John Carroll O'Connor

 John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001)

His television career spanned four decades. A life-member of The Actors Studio, O'Connor first attracted attention as Major General Colt in the 1970 movie Kelly's Heroes. The following year he found fame as the bigoted working man Archie Bunker, the main character in the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family (1971 to 1979) and Archie Bunker's Place (1979 to 1983). O'Connor later starred in the crime drama In the Heat of the Night from 1988 to 1995, where he played the role of southern Police Chief William (Bill) Gillespie. At the end of his career in the late 1990s, he played the father of Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) on Mad About You. On March 28, 1995, O'Connor's adoptive son Hugh committed suicide after a long battle with drug addiction. Following his son's death, O'Connor appeared in public service announcements for Partnership for a Drug Free America and spent the rest of his life working to raise awareness about drug addiction. O'Connor also successfully lobbied to get the State of California to pass legislation allowing family members of an addicted person or anyone injured by a drug dealer's actions, including employers, to sue for reimbursement for medical treatment and rehabilitation costs and other economic and non-economic damages.

The law, known as the Drug Dealer Civil Liability Act in California, went into effect in 1997. Carroll O'Connor died on June 21, 2001, in Culver City, California, from a heart attack brought on by complications from diabetes. He was 76 years old. His funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and was attended by All in the Family cast members Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers and Danielle Brisebois, as well as producer Norman Lear. He is buried at Westwood Memorial Park.