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Carroll O'Connor said that he took the role of Archie Bunker of All in the Family and Bill Gillespie of In the Heat of the Night for the same reason
The two shows had one thing in common.
While there were plenty of differences between Archie Bunker and Bill Gillespie, Carroll O'Connor saw at least one similarity between the two men.
"I liked the idea that we could do something that when people turned it off, they would stay, 'That was right on,'" said O'Connor during an interview with The Washington Post. "'That's life as it's lived.'"
O'Connor was looking to make a difference in the world, and he wanted to do it through television. Much like All in the Family, In the Heat of the Night prompted heavy conversations and introspection.
Still, his time on In the Heat of the Night wasn't without its issues. O'Connor kept his determination, even if it almost came at the cost of the series.
"I nearly left the show after last season," said O'Connor. "We were getting recycled crime scripts. I saw dialogue I'd seen in other shows. Then Fred (Silverman) broke into print, saying it's foremost a crime show. I told him he didn't need me to do another crime show, with lights flashing and sirens going. That's bull."
Like the film before it, O'Connor wanted In the Heat of the Night to stand in a league of its own on television. When the writing wasn't up to snuff, he wasn't shy about letting his opinions be known.
"The material was disappointing, the writing was second-best," said O'Connor. "I told them it would have to improve, or they would have to get someone else. They were taking big city stories and imposing them on a small town. It was like having Miami Vice plots forced into a little town setting."
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