Broadway to dim lights in memory of Jean Stapleton

Broadway theaters will dim their marquee lights on Wednesday night in memory of Jean Stapleton, the actress who played the sweetly naive Edith in CBS's groundbreaking 1970s comedy "All in the Family."

The Broadway League said the lights will be dimmed for one minute at exactly 8 p.m. ET. Stapleton died Friday in New York at 90 of natural causes.

"The theatre is where Jean Stapleton started, and she often returned to the stage throughout her lengthy and multi-faceted career. While we all feel like we knew her, thanks to her iconic television role playing Edith Bunker in 'All in the Family,' the Broadway community claims her as one of our family," said Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The Broadway League. "Her decades portraying a variety of roles on our Broadway and Off Broadway stages revealed her brilliance in believably playing many different characters. The range of her talent was also evident in that she could triumph in both musical comedies and serious dramas. She will be missed."

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."