Sally Struthers

Blessed with an appealing vulnerability, Sally Struthers impressed in a "Five Easy Pieces" (1970) cameo but achieved stardom as Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker (Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton) and wife of Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner) on the groundbreaking "All in the Family" (CBS, 1971-79). One of the most acclaimed, controversial and popular television series of all time, the show tackled hot-button issues head-on, and as Gloria, Struthers reflected the real-life struggles and successes of younger women in a changing society. For her appealing performance, she won two Emmys and after leaving the series in 1978, eventually earned her own spin-off, "Gloria" (CBS, 1982-83). She lensed a juicy supporting role in "The Getaway" (1972) but found more success in made-for-TV films and using her distinctively girlish pipes for voiceover work, including as the Flintstones' daughter on "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" (CBS, 1971-72), Baloo's boss Becky on "TaleSpin" (Disney Channel, 1990, syndicated, 1990-91) and dino-daughter Charlene Sinclair on the live-action puppet series "Dinosaurs" (ABC, 1991-94). Lampooned for her weight gain and tearfully earnest delivery as the TV spokeswoman for the Christian Children's Fund, Struthers frequently toured in productions of "Grease" and "Annie" and recurred on "Still Standing" (CBS, 2002-06) and "Gilmore Girls" (The WB, 2000-06; The CW, 2006-07). Although her professional success was eventually overshadowed by easy, sometimes cruel punchlines, Sally Struthers built an impressively lengthy career and took a highly visible role in raising enormous amounts of money for impoverished children.