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Rob Reiner’s Best ‘All in the Family’ Scene Wasn’t Even Planned

December 16, 2025

Among all the major losses we’ve experienced in 2025, the tragic death of Rob Reiner at the age of 78 might be the most heartbreaking. Reiner, found murdered in his home along with his wife, Michele Reiner, on December 14, 2025, leaves an extraordinary legacy as an actor, writer, director, and activist. Before transitioning to film directing, helming modern classics such as This is Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally…, Reiner was already an established icon thanks to his near-decade-long turn as Michael “Meathead” Stivic inAll in the Family. The son of legendary comic actor and writer Carl Reiner, his performance as the progressive, left-leaning son-in-law of the uber-conservative and bigoted Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) elevatedNorman Lear‘s groundbreaking show from a rudimentary family sitcom to a culture-defining text of modern America.

Many of All in the Family‘s funniest and most socially insightful moments came from the countless arguments between Archie and Mike. They bickered about everything under the sun, from divisive politics to trivial matters, and one of the show’s best scenes, which featured a debate about putting on socks and shoes, certainly falls in the trivial department. And, as a testament to Reiner’s incomparable talent, this exchange was improvised.

‘All in the Family’s Most Memorable Scene Is Thanks to Rob Reiner

Image via CBS

In Season 4, Episode 22, “Gloria Sings the Blues,” Archie and Edith’s (Jean Stapleton) daughter, Gloria Bunker-Stivic (Sally Struthers), suffers from a bout of depression, which takes its toll on the family. She begins to question whether she’s truly in love with her husband, Mike, and receives a morale boost from Edith. On the other side of the Bunker household, Archie and Mike extend olive branches to each other and plan a fishing trip.

This Groundbreaking ‘All in the Family’ Episode Changed the Show Forever

The message of the two-parter still rings true today.

Things get off to a rocky start when Archie disapproves of the way his son-in-law, whose masculinity and traditional sense of male leadership he tends to judge, puts on his socks and shoes. This debate about whether it’s best to go “sock-sock-shoe-shoe” versus “sock-shoe-sock-shoe” has not found a verdict, even if the latter of the two is looked down upon by many. However, the absurdity of this argument reaches its peak in the unforgettable scene from All in the Family, where Archie is appalled that Mike puts one shoe on before putting on a sock on his other foot. In between Archie’s typical insults, they each dish out hypothetical situations that support their rationale for their respective shoe etiquette.

This ‘All in the Family’ Scene Perfectly Highlights Rob Reiner’s Creative Genius in the Sitcom

“When people approach me on the street, this is the one scene they all remember from All in the Family,” Rob Reiner told Entertainment Weekly in 2018. The origin of this signature scene across the 200-plus episodes of the sitcom came not from the script, but during rehearsals. Carroll O’Connor noticed him putting on his footwear in this specific manner, and this real-life encounter inspired the two actors to improvise an entire new scene from scratch where Archie and Mike quarrel over the proper way to dress their feet. Ad-libbing is tough to begin with, but within the confines of network television, a rigid, formulaic medium that’s tight on time, it’s almost impossible. While it’s deemed abnormal, Reiner insisted that many people are like-minded in their preference to go with the sock-shoe-sock-shoe method.

The chemistry between all the actors in All in the Family was always exceptional, but the connection between O’Connor and Reiner in the sock/shoe debate scene is especially natural. The random, tangential nature of how the conversation arises speaks to the authentic inspiration of the exchange. They both seem annoyed that they’re wasting time on this nonsensical argument when a fishing trip awaits them. While O’Connor is as hilarious as ever in his narrow-minded rage and lack of understanding, Reiner’s dumbfounded facial reactions to his father-in-law’s sheer disbelief sell this scene. Mike’s remark of “I’ll get to it!” responding to Archie’s initial shock about not having his second sock on, was a perfect piece of line delivery, and the live studio audience knew that they were experiencing something legendary with each back-and-forth between the two. Mike’s calm and assured acceptance of his method is a hilarious counter to Archie’s boisterous rage.

Not only is the sock/shoe debate a fantastic scene in one of our most beloved sitcoms in history, but it also demonstrates Rob Reiner’s ingenious skills as a comic on and off the screen. Norman Lear, whom Reiner referred to as his “second father,” imbued most of his personal expression and relationship with his own father onto “Meathead,” and the scene best exemplifies their shared sensibilities as artists. As a director, Reiner was the ultimate collaborator, allowing films like Spinal Tap to flow freely as an improv-heavy mockumentary and dramas like A Few Good Men to be revelatory acting showcases for Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. Reiner will certainly be missed, but his magical work remains eternal.