Which U.S TV character's chair is on display at the Smithsonian Institution?

The TV show,"All in the Family," which ran from 1971 to 1979 was a very popular and influential television program. Creative in many respects, it shattered a long tradition in TV comedies of portraying only happy families living in a world without social strife. Producer Norman Lear made conflicts and wounds in American life the target of the show’s biting comedy.

Now, both Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs are on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Originally, purchased by the show's set designer at a Goodwill thrift store, the original chairs were given to the Smithsonian (for an exhibit on American television history) in 1978.

These chairs are among the most visited and beloved in the museum's collection. When the show's producer Norman Lear thought the show was ending after the eighth season, he donated Archie Bunker's chair to the Smithsonian. When Lear discovered the show was renewed for a ninth season, he had to spend thousands of dollars to have replicas made for the renewed season.

Currently, one can see the famous chair on view near the "Thanks for the Memories" exhibition within the museum.