Stars From All In The Family You Didn't Know Died

Another liberal foil to Archie Bunker was Irene Lorenzo, a neighbor and co-worker. A proud Irish Catholic woman, who was incredibly handy, strong-willed, and dismissive of prescribed gender roles (she worked as a forklift driver at the same plant that employed Archie), Irene was well-liked by the Bunkers, as well as viewers. She remained a

Another liberal foil to Archie Bunker was Irene Lorenzo, a neighbor and co-worker. A proud Irish Catholic woman, who was incredibly handy, strong-willed, and dismissive of prescribed gender roles (she worked as a forklift driver at the same plant that employed Archie), Irene was well-liked by the Bunkers, as well as viewers. She remained a regular presence on the series through 1975.

Betty Garrett, who played Irene, trained at NYC's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1930s, before landing roles in a series of Broadway shows including "Call Me Mister," per the Orlando Sentinel. After signing a contract with MGM, and appearing in a number of the studio's movie musicals, like "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "On the Town," it seemed that she was destined to be a big star. However, it all came to an abrupt end when her husband, Larry Parks, was outed as a former member of the Communist Party (a connection that resulted in Garrett being blacklisted in Hollywood).

Eventually, Garrett was able to return to professional acting, and wound up working on shows like "All in the Family," "Laverne & Shirley," "The Golden Girls," and "Becker." She also helped found the Theater West theater in Los Angeles, where she taught classes up until her death and directed and starred in several plays and one-woman revues. In 2011, Garrett died of an aortic aneurysm at the age of 91.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7XCpKCsr5mbwW%2BvzqZmcGhpZoZ1e9KtmKurXZu%2FsLmMmqOlZZmjerW0xGadmqWZocZuxc6uZJ2hlKPBbrfNqK5mnJmasXA%3D

 Share!