Garysb
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
- Messages
- 5,899
Norman Lear, TV Legend, Dies at 101
Norman Lear, who revolutionized American comedy with popular early-‘70s sitcoms “All in the Family” and “Sanford and Son,” has died. He was 101.
variety.com
Norman Lear, Whose Comedies Changed the Face of TV, Is Dead at 101
As the producer of “All in the Family” and many other shows, Mr. Lear showed that it was possible to be topical, funny and immensely popular.
Norman Lear, the television writer and producer who introduced political and social commentary into situation comedy with “All in the Family” and other shows, proving that it was possible to be topical as well as funny while attracting millions of viewers, died on Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 101.
His death was confirmed by Lara Bergthold, a spokeswoman for the family.
“The Jeffersons” looked at the struggles faced by an upwardly mobile Black family; the very different Black family on “Good Times” dealt with poverty and discrimination. The protagonist of “Maude” was an outspoken feminist; the heroine of “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” was plagued by all manner of modern-day problems, not least her own neurosis.
“You looked around television in those years,” Mr. Lear said in a 2012 New York Times interview, referring to the middle and late 1960s, “and the biggest problem any family faced was ‘Mother dented the car, and how do you keep Dad from finding out’; ‘the boss is coming to dinner, and the roast’s ruined.’ The message that was sending out was that we didn’t have any problems.”
Last edited:
