Season 2 Episode 22: All in the Family

Peggy’s relatives descend on the house: two uncles who cannot be in the same room without fighting, and a trio of singing, dancing aunts whose show-business career is in enough trouble already without Al offering advice. Al’s own ambition for the day is to watch Hondo on television, and the episode is the distance between those two things.

The Wanker Triplets are played by the Del Rubio Triplets, a genuine and much-loved novelty act, and their casting came through the cast. Katey Sagal had seen them perform at a party in 1985 thrown by the songwriter Allee Willis, and two years later the connection brought them to the show. One of the numbers they perform is Waylon Jennings’s “Good Hearted Woman”: Jennings himself turned up on the series six seasons later as Ironhead Haynes.

Uncle Irwin is played by King Kong Bundy, which is more significant than a guest spot. According to co-creator Michael G. Moye, the family’s surname came from the wrestler in the first place, and this appearance was followed by almost seven years of semi-retirement from the ring. He came back to the series in season ten as himself.

The episode ends with a dedication card reading “This episode is dedicated to the memory of DIVINE 1945 – 1988.” Divine, the drag performer and John Waters regular, had been cast in the episode and died before it was taped. The production went seven weeks without a new episode afterwards, filling the gap with repeats, which is almost certainly why.

Episode Facts

• Original air date: May 1, 1988
• Season 2, Episode 22, the season finale, and the 35th episode of the series
• Aired seven weeks after the previous episode
• Written by Marcy Vosburgh and Sandy Sprung
• Directed by Linda Day

Guest Cast

• King Kong Bundy as Uncle Irwin
• James “Gypsy” Haake as Uncle Otto
• The Del Rubio Triplets, Milly, Elena and Eadie, as the Wanker Triplets

Where the Name Bundy Came From

The casting is the story. Uncle Irwin is played by the wrestler King Kong Bundy, and according to co-creator Michael G. Moye that is where the family surname came from in the first place. He came back in season 10 as himself. The Wanker Triplets are played by the real Del Rubio Triplets, whom Katey Sagal had seen perform at a party a few years earlier.

The episode closes with a dedication card reading “This episode is dedicated to the memory of DIVINE 1945 to 1988.” The seven week gap between this and the previous episode, filled with repeats, lines up with that.

Famous Quotes

• Al: “Peg, I’m blind! I saw your mother naked and everything went black! I think my eyes were trying to protect my heart!” Al, after the bathroom.
• Uncle Irwin: “Stop being a baby! It’s only hysterical blindness! It wears off eventually.” Uncle Irwin, who has seen this before.
• Kelly: “Don’t take it personally. Daddy always takes a noose with him into the bathroom.” Kelly, reassuring the guests.
• Peggy: “Ever since Daddy paid for dinner with his watch, he’s been sort of a crab apple.” Peg, on her husband’s mood.

Notes

• The title references the CBS sitcom All in the Family.
• Co-creator Michael G. Moye has said the Bundy surname came from King Kong Bundy, who plays Uncle Irwin here.
• After this appearance King Kong Bundy went into semi-retirement from wrestling for nearly seven years. He returned to the show in season 10’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.”
• The closing dedication is to Divine, the performer, who died in March 1988.
• Goof: Uncle Irwin is clearly visible behind Al during a conversation in which he is not supposed to be in the room.