US TV icon Jean Stapleton, 90, dies
Jean Stapleton, whose shrill-voiced housewife in the trailblazing All in the Family sitcom was one of US television’s defining and most beloved characters, has died at the age of 90, media reports said on Saturday.
Stapleton came into her own as the retiring homebody Edith Bunker, who was often at odds with her curmudgeonly and bigoted husband Archie on the TV popular programme.
Unbeknownst to many Americans, however, Stapleton was an accomplished stage actress before becoming a pop culture icon during her starring role in the 1970s Norman Lear television series. The popular show was an adaptation of the British series Til Death US Do Part, about a working-class couple and a husband with racist views. Stapleton played the role as slightly oddball but traditional homemaker, who over time begins to reflect on feminism and other burning social issues, fueling hilarious run-ins with her stuck-in-the-mud husband, played by actor Carroll O’Connor.
The series was such a cultural touchstone in the US that the armchair in which O’Connor was filmed each week is now on exhibit.
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Brad Pitt’s mother saved jolie’s life?
Los Angeles: Hollywood star Brad Pitt’s mother Jane was influential in Angelina Jolie’s decision to take the test that led to her preventative double mastectomy. Jane asked the 37-year-old star to take the test, which led to her finding out she carried the BRCA1 cancer gene, that gave her an 87 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer, reported National Enquirer.
“Basically, Brad’s mom helped save Angie’s life. When Angie told Jane that she was considering having genetic testing, Jane said to do whatever she thought was best for the children’s sake,” a source said. “That was all Angie had to hear. She made a decision right then and there to have it done,” it added. — PTI
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