Sally Struthers: All in Her Extended Family

S ally Struthers was a vital contributor to a national cultural landmark, the ‘70s TV comedy series “All in the Family.” The Oregon-reared actress played Gloria, daughter of Carroll O’Connor’s and Jean Stapleton’s Archie and Edith Bunker, and wife of the rebellious Mike Stivic, played by Rob Reiner.

Struthers, 53, is now playing Louise Seger, a fan and friend of country star Patsy Cline, in “Always Patsy Cline.” A new production of the musical, which Struthers has performed in three previous venues, previews this weekend and opens Monday at L.A.’s Coronet Theatre.

Christa Jackson, who toured with Struthers in a production of “Grease,” plays Cline, after being recommended for the role by Struthers.

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Question: Patsy Cline was a star when you were still a kid. Do you have personal memories of her music from that period?

Answer: The first time I went to a rehearsal for the show, I realized that I had heard those songs. My parents loved music.

We always had the radio or the record player on, and we always sang in the car. My father, a doctor, would teach us filthy songs he learned in medical school. We’d sing them in “show and tell” at school, without realizing what we were singing. The teachers sent notes home.

My mother sang very well, and she must have sung some of those wonderful crossover hits [of Cline’s]. My mother also wrote such silly, wonderful songs. Next door to my grandfather’s beach house lived a dentist, Dr. Geiger. We were afraid of him. My mother wrote this ridiculous little ditty about him: [singing] “Dr. Geiger is a tiger/When he yanks at your incisor/Oh my dear, you’d be much wiser/If you stayed away from Geiger/Brush your teeth every day/That is the safe way/And your teeth are sure to shine/All of the time.”

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Q: Is your mother still alive?

A: She died with Alzheimer’s. But long after she had forgotten our names, she could still sing. For her last four months, she was in a care facility, and I was sitting with her one day when an accordion player came around, catering to the people her age by doing all these hits from the ‘30s. I started belting away. My mother turned to me and said, “You have a lovely voice. I bet your mother loves it when you sing.”

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Q: In the show, you play a fan who became a friend of Cline’s.

A: One night she arrived early at a club to see Patsy Cline, and Patsy came into the club. Louise was forward enough to introduce herself. Patsy sat down at her table, and they got to know each other. That night, Louise gave her a ride, and took her home for bacon and eggs, and Patsy ended up staying all night. Louise made her get up at 6 a.m. to go to the local radio station for an interview. After that, they corresponded and telephoned a lot, but they never saw each other again.

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Q: Has anything like that ever happened between you and a fan?

A: I have met people who have taken me out to dinner. But we live in a different day and age. Fans who seem overly enthusiastic are held at arm’s length. We’re not sure what they’re going to do next. I’m reminded of the young man who got an autograph from John Lennon and then shot him. I doubt that anyone would start a pen-pal relationship with a fan now. During “All in the Family,” I got a lot of letters from prisoners, and that was a little uncomfortable.

Of course in Patsy Cline’s time, people wrote more letters. My mailbox now is usually full of nothing but bills and solicitations. An actual letter is a treasure. People tell me I should get e-mail, but I don’t want to have to check e-mail every day. Besides, I love to see stationery, greeting cards, people’s handwriting. I guess I’m old-fashioned.

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Q: Do you get excited when you meet famous people?

A: At one point in the show I scream when Patsy acknowledges she is Patsy Cline. I added that scream--it wasn’t in the script--and I based it on what I did in the White House when I met Jimmy Carter. Like a rock fan, I went [screams], “AAAAAHHH!” It was involuntary--nobody was more surprised than me. He stopped in his tracks. I said, “I’m so sorry. I never thought I’d be here.”

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Q: You’re doing a recurring role on “Gilmore Girls.”

A: I’m in about one of every three episodes. But the writing is what you tune in to see on that show.

Here’s a story: I flew in from Las Vegas, where I was doing “Always

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Q: Three months after the death of Carroll O’Connor ...

A: I’m having great difficulty wrapping my mind around the idea that he’s gone. I sometimes channel-surf when I can’t sleep, and there he is--in all his adorability, with his blue sparkling eyes, being the same age then that I am now. I’m grateful that’s he’s still there. And I pray every night for Nancy O’Connor.

All of this loss lately--Ed Winter, who was my co-star on [the TV series] “9 to 5,” also died [in March]. And then Sept. 11, when I spent several hours that felt like a lifetime, waiting to hear from my daughter, Samantha, who just graduated from Vassar and moved to the East Village in New York. I grew a few gray hairs that day--just look at my left eyebrow.

I’m hoping “Always ... Patsy Cline” will end this year on an up note.