LOS ANGELES — Television director John Rich, who won an Emmy Award for the memorable “All in the Family” scene showing Sammy Davis Jr. planting a kiss on Archie Bunker, has died in Los Angeles at 86.
Rich also won an Emmy for “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” His 50-year Hollywood career included “I Married Joan,” “Our Miss Brooks,” “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza.” He also directed episodes or pilots of “The Twilight Zone,” “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Maude,” “Good Times,” “The Jeffersons,” “Barney Miller” and “Newhart.”
In the 1972 “All in the Family” episode “Sammy’s Visit,” Davis, appearing as himself, accidentally leaves his briefcase in Archie’s cab and drops by the Bunker home to pick it up. After getting to know Archie, Davis says he wants a picture taken of him and Archie.
It was Rich’s suggestion to end the scene with what became a classic TV moment: Just as the camera flashes, Davis kisses Archie on the cheek.
“On the night we shot the show, the moment when Sammy Davis Jr. kisses Archie Bunker earned us the biggest, longest laugh I have ever experienced,” Rich wrote in his 2006 book “Warm Up the Snake: A Hollywood Memoir.”
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
