Archie Bunker and Henry Jefferson's feuds on 'All in the Family'

All in the Family little known fact

ALL IN THE FAMILY ran on CBS from 1971-1979. Fans can still enjoy the series in syndication on various cable networks and streaming services. Some who watched the original run of the show might be surprised to learn that Archie Bunker, (Carroll O'Conner) did not meet his nemesis, George Jefferson,( Sherman Hemsley) until 1973 when season 4 began. It was George's sibling Henry Jefferson, (Mel Stewart) who vexed Archie for the first 3 seasons. George was talked about so much that probably by the time he did show up many who watched the sitcom probably felt like he had always been around.

George's wife Louise, (Isabelle Sanford) and son Lionel, (Mike Evans) were regulars at the Bunker home but George himself was mentioned in name only. Henry debuted early in season one when the Jeffersons were supposed to have dinner with the Bunkers. Louise eventually had to admit that her husband refused to come to dinner because he did not want to break bread with a white family. This upset Archie earlier in the evening and he had asked his wife Edith Bunker, (Jean Stapleton) to uninvite the Jeffersons because he did not want black people eating in his home.

Henry Jefferson vexed Archie

Henry Jefferson became a thorn in the side to Archie and would show up in his house just to start trouble. The two men were always at odds but did agree on one issue. They each believed people should stick with their own race. Henry and Archie actually once put their differences aside and teamed up to prevent a Puerto Rican couple from moving into the neighborhood. Henry would sit in Archie's favorite chair and the two men bickered over which one was the true racist. The childish adults even stuck their tongues out at each other and blew raspberries.

Mel Stewart made his mark

Mel Stewart and Caroll O'Connor worked well together and Mel probably could have carried his own weight through the run of the series. Perhaps Archie could have had double trouble and been harassed by both Jefferson brothers. Unfortunately for Stewart, Sherman Hemsley was destined to portray the uptight black racist role of George Jefferson and there was a specific reason why the man who was Lionel's dad and Louise's husband was spoken of but not seen for 3 seasons.

Norman Lear had chosen Sherman Hensley to portray Archie's next door neighbor but the actor had a prior engagement in the BROADWAY musical PURLIE. Lear did not desire to replace Hemsley and agreed to put a hold on the role and allow him to finish his commitment. Mel Stewart was cast in the role as Geroge's sibling to keep Archie on his toes until Sherman was free to begin playing the iconic character. Henry Jefferson's final appearance on ALL IN THE FAMILY was in "Henry's Fairwell" the same episode in which George Jefferson first shows up on the screen.

Henry Jefferson's farewell

Henry was said to be moving to upstate New York to start his own dry-cleaning business. Geroge Jefferson's brother never appeared on the spin-off series THE JEFFERSONS, although he was referred to in an episode titled "Uncle George and Aunt Louise". At this point, it was revealed that Henry and his wife Ruby were living in Chicago. Although they never visited George and Louise their son, Raymond (Gary Coleman) did visit on THE JEFFERSONS.

After THE JEFFERSONS, Mel Stewart was in many films and television series including portraying section chief Billy Melrose on the TV series SCARECROW AND MRS KING. He also had roles in BEWITCHED spinoff TABITHA, THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, THAT GIRL, MARCUS WELBY MD, and GOOD TIMES. He was in the movies GET CHRISTIE LOVE, ROLL OUT, and MADE IN AMERICA. Mel Stewart was also an actor and a director. He married Annie Dong in July of 1976 and they had one daughter. He passed away from Alzheimer's disease on February 24, 2002.