Maude Findlay first appeared on
All in the Family in December 1971, in the second-season episode, "Cousin Maude's Visit", as the cousin of
Edith Bunker. According to Norman Lear, the creation of Maude stemmed from the idea to bring on someone who could hold their own with Archie Bunker verbally. The debut episode, and character's name, were loosely based upon a 1968 episode of
Till Death Us Do Part, the British sitcom on which
All in the Family was based, in which Maud, the sister of Else Garnett (the analog to the American Edith Bunker), visits
Alf Garnett (Archie's progenitor) while Alf is ill. The character was also loosely based on Lear's then-wife
Frances. Maude cared for Edith, but disliked her husband,
Archie Bunker. Archie and Maude were known for getting on each other's nerves, especially since she was a liberal and Archie was a conservative. Because she was a liberal, Maude was also an ally of Edith's daughter
Gloria (
Sally Struthers) and her husband
Mike (
Rob Reiner). In her first appearance on
All in the Family, it was said that Maude was widowed twice. Her first husband, Fred, died of a
brain aneurysm, and her second husband, Bert, died of a heart seizure. (Archie remarked they both had smiles on their faces at their funerals.) When
Maude premiered, Fred was now renamed Barney and Bert became Albert Hilliard, her third husband. A second appearance on
All in the Family (the final episode of the second season) depicting Archie and Edith visiting Maude for a family wedding, essentially set up the premise for the forthcoming series. ==
Maude==