I Think I'm Outta Here: A Memoir of All My Families

by Carroll O'Connor

It is the genius of actor Carroll O'Connor that millions of fans will forever confuse him with his most unforgettable creation, Archie Bunker. But O'Connor has lived the kind of rich, momentous life that Archie could never have imagined. Now, emrerging from behind the actor's mask for the first time, O'Connor writes eloquently and intimately about his great triumphs and terrible tragedies — and a career that has been immortalized in television history.

Growing up in Depression-era New York, Carrol O'Connor made his way armed with the quick wit, mischievous bent of mind, and engaging Irish charm that flow through these pages. From his rough and tumble days in the Merchant Marine during World War ll—marked by big dreams, bar brawls, and bloody noses he moved on to salad days in Dublin. There he received an education in literature and in life, found his true calling in the theatre, and married his wife, Nancy...a fifty year success story that's still going strong.

O'Connor was soon invited to Hollywood, the scene of his greatest achievements. His unique persective on the creation of "All in the Family" — and his certainty at the start that is was destined for ratings disaster — reveals television history in the making. And O'Connor vividly recalls scores of classic moments with Norman Lear, Rob Reiner and Jean Stapleton, as well a numberous other colleagues, including Howard Rollins (In the Heat of the Night), Clint Eastwood (Kelly's Heroes), and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra).

But Hollywood was also the source of O'Connor's most painful memory: the cocaine addition and suicide of his son, Hugh. As a grieving father, O'Connor was forced to asssume the most poignant and powerful role of his life, and he speaks honestly here about both his loss and his efforts to educate others about the horror of drug abuse.

Candid and insightful, spirited and funny, this is the story of all the families Carroll O'Connor has been able to call his own. And in a career graced with landmark achievements, 'I Think I'm Outta Here' stands as on of the most moving and memorable of all.

Genres: Biography, Autobiography, Nonfiction, Audiobook

277 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting that I gravitated toward this book during Black history month, an autobio by an actor of Irish heritage who famously played a bigot on tv. It makes sense though, after all, Carroll O'Connor/Archie Bunker went a long way in forming my anti-racist attitudes. Him and his show, All in the Family, ridiculed racism with satire and taught me valuable lessons in humanity. As a kid, I watched and re-watched every episode of that show three, four, and sometimes fives times over. Yes, I watched too much tv as a kid, but this is one show, man, and mind I'm glad I've taken the time to know.

[J-Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I'm seeing so many less than five star reviews. This is a smartly written book that O'Connor never attempts to dumb down for a broader audience; kudos to him for not giving us pablum. His career is fascinating as was the insight he gives to his relationship with his wife and son; many readers may know of the latter, not so much the former. Is it every single detail? Of course not nor should it be. Solid read from an admired actor and person. Love his footnotes.

[Casey Swearengin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I think of Carroll O'Connor, two different things come to mind: nostalgia for the many nights at my grandfather's knee while he watched "In the Heat of the Night", and the iconic Archie Bunker role. Never would I have imagined that Carroll O'Connor was a sensitive and emotionally intelligent man, with a passion and love for plays. I would not have thought of him as a loving father, a doting grandfather. The insight into the man and his unique perspective on life, love, and everything in between was such an emotional journey. I poured through the pages, in awe at the poetic flow of the words. Carroll O'Connor's memoir was nothing I expected, and that was perhaps the most refreshing thing that I've experienced in some time.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly to say I found this book a bit boring and not as endearing as many autobiographies I’ve listened to : written by the author and read by the author. At times I even found him a bit self-righteous in an odd way.

[Claudine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing.

In this incredibly short memoir, Carroll O'Connor spends very little time talking about his acting career. In a rambling, nearly stream-of-consciousness narrative, he recounts his early years and thoughts on war. He jumps from one story to another, leaving out critical pieces. For instance, during his childhood, he describes his father as a prominent defense attorney who provided well for the family. Chapters later, suddenly we learn, through a conversation with an old friend, that his father died in prison and Carroll O'Connor rarely spoke of him to others due to his shame.

The last quarter of the book follows his diary entries that relay his sons demise into cocaine addiction and eventual suicide.

[Koren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Those of us that grew up in the 70's best remember Carroll O'Connor as the curmudgeonly Archie Bunker, and later starring in In The Heat Of The Night. So, going into this I was surprised that the voice of the author didn't sound anything like his characters. Instead, he sounded like a proper English gentleman. The biggest disappointment of all was that he spent very little time talking about his television shows. In fact, the iconic All In the family was barely a chapter. He does go on quite a bit about things that didn't seem to connect, for instance some history of Ireland. Love this guy, but his autobiography just wasn't that interesting.

[Cynthia Bemis Abrams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carroll O'Connor lived a life worthy of several autobiographies, that would have provided readers the deep looks at his television, stage and film careers that we were expecting from this single book.

His paragraphs about All in the Family and In the Heat of the Night are enough to complement what is already known about the series. He was a storyteller and writer, and it feels like he used the opportunity of this rather short book to show off his talents. He does so. The last portion is unexpected, moving and deeply personal. That took my rating from 3 to 4 stars. Americans of that generation struggle to share what he so generously did.

[Yvette · Rating 2 out of 5]

After binge-watching In the Heat of the Night during this pandemic, I wanted to know more about Carroll's son, Hugh. This autobiography is very boring and he skips around often. Yes, he uses a lot of big words to describe every day things, but he was an English teacher so that's expected. The last few chapters are basically sad diary entries on how his son was doing at that time. This book was just OK.

[Janet Workman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An autobiography with a lot of his views on various subjects thrown in. Jumps around a lot, in both chronology and subjects. Some chapters I really enjoyed, found others kind of boring. The last section is mostly his diary entries as his son was using cocaine and eventually killing himself, so it ended on a rather sad note.

[Diane Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

He writes in a cerebral manner. He does not think he is very smart but he was and was a talented and thoughtful person. He good family values and was a kind man.
He addressed in his popular tv shows how his character’s opinions were wrong.
Drugs took over his son and his son ruined his life. Very sad.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but ultimately too disjointed to enjoy. Often within the same paragraph, and sometimes within a single sentence, he seemed to lose his train of thought.

[David White · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the longest drug out book I’ve ever read. Very very boring.

[Mandi Farley · Rating 2 out of 5]

To me, this book was boring and hard to read. It was more about what was going on in the world rather than about him personally. There are plenty of parts about him and his life, which I throughly enjoyed. However, he talked a lot about war and if I wanted to read about war, I would have gotten a war book, not a biography.

[Indydriven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book on audio which was read by the author. I had been expecting to hear Archie Bunker’s voice flow through my ear pods but what I heard was the Broadway cultured voice of Carroll O’Connor. I didn’t realize that his voice changed as much as it did when he played Archie.

As in most biographies, Carroll spent some time talking about his childhood and young adulthood. He talked about how he got into the acting business and his time on Broadway. While he did discuss how he landed the part of Archie Bunker in All in the Family, I was disappointed that he did not spend much time talking about this character and how he actually felt about Archie and what it was like playing him. The last third of the book was all about his son, Hugh, and his drug addiction. I think writing the book was a bit of a cathartic exercise with respect to his son’s addiction and death and the last third of the book was mostly Carroll’s journal entries of what was happening with respect to Hugh (i.e. Hugh was high today; Hugh seemed to be sober today, etc.).

Overall, I gave this book 3 stars.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book by a guest a work a while back and while not a first choice to read, once I did pick it up and start to read, I was fascinated by his life story. He was a man who was so completely different that the main role he was known for as Archie Bunker. His story of growing up in New York especially in the years leading up to WWII are some of the best parts of the book. One caveat, anyone expecting tales of working on "All In The Family" will be disappointed. He talks about the work leading up to the series and then cuts to the show's end years later and his continuing on with "Archie Bunker's Place" and his later role on "In The Heat Of The Night."
Sadly, the last portion of the book is devoted to the struggles the family had with Carroll's son, Hugh, who had a major drug problem before committing suicide in 1995. It's a very difficult read as it's done by diary entries by Carroll for the days and months leading up to the tragedy.

[Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of the 15 or so biographies and autobiographie I've read in the last few months, this was by far the worst of the bunch. Carroll thinks so highly of himself and he likes to use long words to describe everything about his life. I know what the long words mean, but most of them haven't been used outside of a 1800's book for years. He is just trying to impress everyone with how intelligent he is. He also spends very little time during this book talking about his work in TV, and movies. His work on Cleopatra for instance takes up all of one line, where he mentioned in passing he was in that movie.

Steer clear of this book. He mentions in here that he showed his book to a publisher and they wanted their money back. I sure know why.

[Fearless Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

After binge watching all seasons of "In the Heat of the Night," I wanted to read more about this wonderful actor. Carroll is quite an articulate writer and his story is very entertaining as well as compelling. He wasn't crazy about writing his memoir, but someone else wanted to write one with or without his permission. So he took on the task because he wanted his audience to read the "true" story. It's honest and funny and touching....and it brings back memorable moments from all of his movies and television work. Great read!

[Valissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...that wonderfully charming street where lunatics behind trees, unrestrained, protected from reprisal, throw bricks."

"...suffering a few semi-arid attachments and the one long wet blundering affair."

[Kelli]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12140909

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book.

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 4 out of 5]

exceptional insight into the Man behind Archie Bunker. Wonderful book.

[Christy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed. Reading from his career in acting, death of his one and only son, and all the in between. I laughed and cried reading the book.