I just posted the following in another thread about Sally Struthers, and have now deleted it there because perhaps this deserves it's own thread.
______________________________________________________
Here's a link to the first pilot, Justice for All, from 1968:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xwKhHoQ-_w

And here's the second pilot, Those Were the Days, from 1969:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlboZuvBFNM

And from 1970, the third time's the charm, All in the Family:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XNLOGrnmIw

And here's the British series that inspired it all, Till Death Us Do Part (it first went on the air in 1965):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esT_O...eature=related

thanx for posting those links, just got done watching "AND JUSTICE FOR ALL". I think they should have kept the actor who played Richard; he was better than Rob Riener. Also, I didn't like Kelly Jean Peters as Gloria; I can see why they replaced her. And Archies hair looked like Ralph Kramdens.

thanx for posting those links, just got done watching "AND JUSTICE FOR ALL". I think they should have kept the actor who played Richard; he was better than Rob Riener. Also, I didn't like Kelly Jean Peters as Gloria; I can see why they replaced her. And Archies hair looked like Ralph Kramdens.

Good observations there, though I actually prefer the actor in the second pilot, Those Were the Days, to the one in And Justice for All. But I understand they didn't go with him (guy #2) because he was too big and bulky. And I can see where it might have been a problem having a big huge overpowering guy yelling at Archie. I don't think Rob Reiner was necessarily the best actor they could have found for the part, but between the three, I prefer him. Maybe I'm just used to him. :)

The guy in the first pilot, his name was Tim McIntire. He had a tragically short life, falling into drug addiction which led to his untimely death from heart failure in 1986 at age 41. I have to wonder if his drug problems had anything to do with missing out on a part that made Rob Reiner a big star, and put him on a path to becoming a successful director by the mid '80s, while McIntire fell into obscurity. Very sad.

I do agree about Kelly Jean Peters. She seemed too hyper or something.

As for Archie's hair, yes! I'm glad he changed it. I also find his acting style in that first pilot not quite right for Archie. He was too animated. By the second pilot, I think Carroll O'Connor had "found" his Archie character.