Bob Barry’s Unearthed Interviews Podcast: Carroll O’Connor
Carroll O’Connor’s acting earned him five Emmys and two Golden Globe awards. He was best known for playing the rough, bigoted blue collar family man on the very popular “All in the Family,” a 1970s TV show. Coincidentally, O’Connor grew up in the Queens area of New York where his character Archie Bunker would later live. Mickey Rooney was asked to play Archie but turned it down. Carroll appeared in many movies and TV shows. In his last TV appearance, he starred as police chief Bill Gillespie on the popular “In the Heat of the Night” series. At one time he was considered for the part of the skipper on “Gilligan’s Island.” I think he would have been perfect for that role.