Jean Stapleton was one celebrity I had the pleasure of 'meeting' via Twitter in 2011. I've always been a fan of hers and of her Edith Bunker character on All in the Family (1971-79), one of my all-time favourite TV shows.
I was surprised when I discovered she had a Twitter account. She was 88
years old at the time, and had been retired for the past decade. Not being absolutely sure it was her official account or whether it was an imposter, I sent a message expressing my admiration for her.
Six months later, I got a reply, and it made my day!
I wrote to her a couple more times after that. I told her how sad I felt when I watched the Archie Bunker's Place episode that dealt with Edith's death. She replied that by 1980, she felt the need to move on to other roles. I told her she did well, post-Edith, and liked her in the musical Something's Afoot (it was one of the first projects she took on after retiring the character). When she wrote about the time she met singer Etta James just before her death in 2012, I said I also liked her, and saw her perform once in Toronto.
Shortly after we exchanged those messages, she closed her Twitter account. Stapleton died of natural causes on May 31, 2013, after living 90 wonderful years. I remembered her in a tweet the next day as "a sweet, classy lady." Rest in peace Jean, and Dingbat, xoxox.
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