifth season, Struthers had reached her breaking point and sought to leave the series. She took her contract to arbitration, hiring a lawyer and spending $40,000 in legal fees — only to lose the case. Bound to return, she stayed for three more seasons, which, somewhat ironically, ended up being her favorite.
“They had Mike and Gloria have a baby, they had us move next door into the house that the Jeffersons lived in,” she said. With these changes came more meaningful storylines and a deeper role for Gloria — finally giving Struthers the opportunity to show more of her range.
All in the Family aired from 1971 to 1979, with Struthers appearing in an impressive 182 episodes. She also reprised her role in the spinoff Archie Bunker’s Place and starred in her own short-lived spinoff, Gloria. In later years, she won over a new generation of fans with her turn as the quirky Babette on Gilmore Girls.
Reflecting on her career, Struthers acknowledged that while All in the Family came with its share of creative frustrations, it also helped cement her place in television history. “I was lucky enough to be on a groundbreaking national television series,” she said.
She recently reunited with Rob Reiner in early 2024 at the delayed 2023 Emmy Awards to pay tribute to Norman Lear and the cultural legacy of All in the Family. Today, Struthers continues to work in theater and appears in TV projects like A Man on the Inside.
At 77, she’s still drawing audiences — sometimes for unexpected reasons. She laughed, “Maybe because they love you or like you, but just as much because ‘Wait a minute, is she still alive? Let’s go see what she looks like now.’”
In true Gloria fashion, Sally Struthers remains unfiltered, unforgettable, and very much beloved.
