Archibald "Archie" Bunker
The owner of the eponymous establishment. Archie is slowly but surely working past the prejudices that defined his character on All in the Family with the help of his friends and family.
- Abusive Parents: His father was not a nice guy to say the least. Being locked in a closet barely touches the surface of his childhood. Archie himself, for all his disagreements with his daughter, hardly ever took a swing at her.
- Arch-Enemy (no pun intended): To George Jefferson. Going into Jefferson's house would be the day hell froze over for Archie.
- Catchphrase: Archie had quite a few.
- "Dummy up, you".
- "Whoop-de-do, whoop-de-doo, whoop-de-doo!"
- "Aw, geez."
- Character Development: Archie started out on All in the Family as a dyed in the wool white supremacist. By the time of this show's premiere, he is a member of a Jewish temple for the sake of his beloved adopted niece. A notable turning point occurs in the episode 'The Incident' where Archie quits his beloved lodge, the Kings of Queens out of disgust with one of his friends' racist comments.
- Embarrassing Nickname: "Shoebooty", what the other kids called him when he was little because his parents could only afford to give him a shoe and a boot to wear as a pair of footwear, according to the Bottle Episode where he and Michael are locked in the cellar.Archie: They used to holler, "Tooty fruity, here comes Shoebooty." And they kept calling me that until they found out my name was Archibald, and they thought that was funnier. And then I wished they'd go back to "Shoebooty".
- Emotionally Tongue-Tied: Archie has difficulty with expressing affection. This is brought up in the custody episode as a mark against him, until Stephanie explains that just because he is not verbally affectionate, it doesn't mean he doesn't love her.
- Everyone Has Standards: You wouldn't know it from his temper, but he actually has lines he won't cross. Besides being a Noble Bigot, he objects to one of his friends calling Mike a "Communist". He may disagree with Mike, but he won't call him a "red".
- He was also thoroughly repulsed when he found out that what he thought was a social club turned out to be the local KKK chapter, and promptly tells them off and quits, after warning them to stay away from Mike and Gloria's house(Mike had written a controversial letter to the editor and the Klan intended to burn a cross on his lawn) or he would come back with some of his "black blood brothers" and "bust their honkey heinys."
- Freudian Excuse: His father was a mean old racist himself.
- His father was also implied to have physically abused him when he "did wrong", possibly explaining Archie's strict adherence to his conservative values.
- Apparently, the old man regularly hit Archie with a shovel when he stepped out of line.
- Hypocrite: He is disgusted by pre-marital sex, but he has:
- Slept with a girl in high school when Edith was on vacation.
- Implied that he visited brothels while in the service.
- Had a few sexual relationships after Edith's death.
- Innocent Bigot: His prejudices are mostly depicted as a product of his ignorance and upbringing rather than any actual malice. He seemed genuinely fond of Lionel and upon finding out his longtime friend and coworker Stretch Cunningham was Jewish(after Stretch had died), he delivered a heartfelt eulogy, including a sincere "shalom".
- Jerkass: He was most famous for being an outspoken bigot.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As shown in some of the episodes. His bigotry was more a product of his background than out of malice, and he genuinely loved his family even if he had a hard time showing it.
- Laser-Guided Karma: When his selfishness and bigotry become too much. In one episode, he willingly accepted a bribe to not to press charges against the son of a local politician, and by the end of the episode, he lost money on the deal.
- Lower-Class Lout
- Malaproper: Big time. If he uses a big word, chances are he'll use it incorrectly.
- Noble Bigot: In spite of his prejudices, he is not a hateful man, as shown by his sort-of-friendship with Lionel, accepting his niece's Jewish heritage, even buying her a necklace with a Jewish star, and standing up to a friend who was Klan member to prevent them from burning a cross on Mike's lawn.
- Real Men Hate Affection: Archie hates showing affection, and is disgusted by Mike and Gloria for doing so. He occasionally shows genuine affection for Edith, but believes such things to be private.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Sometimes. Aside from his bigoted opinions, he can be quite selfish and he constantly puts down everyone around him.
- Working-Class People Are Morons
Edgar Van Ranseleer
A patron of Archie's bar, Mr. Van R, as he was known was an elderly blind man who regularly doled out advice to the other inhabitants of the bar. Notably, he's one of the only characters who commands Archie's full respect.
- Cool Old Guy
- Dark Secret: He actually had two:
- His blindness is completely incurable.
- He was a victim of McCarthyism. He was a teacher and was investigated because of his association with known communists. He was fired because when asked if he was a communist, he refused to answer.
- Dirty Old Man: Played for laughs. It was once implied that Mr. Van R visited a prostitute who had become a regular at the bar.
- The Sage: He often gives out wise advice.
- Transplant: Appeared in a few episodes of the final season of All in the Family.
