The Surviving Cast Of All In The Family Made Career Pivots After The '70s Sitcom

When it comes to the sitcoms of the 1970s, few can hold a candle to "All in the Family." No, people aren't watching the Bunker family these days like they were during its original run, but the show — which, as just about everyone knows, was created by Norman Lear — is still hailed as one of the best sitcoms of all time, and its influence on the genre remains as clear as ever. Don't expect to see it on a list of '70s TV shows that have been forgotten. The sitcom won 22 Primetime Emmys while on air, spawned multiple spin-offs, and was a highlight of multiple actors' careers, including the inimitable star Carroll O'Connor.

Sadly, many members of the show's main cast have since passed. O'Connor died in 2001 at the age of 76, Jean Stapleton in 2013 at age 90, and Rob Reiner in 2025 at age 78. However, there are two "All In the Family" stars who are still alive: Sally Struthers and Danielle Brisebois. While both made career pivots after the '70s sitcom ended, both performers continue to work in the entertainment industry in some capacity. Here is how their respective careers unfolded after "All in the Family" came to an end.

Sally Struthers' breakthrough role was, without question, Gloria Bunker in "All in the Family." Though she left the show after Season 8, she did pop up on the final season a few times. When it was all said and done, she was in 185 of the 207 episodes. She won two of the show's 22 Emmys, taking home outstanding supporting actress awards in both 1972 and 1979. Struthers was an important thread in the show's fabric, but she wasn't entirely satisfied with her work on "All in the Family." On a 2025 episode of the "Let's Talk About That!" podcast, Struthers noted that she felt that the show's creators didn't know what to do with her character, and she spent $40,000 in the middle of the show's run trying to break her contract so she could leave.

Ultimately, her legal efforts were futile, but it was for the best. "I went back and had three more seasons, but they were by far the most fun for me. Because finally, they had Mike and Gloria have a baby, they had us move next door into the house that [the] Jeffersons lived in," Struthers said. After the show ended, Struthers reprised her role in two different spin-offs, "Archie Bunker's Place" and "Gloria," the latter of which she was the star.

Sally Struthers is also a celebrated theater actor. She's played a variety of roles on stage, both on Broadway and off. In the 15 years after "All in the Family" ended, Struthers played three different roles on Broadway: Janet in the original run of "Wally's Cafe" in 1981, Florence Ungar in the original run of "The Odd Couple: Female Version" in 1985 (alongside Rita Moreno), and Miss Lynch in "Grease" in 1994. And although Struthers hasn't since returned to the Great White Way, she hasn't left the stage. She has been in dozens of regional productions across the country, including "Legally Blonde," "Chicago," "Annie," "9 to 5," "Hello Dolly!," and "Into the Woods."

Of all the legendary characters Struthers has played, she does have her favorites. "The first time I got to play Dolly Levi [in 'Hello, Dolly!'] I felt a certain triumph in stepping into the shoes of legendary women that came before me. I was so proud of myself the first time I did it in Minnesota, because by opening night I had memorized some of her herculean soliloquies. Another one that sticks with me was Golde in 'Fiddler on the Roof.' I really took that seriously because that is a beloved musical about some of my favorite people on earth: people of the Jewish faith," Struthers told Theater Mania in 2025. 

It's no secret Struthers has built quite the theater resume, and it sounds like she doesn't exactly have to fight for roles these days. "I'm not bragging. I'm always dumbfounded. I don't have to audition for theater. I get offered parts. I get people who call and say, 'We want Sally to do this for us this year," she told Page Six in 2024.

Sally Struthers has an unmistakable voice. Though not quite as iconic in that department as Morgan Freeman or Helen Mirren, Struthers' raspy tone and infectious laugh have been a huge asset to her as an actor. In fact, her voice was such an asset that, even when sick, she made a lasting impression during the "All in the Family" audition process. "I had laryngitis, and they handed me a yelling scene to do. I'm sure that's why he remembered me," she told the New York Post in 2021.  Given that she has such a great and unique voice, it should come as little surprise that she has also done well in the world of voice acting, playing fantastic characters in beloved animated series.

One of Struthers' most notable voiceover roles is Rebecca Cunningham in the 1990 animated series "TaleSpin." The Disney offering reimagined some characters from "The Jungle Book" as aviators, and while the show only lasted for one season, it picked up a Primetime Emmy and is still pointed to as one of Struthers' best voiceover performances. Struthers also lent her voice to Charlene Sinclair in "Dinosars." The show, which ran from 1991 to 1994, is more or less a traditional sitcom about a family of dinosaurs. Not everyone loved "Dinosaurs" when it first premiered, but it did earn an Emmy. What's more, it has a cult following, thanks in part to the voices who brought the characters to life, including Struthers. Some of her other voiceover credits include "Tiny Toon Adventures," "Tom & Jerry Kids Show," and "Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man."

While people of older generations know Sally Struthers from the cast of "All in the Family," millennials and Gen Zers know her from the cast of "Gilmore Girls." Struthers played Babette Dell on the beloved teen drama, starting in 2000. "It's funny, a 20-year-old young lady will approach me and call me Babette because of 'Gilmore Girls.' And then her mother, if she's with her, will go, 'No, darling, she's Gloria,'" Struthers told People in 2025. Babette was a neighbor to the show's main characters, Lorelai Gilmore and Rory Gilmore, and she was often seen outside her house, at a town meeting, or at some other community event. Though she only appeared in 52 of the show's 153 episodes, Babette became one of the series' most beloved side characters.

Struthers was perfect for the role, and it was partially because of her height. At just 5'1", Struthers isn't very tall, which is just what the showrunners wanted. So much so, they reached out to her team to see if she had any interest in the role. "I got a call from my manager saying ... 'They want you at Warner Bros. to read for this series that's going on there called "Gilmore Girls" ... And her name is Babette, and they're looking for a diminutive actress to play it,'" Struthers recalled on the "Let's Talk About That!" podcast. It goes without saying, but she nailed the audition: About 20 minutes after she read for the part, her manager let her know she would be playing Babette. 

Sally Struthers is one of the iconic '70s sitcom stars who are still working today. Among her most notable projects in the past 10 years are "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," a reboot of the original series in which Struthers reprised her role as Babette Dell, and "A Man on the Inside," a Netflix comedy in which Struthers joined forces with fellow sitcom icon Ted Danson. Struthers played Virginia Foldau on the latter show, and the inspiration for her character came from her friend and fellow actor Brenda Vaccaro. "I always imitate her. She says very assertive bottom-line things that some people can find off-putting, but I always think it's hilarious — and that's kind of what Virginia is," Struthers told Woman's World in 2025.

It's hard to find actors who've had careers as long as Struthers' career, especially those who have primarily been character actors. But Struthers' unique voice and hilarious personality have helped her stay busy in Hollywood for decades. "I am most proud of the longevity of my career. I'm not quite sure how it has happened that in a business that does not need or respect women when they pass 40, I have continued to work consistently. I believe a lot of it is literally sheer luck," Struthers told Theater Mania. Luck or not, Struthers is still working — in 2026, she was featured in the movie "Street Smart."

If you don't totally remember Danielle Brisebois' character from "All in the Family," it may be because she wasn't part of the entire series. Brisebois joined the show in its final season, portraying Stephanie Mills, the adopted daughter of Archie and Elaine Bunker. Brisebois' contributions to the "All in the Family" universe were felt more heavily in one of the show's spin-offs, "Archie Bunker's Place," in which she acted opposite Carroll O'Connor for the entire four-season run. Despite not being on "All in the Family" much, Brisebois still saw her character's presence as an important part of Archie's arc. "I think she was one of the only people who was actually able to get to Archie, get him to soften up. I had him in the palm of my hand. I could make him do anything I wanted. Stephanie was really smart, really shrewd," Brisebois said in the 1988 book "Archie and Edith and Mike and Gloria: The Tumultuous History of All in the Family."

"All in the Family" was one of Brisebois' first on-screen acting roles, and by the time "Archie Bunker's Place" finished, she was still a child actor at just 14 years old. As she transitioned into adulthood, she continued acting, mostly finding one-episode gigs on popular TV shows like "Days of Our Lives" and "Murder, She Wrote." When she turned 18, Brisebois stopped acting professionally and began her career as a professional musician.

As noted, Danielle Brisebois didn't stay an actor past her teen years. The former "Archie Bunker's Place" star transitioned from acting into songwriting as a young adult. "I found out that after doing the TV show, I wanted to do music and more than anything to write music. I had already done the acting thing, and when you are 16 and 17 years old you are all cocky. I felt I am going to go for it and start from scratch," Brisebois said in a 2015 interview with the Los Angeles Times. One of her close collaborators, Gregg Alexander, was most impressed with her willingness to make the change. "She was a big TV star ... But she had this passion for music and singing and songwriting. One of the things I adore about Danielle is that she makes great leaps of faith," Alexander said.

In 1994, Brisebois released her debut album, "Arrive All Over You," which was not met with commercial success but was critically praised. "I mean, I know there's always going to be skepticism, but I don't really worry about it. I don't place any importance on it. I just do what I do and hopefully they'll like it," Brisebois told Pause and Play of her album. "I guess the closest thing I had to a hero was John Lennon, but I can't say there was anyone who made me want to do music. But doing what I'm doing now is what I've dreamed about all along," she added.

Danielle Brisebois truly found a creative soulmate in Gregg Alexander, and she continued working with him after producing her debut album. In the late '90s, Brisebois joined Alexander's band, New Radicals, and the group achieved moderate success with their 1998 album "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too" and their hit single "You Get What You Give." But by the turn of the century, the group had dissolved. "Even in 1999, we were horrified where the music business and media were speeding to. Gregg wanted to return to being a 'day-to-day artist' and not a 'career rockstar.' He was maybe just too generous, or even naive of a spirit for the job," Briesbois said in Billboard in 2018 of the end of New Radicals. "He was an enigmatic performer, and on tour during encores he would often let the audience rush the stage to dance and jump around, yet he was surprised when people would grab onto him and not let go. That childlike wonder was kinda beautiful," she added.

Clearly the band did not break up on bad terms. To further emphasize that point, Brisebois collaborated with Alexander again on her second album, "Portable Life." Although the album was heard by some and fared well among that select group of people, RCA didn't officially release Brisebois' sophomore solo album until 2008 despite it being recorded in 1999, for reasons which have never been publicly disclosed.

Danielle Brisebois is clearly a woman of many talents, and not being able to release her own music didn't stop her from making an impact on the music industry. In the early 2000s, Brisebois started writing, producing, and providing backup vocals for other artists, starting with musicians like Ronan Keating, Rod Stewart, and Kelly Clarkson. But Brisebois' biggest hits as a songwriter came in the mid-2000s when she met an artist named Natasha Bedingfield. The duo would go on to write Bedingfield's hit song "Unwritten" with producer/songwriter Wayne Rodrigues, and it went on to become a radio hit and the opening credits theme for "The Hills." "'Unwritten' started as a poem. Then I found the right songwriter in Danielle Brisebois — who'd had amazing experiences as a child actor and in the band New Radicals. She helped me with the idea that every child is a blank page and can write their own future," Bedingfield told The Guardian in 2024 of the songwriting experience.

Creating "Unwritten" was just as personal for Brisebois. "For ages, I'd wanted to write a song about how you never know what to expect from life. I'd had three different careers. I'd gone from having a ton of money to being broke and living in a garage when I was 20. I never saw Natasha's poem for her brother but I did see the word 'unwritten' on her computer. As soon as I started singing the melody, the whole thing started rolling," Brisebois said. The two also teamed up with writer/producer John Shanks and penned another one of Bedingfield's smashes, "Pocketful of Sunshine."

When Danielle Brisebois first entered show business, she might've dreamed of one day being up for an acting Oscar, but she ended up with a nomination via a different path. The former "All in the Family" star still got a nomination, but as a songwriter instead. Brisebois signed on to be part of the 2013 film "Begin Again," which starred Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, and Adam Levine. Along with Gregg Alexander, Brisebois wrote an original song for the film, "Lost Stars," and the two were nominated for best original song at the 2015 Academy Awards (the Oscar ultimately went to Common and John Legend for their song "Glory," written for the film "Selma").

And Brisebois didn't just provide music for the movie. She also had a small role in the film, marking her official return to acting. "I had to sit with [the script] and think about these characters. It's not just like songs in other films. It's part of the narrative of who these people are. I got to be an actress and songwriter all at once," she told HollywoodInToto in 2014.