Jean Stapleton grew tired of playing Edith Bunker, that she called producer Norman Lear and asked him to write Edith out of the show. She said to him "Let her die, she's only fiction". Lear replied "Not to me." but it was done, and became one of the most well known moments of 1980s Television, as Archie mourns the loss of his beloved wife.
Many fan theories suggest the medical reason behind Edith's fatal stroke was in fact the phlebitis she is diagnosed with in the AiTF finale.
This was originally an hour-long episode broken into two for syndication.
For this episode Carroll O'Connor won a prestigious Peabody Award.
Edith's pending death was actually and discussed months before this show actually aired. Jane Curtin had even read a Weekend Update joke about it, during the prior season's Saturday Night Live.