Remembering the life and career of TV legend Norman Lear
Norman Lear, born on July 27, 1922, in New Haven, Conn., was a TV legend who wrote, produced or developed over 100 shows throughout his career. Some of Lear’s popular hit sitcoms include ‘All in the Family,’ ‘Sanford and Son’ and ‘The Jeffersons.’ He revolutionized sitcom television by using social and political commentary in comedy, attracting millions of viewers. On Dec. 5, 2023, Lear died at home due to natural causes. He was 101.
Norman Lear talks to Jill St. John on the set of the 1963 film “Come Blow Your Horn,” starring Frank Sinatra.Norman Lear in a dark blazer, center, speaks with Carroll O’Connor on the set of the show “All in the Family” in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1971. Jean Stapleton sits at a table in the foreground, while Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner sit to O’Connor’s left.Eve Arden presents the Emmy Award to “All in the Family” producer Norman Lear who accepted the Best Comedy Series Emmy and thanked the Columbia Broadcasting System President Robert Wood for allowing the show, a satire on bigotry, to be aired, on May 9, 1971, in Hollywood, Calif.An off-camera moment with cast from “All in the Family,” from left to right, Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker, Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, show creator Norman Lear, Rob Reiner as Michael Stivic, Sally Struthers as Gloria Bunker Stivic and Mike Evans as Lionel Jefferson pose for a photo during the filming of the episode “Gloria Poses in the Nude,” on July 27, 1971. The episode originally aired on Sept. 25, 1971.David Rintels, left, chairman of the Writers Guild of America, told the Senate Committee hearing on Freedom of the Press that a poll of television writers shows that most are heavily censored by nervous network executives and are required to write scripts devoid of reality. Norman Lear, right, producer of the successful “All in the Family” television comedy, blamed think-tank mentality in both broadcasting and government for keeping more shows like his off the air on Feb. 8, 1972, in Washington.Norman Lear, left, is pictured with guests including Groucho Marx, right, at a cocktail party held for Norman Lear, at “21” Club in New York on May 1, 1972.Norman Lear, producer and writer for the television series “All in the Family” poses for a picture on Nov. 30, 1972.Norman Lear is interviewed by Marlene Sanders, right, on the ABC TV series “ABC News Closeup,” on the episode “Prime Time TV: The Decision Makers” in 1974.From left to right, Norman Lear, Jean Stapleton and Sally Struthers are interviewed during a party for the cast of the CBS television series “All In The Family” at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington on Sept. 20, 1978.From left to right, Milton Berle, Lucille Ball, former CBS chairman William S. Paley, and Norman Lear smile for photographers as they are inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame on Jan. 21, 1984, in Hollywood, Calif.Norman Lear, left, gets a laugh from Senator Edward Kennedy, as the two talk aboard Kennedy’s campaign plane flying over Iowa on Jan. 7, 1979. Lear joined the Kennedy entourage during the Democratic presidential candidate’s Iowa swing, traveling as what Lear termed “an observer.”Television producer Norman Lear, who established “People for the American Way,” is a leading national figure in a battle to neutralize what he calls “the new religious right.” He has been labelled “the number one enemy of the American family” by Jerry Falwell, head of the Moral Majority.Norman Lear joins the cast of “The Jeffersons” as they celebrate the taping of the 200th episode of the hit series. Lear developed the show nearly ten years ago and is being given a helping hand by cast members, from left to right, Marla Gibbs, Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Lear, Ned Wertimer, Berlinda Tolbert, Roxie Roker and Franklin Cover in Hollywood, Calif., on Feb. 22, 1983.
