John Carroll O’Connor was born August 2, 1924, in Manhattan, New York. He grew up in Elmhurst and Queens. During WW II, Carroll was turned down by the Army and he took a job with the Merchant Marines. At the University of Montana-Missoula, he met his wife Nancy Fields. O’Connor left Montana to help his brother in Ireland, where he discovered theater.

O’Connor made his television acting debut on two episodes of Sunday Showcase. These two parts led to many other roles such as roles in: Gunsmoke,  I Spy, Bonanza, The Fugitive, The Americans, Death Valley Days, That Girl, and many others.

In 1968, O’Connor was living in Italy when he was approached and asked to come to New York to play Archie Justice in a pilot called Justice For All, an American version of the BBC’s Till Death Us Do Part.

In 1970, CBS picked up the show, changed Justice to Bunker and changed the name of the show to All in the Family. The show became the highest-rated television program for five consecutive seasons.

Archie Bunker put Carroll O’Connor on the map. O’Connor became one of the most popular names in 1970s TV. He was nominated for eight Emmy Awards for his work on All in the Family.

After All in the Family ended in 1979, O’Connor reprised his role as Archie bunker in Archie Bunker’s Place. The show was canceled after 97 episodes, in 1983. In total Carroll O’Connor played Archie Bunker for exactly 300 episodes.

In 1988, Carroll claimed the role of Chief Officer Bill Gillespie, on the show In the Heat of the Night. During this time O’Connor was trying to deal with his son’s drug addictions. Hugh, Carroll’s son, played Officer Lonnie Jamison, on the show. Carroll O’Connor was hospitalized in 1989 and had heart surgery. He missed a few episodes, but, came back strong. In 1994, the show was cancelled. Carroll reprised his role in 1995, in four two-hour TV movies. That same year, Hugh committed suicide after his long bout with drugs.

In 1997, O’Connor helped to pass a law that holds drug dealers responsible if an addicted person they sell to overdoses.  Carroll O’Conner died June 21, 2001, from a massive heart attack. In honor of his death, TVLand showed only All in the Family episodes that weekend. O’Connor was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery with his son Hugh.