The Sally Struthers Story

Those of us of a certain age are apt to associate Sally Struthers (b. 1947) with a single role, but as you will see, it’s an injustice to do so. The prologues and epilogues are substantial chapters in and of themselves; the entire career deserves a salute.

Given Struthers’ association with so many east coast characters it may surprise you to learn that she was originally from Portland, Oregon. She studied at Pasadena Playhouse, and was lauded for her work there, leading to roles in such films as The Phynx (1970), Five Easy Pieces(1970) and The Getaway (1972), and guest shots on the tv programs Love American Style, Ironside, and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. At around this time she was also the voice of Pebbles on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, and worked as a dancer on variety shows. In 1970 and 1971 she had gigs on The Smothers Brothers Summer Hour, The Tim Conway Comedy Hour, and a Bob Hope special.

Look! She’s eatin’ an apple — just like Eve!

She was clearly going places quickly. Her career then went into overdrive when she was cast on what was to become the hottest show on television, All in the Family, playing the role of Archie Bunker’s daughter Gloria on the show from 1971 to 1978, and later in recurring appearances on Archie Bunker’s Place from 1979 to 1982, followed by her own spin-off Gloria (co-starring Burgess Meredith) from 1982 to 1983. Her casting was a savvy if counterintuitive move by creator Norman Lear and his team. Candice Azzara had played the part in the pilot. Cast member Rob Reiner’s wife Penny Marshall had reportedly also been considered. Both of them would have made a great deal of sense given the show’s setting in Queens, New York.

But Struthers brought a couple of other useful elements. One is that she bore a certain resemblance to Carol O’Connor, especially around the eyes. The other was sex appeal. Struthers was all curvy and busty and she brought that long-haired west coast hippie chick element. She was the same girl who had danced on those variety shows. At the height of her fame, Playboy actually offered her a million dollars to pose nude (she turned it down). Although it was only occasionally articulated on the show, her All in the Family character represented the Sexual Revolution and what was then called Women’s Lib, i.e., Liberation. It was the age of the ERA (appallingly unpassed to this day), and Our Bodies Ourselves. Yet, tellingly, the character seemed to have no career or aspirations for one. She remained dependent on her husband and father, and was given to child-like behavior such as a recurring trope where she comically burst into tears, in the tradition of Stan Laurel and Lucille Ball. Yet the part made Struthers a household name, and kept her in American living rooms every week for nearly a decade.

Here’s a very cool post by my wife featuring an interview with Strothers at the height of her fame in the short-live Star magazine.

TV stardom begets more TV stardom. In the years she she was playing Gloria, Strothers was a guest on other hit shows of the day like Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. She also got to stretch her tiny legs (sorry! had to!) in dramatic roles in numerous TV movies throughout the ’70s and ’80s. My favorite of course was The Great Houdini (1976) in which she played Bess to Paul Michael Glaser’s Harry.

In 1985 she went to Broadway in Neil Simon’s gender-reversed rewrite of The Odd Couple opposite Rita Moreno (Struthers was the Felix equivalent). She then went on to replace Moreno on the tv sitcom version of the hit movie 9 to 5 (1986-88), with Jane Curtin and Dolly Parton’s younger sister Rachel Dennison. Throughout the ’90s she did TONS of work in providing voices for animated kids shows. To the delight of many, she emerged (a little stouter, a little older) as a member of the Stars Hollow ensemble on Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), playing an earthy local character named Babette. She also had a recurring role as Bill Addy’s mother on Still Standing during that same time frame (2002-06), and a part in Mario Van Peebles’ bio-pic about his dad MelvinBadasssss! (2003). Throughout the ensuing decades she continued to work in live theatre, occasional TV guest shots, low-budget films and cartoon voice-overs. Which now gives me the opportunity to plug this:

Last year Struthers co-starred (with Jennifer Leigh Houston) in the horror comedy eVil Sublet (2023), directed by my friend Allan Piper (the gent who directed my anti-Trump clown spot for the Now This series in 2018). Several of my friends are also in it, including Piper himself (who plays a magician), ventriloquist Carla Rhodes, Coney Island USA’s Adam Realman, and storyteller Michele Carlo. And of course the Coney Island Funny Face! Check out the trailer here!

For more about vaudevilleconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.