Sally Struthers is looking back on her time working with Rob Reiner on “All In the Family.”
During an interview with Woman’s World, the 78-year-old actress shared the life-changing career advice she received from Reiner while they were working together on the hit ’70s sitcom.
“If you can make the show itself more important than your own part, you will wind up offering to give up some of your lines,” Struthers recalled Reiner telling her when she noticed her lines kept getting cut when filming the show.
The two played Gloria and Michael, a husband-and-wife pair in “All In The Family” playing the liberal counterparts to Struthers’ on-screen conservative working-class parents, played by Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton.
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Both Struthers and Reiner left the show following its eighth season, when their characters moved to California with their son. When Struthers returned to the role of Gloria in the short-lived spin-off show, it was revealed that Michael left her and their son off-camera.
“Gloria Bunker Stivic would have remarried,” she told Woman’s World. “Someone just as inspiring as her first husband, because Mike taught Gloria a lot.”
When news of Reiner’s death broke, Struthers told Deadline: “There are no words. This is beyond devastating and my heart is with their family.”
Reiner and Struthers previously reunited on stage at the 2024 Emmy Awards when the award show put together a tribute to Norman Lear, who created many popular shows, including “All In the Family,” “Silver Spoons,” “The Jeffersons,” “Who’s the Boss” and many others.
“Sally and I were part of a unique television family: not just the Bunkers, but Norman Lear’s extended family,” Reiner said during the tribute. “Over the decades, Norman brought us together, and he created groundbreaking television shows that depicted real people who made us laugh, made us think, made us feel.”
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Following his time on “All In the Family,” Reiner went on to direct some of Hollywood’s most beloved films, including “When Harry Met Sally,” “Stand By Me,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride” and many others.
Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead in their Brentwood home on Sunday, Dec. 14, with LAPD Assistant Police Chief Dominic Choi later confirming their bodies were found in their bedroom.
Early on in the investigation, the couple’s son Nick was named as a person of interest and was later taken into custody. He was booked on Monday, Dec. 15 and was formally charged with double homicide on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Following the murders, Nick’s troubled past involving addiction and mental health issues resurfaced, and the family’s neighbors began speaking with the media about his past erratic and violent behavior.
“Years ago, when he was young, he was on heroin and cocaine, and he went to rehab and did well and was apparently back to normal, but obviously, that wasn’t the case,” Maryanne Lewis, who has lived in the Brentwood neighborhood for over 50 years, told Fox News Digital. “I heard nothing about him recently.”
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Another neighbor told the New York Post, “This is not the first time their son has been violent,” adding, “I know of another incident a few years back with Nick, but I won’t say more than that. I just never thought it would ever get to this point.”
“Rob was always heartbroken that his son couldn’t beat his addiction,” the neighbor continued. “I know they wanted him to get help, go to rehab, but he wanted to get help while at home — he did not want to get treatment at a facility.”
ROB REINER’S HISTORIC BRENTWOOD ESTATE: FROM CELEBRATED HOLLYWOOD LEGACY TO SCENE OF TRAGEDY
