Jean Stapleton dies: She was more than 'Edith Bunker' (+video)

Jean Stapleton dies: A stage-trained actress, Jean Stapleton won three Emmys for portraying 'Edith Bunker' in 'All in the Family.' Norman Lear said, 'Jean [Stapleton] was a brilliant comedienne with exquisite timing.

By Jake Pearson and Lynn Elber,?Associated Press / June 1, 2013

Cast members of "All in the Family," from left, Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, and Sally Struthers pose with their Emmys backstage at the 24th annual Emmy Awards in Hollywood, Calif., 1972. Stapleton passed on at the age of 90 on May 31, 2013.

(AP Photo)

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Jean Stapleton, the stage-trained character actress who played Archie Bunker's far better half, the sweetly naive Edith, in TV's groundbreaking 1970s comedy "All in the Family," has died. She was 90.

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Stapleton died Friday of natural causes at her New York City home surrounded by friends and family, her children said Saturday.

"It is with great love and heavy hearts that we say farewell to our collective Mother, with a capital M," said her son and daughter, John Putch and Pamela Putch, in a statement. "Her devotion to her craft and her family taught us all great life lessons."

Little known to the public before "All In the Family," she co-starred with Carroll O'Connor in the top-rated CBS comedy about an unrepentant bigot, the wife he churlishly but fondly called "Dingbat," their daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and liberal son-in-law Mike, also known as Meathead (Rob Reiner).

Stapleton received eight Emmy nominations and won three times during her eight-year tenure with "All in the Family." Produced by Norman Lear, the series broke through the timidity of U.S. TV with social and political jabs and ranked as the No. 1-rated program for an unprecedented five years in a row. Lear would go on to create a run of socially conscious comedies.

"No one gave more profound 'How to be a Human Being' lessons than Jean Stapleton," Lear said Saturday. In a statement, Reiner added: "Jean was a brilliant comedienne with exquisite timing. Working with her was one of the greatest experiences of my life."

Stapleton also earned Emmy nominations for playing Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1982 film "Eleanor, First Lady of the World" and for a guest appearance in 1995 on "Grace Under Fire."

Her big-screen films included a pair directed by Nora Ephron: the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romance "You've Got Mail" and 1996's "Michael" starring John Travolta. She also turned down the chance to star in the popular TV mystery show, "Murder, She Wrote," which became a showcase for Angela Lansbury.

The theater was Stapleton's first love and she compiled a rich resume, starting in 1941 as a New England stock player and moving to Broadway in the 1950s and '60s. In 1964, she originated the role of Mrs. Strakosh in "Funny Girl" with Barbra Streisand. Others musicals and plays included "Bells Are Ringing," ''Rhinoceros" and "Damn Yankees," in which her performance ? and the nasal tone she used in "All in the Family" ? attracted Lear's attention and led to his auditioning her for the role of Archie's wife.

"I wasn't a leading lady type," she once told The Associated Press. "I knew where I belonged. And actually, I found character work much more interesting than leading ladies."

Edith, of the dithery manner, cheerfully high-pitched voice and family loyalty, charmed viewers but was viewed by Stapleton as "submissive" and, she hoped, removed from reality. In a 1972 New York Times interview, she said she didn't think Edith was a typical American housewife ? "at least I hope she's not."

"What Edith represents is the housewife who is still in bondage to the male figure, very submissive and restricted to the home. She is very naive, and she kind of thinks through a mist, and she lacks the education to expand her world. I would hope that most housewives are not like that," said Stapleton, whose character regularly obeyed her husband's demand to "stifle yourself."

But Edith was honest and compassionate, and "in most situations she says the truth and pricks Archie's inflated ego," she added.

She confounded Archie with her malapropos ? "You know what they say, misery is the best company" ? and open-hearted acceptance of others, including her beleaguered son-in-law and African-Americans and other minorities that Archie disdained.

As the series progressed, Stapleton had the chance to offer a deeper take on Edith as the character faced milestones including a breast cancer scare and menopause. She was proud of the show's political edge, citing an episode about a draft dodger who clashes with Archie as a personal favorite.

But Stapleton worried about typecasting, rejecting any roles, commercials or sketches on variety shows that called for a character similar to Edith. Despite pleas from Lear not to let Edith die, Stapleton left the show, re-titled "Archie's Place," in 1980, leaving Archie to carry on as a widower.

"My decision is to go out into the world and do something else. I'm not constituted as an actress to remain in the same role. ... My identity as an actress is in jeopardy if I invested my entire career in Edith Bunker," she told the AP in 1979.

She had no trouble shaking off Edith ? "when you finish a role, you're done with it. There's no deep, spooky connection with the parts you play," she told the AP in 2002 ? but after O'Connor's 2001 death she got condolence letters from people who thought they were really married. When people spotted her in public and called her "Edith," she would politely remind them that her name was Jean.

Stapleton proved her own toughness when her husband of 26 years, William Putch, suffered a fatal heart attack in 1983 at age 60 while the couple was touring with a play directed by Putch.

Stapleton went on stage in Syracuse, New York, that night and continued on with the tour. "That's what he would have wanted," she told People magazine in 1984. "I realized it was a refuge to have that play, rather than to sit and wallow. And it was his show."

Stapleton was born in New York City to Joseph Murray and his wife, Marie Stapleton Murray, a singer. She attended Hunter College, leaving for a secretarial stint before embarking on acting studies with the American Theatre Wing and others.

Stapleton had a long working relationship with playwright Horton Foote, starting with one of his first full-length plays in 1944, "People in the Show," and continuing with six other works through the 2000s.

"I was very impressed with her. She has a wonderful sense of character. Her sense of coming to life on stage ? I never get tired of watching," Foote told the AP in 2002. He died in 2009.

Her early TV career included guest appearances on series including "Lux Video Theatre," ''Dr. Kildare" and "The Defenders."

She and Putch had two children, John and Pamela, who followed their parents into the entertainment industry.

Her post-"All in the Family" career included a one-woman stage show, "Eleanor," in which she portrayed the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Stapleton spent summers working at the Totem Pole Playhouse near Harrisburg, Penn., operated by her husband, William. She made guest appearances on "Murphy Brown" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" and even provided the title character's voice for a children's video game, "Grandma Ollie's Morphabet Soup."

For years, she rarely watched "All In the Family," but had softened by 2000, when she told the Archive of American Television that enough time had passed.

"I can watch totally objectively," she said. "I love it. And I laugh. I think, 'Oh,' and I think, 'Gee, that's good.'"

___

AP Television Writer Lynn Elber contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/KuZiPWgNtNw/Jean-Stapleton-dies-She-was-more-than-Edith-Bunker-video

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Mutations in susceptibility genes common in younger African American women with breast cancer

Public release date: 3-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: John Easton
john.easton@uchospitals.edu
773-795-5225
University of Chicago Medical Center

Genetic testing could protect such patients and their relatives

A high percentage of African-American women with breast cancer who were evaluated at a university cancer-risk clinic were found to carry inherited genetic mutations that increase their risk for breast cancer.

The finding suggests that inherited mutations may be more common than anticipated in this understudied group and may partially explain why African-Americans more often develop early onset and "triple-negative" breast cancer, an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of the disease.

It also demonstrates the potential benefits of increased access to genetic counseling and testing for women with breast cancer and their close relatives. Through these services, family members who are found to share the same genetic risk factor for breast cancer can be offered personalized strategies for early detection and prevention of breast cancer.

"Our study confirms the importance of screening for mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes in all African-American breast cancer patients diagnosed by age 45, those with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, or with triple-negative breast cancer before age 60," said study author Jane Churpek, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine. "This could identify at-risk family members in time for life-saving interventions and help prevent future cancers for the patients as well."

The study, to be presented June 3 at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, is the first comprehensive screening among African-American women of all 18 known breast cancer susceptibility genes using new methods called targeted genomic capture and next-generation sequencing.

The researchers found that 56 of the 249 women studied (22 percent) at the University of Chicago Medicine's Cancer Risk Clinic had inherited at least one damaging mutation that increased their risk of breast cancer. Twenty-six of the patients had a BRCA1 mutation. Another 20 patients had a BRCA2 mutation. Twelve women inherited mutations in other genes: CHEK2, PALB2, ATM, and PTEN. Two women inherited mutations in two different genes.

Patients most likely to carry a mutation were those diagnosed with a second primary tumora second cancer that developed independently from the first; 49 percent of those women carried an inherited breast cancer-associated gene mutation. Other groups highly likely to carry inherited mutations included those with a close relative who had either breast or ovarian cancer (30 percent), those with triple-negative breast cancer (30 percent), and those who were diagnosed with breast cancer by age 45 (27 percent).

Identifying these inherited mutations can have a significant impact. Whereas 12 percent of women in the general population will develop breast cancer by age 80, those carrying a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 have a 37 to 85 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Mutations in these genes provide the best tools for tailoring risk-reducing interventions.

The authors caution that the patients in this study are not a typical cross-section of African-American women. Two-thirds of them were referred to the cancer-risk clinic for genetic evaluation, often due to a family history of breast cancer. Not all of them, however, had this significant risk factor. Forty percent of the 249 patients had no family history of breast or ovarian cancer, yet the researchers found damaging mutations in 12 percent of those patients.

"We expected the women in our study to have a higher risk of carrying an inherited mutation than typical breast cancer patients," Churpek said, "but some of their risk factorsdiagnosis by age 45 or triple-negative breast canceralso are more common among African-American women."

Once diagnosed with breast cancer, African-American women have lower survival rates. Regional variations in survival suggest that much of the difference may be driven by reduced access to screening and optimal care, but there is mounting evidence, including this study, that differences in tumor biology, such as a higher rate of inherited mutations in genes that increase the risk of aggressive forms of breast cancer, also play a role. In those cases, delay of diagnosis can prove deadly.

This study also demonstrates the advantages of next-generation sequencing approaches,which are faster and cost-efficient ways to use one test to look for multiple variants in many genes in many people. This approach is particularly valuable for studying patients of African heritage who tend to have greater genetic diversity. The drawback to the assay is uncertainty about how to make sense of the large numbers of sequence variations that may have no meaningful clinical significance.

"In every population, but especially among those with greater genetic diversity, we often detect changes in genes that may not yet have been studied clinically," Churpek said. "Some people question the utility of using gene panels like BROCA, as we don't always know how to counsel a patient without sufficient data on the clinical consequence of every variant found, but unless we start learning about them now we will never know."

"What you don't know can hurt you," said study co-author Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, the Walter L. Palmer distinguished service professor of medicine and human genetics and director of the center for clinical cancer genetics at the University of Chicago. "Women with known BRCA1, BRCA2 or other inherited mutations can lower their risk of dying from breast or ovarian cancer." Options include removing healthy ovaries by age 40 to reduce breast and ovarian cancer risk, preventive surgical removal of the breasts, or participating in a breast-surveillance protocol designed for women at increased risk.

The researchers at the University of Chicago cancer-risk clinic are testing new ways to protect women found to carry gene abnormalities that put them at risk. In a related study, also presented at ASCO, medical oncologist Rodrigo Guindalini, MD, a visiting scholar from Brazil working in the Olopade laboratory, and colleagues confirmed that a screening approach that combines MRI scans every six months with an annual mammogram can be effective. The researchers followed 222 patients for an average of 3.2 years. Half of the participants were mutation carriers and one-fifth had been treated for breast cancer.

During the study, 11 cancers were screen-detected: six by MRI, one by mammogram and four by both. All of the cancers were stage 0 or 1the earliest, most treatable and curable stages. The average tumor size was less than 1 centimeter. None had spread to the lymph nodes.

These encouraging results may become an alternative to prophylactic mastectomy for those at the highest risk of developing breast cancer.

###

The genetic study was funded by the National Cancer Institute, Komen for the Cure, and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Additional authors include Yonglan Zheng, Matthew Churpek, Dezheng Huo, Cecilia Zvosec, Fang Liu, Qun Niu, Jing Zhang and James Fackenthal of the University of Chicago; and Tom Walsh, Anne Thornton, Ming Lee, Silvia Casadei and Mary-Claire King of the University of Washington.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 3-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: John Easton
john.easton@uchospitals.edu
773-795-5225
University of Chicago Medical Center

Genetic testing could protect such patients and their relatives

A high percentage of African-American women with breast cancer who were evaluated at a university cancer-risk clinic were found to carry inherited genetic mutations that increase their risk for breast cancer.

The finding suggests that inherited mutations may be more common than anticipated in this understudied group and may partially explain why African-Americans more often develop early onset and "triple-negative" breast cancer, an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of the disease.

It also demonstrates the potential benefits of increased access to genetic counseling and testing for women with breast cancer and their close relatives. Through these services, family members who are found to share the same genetic risk factor for breast cancer can be offered personalized strategies for early detection and prevention of breast cancer.

"Our study confirms the importance of screening for mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes in all African-American breast cancer patients diagnosed by age 45, those with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, or with triple-negative breast cancer before age 60," said study author Jane Churpek, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine. "This could identify at-risk family members in time for life-saving interventions and help prevent future cancers for the patients as well."

The study, to be presented June 3 at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, is the first comprehensive screening among African-American women of all 18 known breast cancer susceptibility genes using new methods called targeted genomic capture and next-generation sequencing.

The researchers found that 56 of the 249 women studied (22 percent) at the University of Chicago Medicine's Cancer Risk Clinic had inherited at least one damaging mutation that increased their risk of breast cancer. Twenty-six of the patients had a BRCA1 mutation. Another 20 patients had a BRCA2 mutation. Twelve women inherited mutations in other genes: CHEK2, PALB2, ATM, and PTEN. Two women inherited mutations in two different genes.

Patients most likely to carry a mutation were those diagnosed with a second primary tumora second cancer that developed independently from the first; 49 percent of those women carried an inherited breast cancer-associated gene mutation. Other groups highly likely to carry inherited mutations included those with a close relative who had either breast or ovarian cancer (30 percent), those with triple-negative breast cancer (30 percent), and those who were diagnosed with breast cancer by age 45 (27 percent).

Identifying these inherited mutations can have a significant impact. Whereas 12 percent of women in the general population will develop breast cancer by age 80, those carrying a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 have a 37 to 85 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Mutations in these genes provide the best tools for tailoring risk-reducing interventions.

The authors caution that the patients in this study are not a typical cross-section of African-American women. Two-thirds of them were referred to the cancer-risk clinic for genetic evaluation, often due to a family history of breast cancer. Not all of them, however, had this significant risk factor. Forty percent of the 249 patients had no family history of breast or ovarian cancer, yet the researchers found damaging mutations in 12 percent of those patients.

"We expected the women in our study to have a higher risk of carrying an inherited mutation than typical breast cancer patients," Churpek said, "but some of their risk factorsdiagnosis by age 45 or triple-negative breast canceralso are more common among African-American women."

Once diagnosed with breast cancer, African-American women have lower survival rates. Regional variations in survival suggest that much of the difference may be driven by reduced access to screening and optimal care, but there is mounting evidence, including this study, that differences in tumor biology, such as a higher rate of inherited mutations in genes that increase the risk of aggressive forms of breast cancer, also play a role. In those cases, delay of diagnosis can prove deadly.

This study also demonstrates the advantages of next-generation sequencing approaches,which are faster and cost-efficient ways to use one test to look for multiple variants in many genes in many people. This approach is particularly valuable for studying patients of African heritage who tend to have greater genetic diversity. The drawback to the assay is uncertainty about how to make sense of the large numbers of sequence variations that may have no meaningful clinical significance.

"In every population, but especially among those with greater genetic diversity, we often detect changes in genes that may not yet have been studied clinically," Churpek said. "Some people question the utility of using gene panels like BROCA, as we don't always know how to counsel a patient without sufficient data on the clinical consequence of every variant found, but unless we start learning about them now we will never know."

"What you don't know can hurt you," said study co-author Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, the Walter L. Palmer distinguished service professor of medicine and human genetics and director of the center for clinical cancer genetics at the University of Chicago. "Women with known BRCA1, BRCA2 or other inherited mutations can lower their risk of dying from breast or ovarian cancer." Options include removing healthy ovaries by age 40 to reduce breast and ovarian cancer risk, preventive surgical removal of the breasts, or participating in a breast-surveillance protocol designed for women at increased risk.

The researchers at the University of Chicago cancer-risk clinic are testing new ways to protect women found to carry gene abnormalities that put them at risk. In a related study, also presented at ASCO, medical oncologist Rodrigo Guindalini, MD, a visiting scholar from Brazil working in the Olopade laboratory, and colleagues confirmed that a screening approach that combines MRI scans every six months with an annual mammogram can be effective. The researchers followed 222 patients for an average of 3.2 years. Half of the participants were mutation carriers and one-fifth had been treated for breast cancer.

During the study, 11 cancers were screen-detected: six by MRI, one by mammogram and four by both. All of the cancers were stage 0 or 1the earliest, most treatable and curable stages. The average tumor size was less than 1 centimeter. None had spread to the lymph nodes.

These encouraging results may become an alternative to prophylactic mastectomy for those at the highest risk of developing breast cancer.

###

The genetic study was funded by the National Cancer Institute, Komen for the Cure, and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Additional authors include Yonglan Zheng, Matthew Churpek, Dezheng Huo, Cecilia Zvosec, Fang Liu, Qun Niu, Jing Zhang and James Fackenthal of the University of Chicago; and Tom Walsh, Anne Thornton, Ming Lee, Silvia Casadei and Mary-Claire King of the University of Washington.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uocm-mis060213.php

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Oswald T Avery, the unsung hero of genetic science

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Sublime: We're Only Gonna Die For Our Own Arrogance

There's nothing quite as awesome as when bands you like like other bands you like, and like them awesomely. Case in point: Sublime's utterly sublime cover of Bad Religion's already fantastic, lo-fi classic "We're Only Gonna Die For Our Own Arrogance."

A simple tune but catchy tune at its core, "We're Only Gonna Die etc etc" still left a lot of room open for Sublime?specifically the golden-throated Bradley Nowell?to have some fun. Despite the fact that the song's little more than a repetition of a chorus, we're still treated to bookends of wonderful ska, with some true-to-the-source punked-out nougat goodness in the center. It's just great.

Add this one to that pantheon of great covers, and someday I'll be back to talk about Goldfinger's "Rio" with you all. [Spotify, Amazon, iTunes]

For reference:

Source: http://gizmodo.com/sublime-were-only-gonna-die-for-our-own-arrogance-510869917

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