Sally Struthers

Sally Anne Struthers (born July 28, 1947) is an American actress and activist. She played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker in ''All in the Family'', for which she won two Emmy Awards, and Babette on ''Gilmore Girls''. She was also the voice of Charlene Sinclair on the ABC sitcom ''Dinosaurs'', Pebbles Flintstone on ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'', and Rebecca Cunningham on the Disney animated series ''TaleSpin''.

Early life

Sally Anne Struthers was born on July 28, 1947, in Portland, Oregon, the second of two daughters born to Margaret Caroline (née Jernes) and Robert Alden Struthers, a surgeon. She has an older sister, Sue. Her maternal grandparents were Norwegian immigrants.

Her father abandoned the family when Struthers was approximately nine years old, after which she was raised by her single mother in the Concordia neighborhood of northeast Portland. Her mother, who supported herself and her two daughters working at Bonneville Power Administration, suffered from significant depression during Struthers' childhood.

Career

She appeared as a restless wife of a veterinarian in '' The Getaway'' starring Steve McQueen (1972). Around that time, Struthers debuted as Gloria Stivic on the 1970s sitcom ''All in the Family''; producer Norman Lear had found the actress dancing on ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''.

According to a WPTT radio interview with Doug Hoerth in 2003, Struthers thought that Rob Reiner's then-fiancée and later wife, Penny Marshall, would get the role of Gloria, as Marshall more resembled Jean Stapleton, who played Edith Bunker. Actress Candice Azzara had played the role of Gloria in a pilot episode, but was soon dropped. After a shaky start, the series became a hit beginning with its summer reruns, giving tens of millions of viewers the chance to see Gloria defending her viewpoints about negative stereotypes and inequality. Struthers won two Emmy Awards (in 1972 and 1979) for her work on the show. In 2012, Struthers recalled the serendipity that helped her land the role:

Though Struthers has spoken fondly of ''All In The Family'', she was also personally discontent with how static her character was portrayed, and only regarded the time between the sixth and eighth seasons of ''All In The Family'', which aired after she made an unsuccessful attempt to sue to get out of her contract with the show, as the best time she had playing Gloria. In 2025, Struthers stated that Lear regarded her as the show's "fourth banana" compared to the other three leads, never invited her to any of the dinner parties he held, and told her that he only wanted to cast her in the show because she had "blue eyes and a fat face."

In 1977 she portrayed a housewife who was physically abused by her husband (portrayed by Dennis Weaver) in the made-for-TV movie '' Intimate Strangers'', which was one of the first network features to focus on domestic violence.

On the short-lived '' Archie Bunker's Place'' spin-off '' Gloria'' (1982–1983), Struthers reprised Gloria as a new divorcée (she became an "exchange student," when husband Mike exchanged her for one of his students). The series co-starred Burgess Meredith as the doctor of an animal clinic with Gloria as his assistant. From 1985 to 1986 Struthers starred as Florence Ungar in the female version of '' The Odd Couple.'' Struthers later stated in an interview on ''Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast,'' that it was an unpleasant experience until Rita Moreno, who was mean-spirited towards Struthers, left the play and was replaced by Brenda Vaccaro.

She was a semi-regular panelist on the 1990 revival of ''Match Game'' and an occasional guest on ''Win, Lose or Draw'' (even filling in for Vicki Lawrence as host for a week). She also had a recurring role as Bill Miller's manipulative mother, Louise, on '' Still Standing'' and regularly appeared on ''Gilmore Girls'' as Babette Dell. She also provided voices for a number of animated series such as ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' (as a teenage Pebbles Flintstone), ''TaleSpin'' (as Rebecca Cunningham) and was one of the voice stars on ABC's ''Dinosaurs'' produced by Walt Disney and Henson Productions (as Charlene Sinclair).

Struthers starred in the stage production of '' Annie'' at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and in the national tour of the production in the late 1990s. She has been a regular since the early 2000s at the Ogunquit Playhouse, in Ogunquit, Maine.

In 2014, Struthers toured in the 50th-anniversary production of '' Hello, Dolly!'', playing Dolly Levi.

In 2024, Struthers began playing Virgina Foldau in the Netflix series '' A Man on the Inside'', starring Ted Danson.
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In January 2025, ''The Life and Times of Norman Lear'' author Tripp Whetsell revealed that Struthers had a tense relationship with Norman Lear and tried to leave ''All In The Family'' after the fifth season, spending $40,000 in legal fees in an unsuccessful effort to get out of her contract.

Activism

Struthers was a spokesperson for Christian Children's Fund (later renamed ChildFund), advocating on behalf of impoverished children in developing countries.

Business interests

Struthers has been a spokesperson for International Correspondence School (ICS) in television ads, pitching the famous line "Do you want to make more money? Sure, we all do!" ICS was a school with a diverse curriculum that, at the time, had fields of study going from brick laying to personal computers.

Personal life

Struthers married psychiatrist William C. Rader on December 18, 1977, in Los Angeles. After having one child, daughter Samantha, the couple divorced on January 19, 1983.

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio dramas

Stage

* ''Wally's Cafe'' (1981) ... Janet (Broadway: Brooks Atkinson Theatre)
*'' The Odd Couple'' (1985–1986) ... Florence Ungar (Broadway: Broadhurst Theatre)
*'' Grease'' (1994–1998) ... Miss Lynch (Broadway: Eugene O'Neill Theatre)
* '' Annie'' (1998–1999) ... Miss Hannigan, 20th Anniversary National Tour
* '' Nunsense'' (2008) ... Mother Superior, 25th Anniversary Tour
* '' Hello, Dolly!'' (2013–2014) ... Dolly Levi, 50th Anniversary Tour
* '' Young Frankenstein'' (2022) ... Frau Blucher (McCoy/Rigby Ent. / La Mirada Theatre, CA)

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

* 1971 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (tied with Valerie Harper)
* 1979 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Ovation Awards

*2010: Won the award for Featured Actress in a Musical for the role of the "Fairy Godmother" in the Cabrillo Music Theatre production of ''Cinderella''

In popular culture

*Struthers was satirized in ''South Park'', mainly the episodes " Starvin' Marvin" (1997) and " Starvin' Marvin in Space" (1999). In the latter she resembles Jabba the Hutt and eats the Christian Children's Fund's food herself.
*Stuthers was also satirized Season 3 of the comedy show In Living Color, in a sketch titled "Feed Me".

References

External links

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Sally Struthers
at Voice Chasers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Struthers, Sally
1947 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
American activists
American Christians
Actresses from Portland, Oregon
American film actresses
American people of Norwegian descent
American television actresses
American voice actresses
Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
Hanna-Barbera people