Norman Lear

American television writer and producer (1922-2023)

Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922 – December 5, 2023)[1][2] was an American television writer and producer. He produced 1970s sitcoms including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Maude.

Lear in 2017

Lear won many awards, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 1999, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017, and an honorary Golden Globe Award in 2021. He was a member of the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Lear was known for his political activism and supporting liberal and progressive causes and politicians. In 1980, he founded the organization People for the American Way to push against the influence of the Christian right in politics.

In 2001, Lear and his wife, Lyn, purchased one of the first published copies of the United States Declaration of Independence for $8.1 million.[3] Lear said he went on a tour with the document around the United States so that the country could experience its "birth certificate" firsthand.[4][5]

Lear was born on July 27, 1922 in New Haven, Connecticut to a Jewish family.[6] He studied at Emerson College. Lear was married to Charlotte Rosen until they divorced. Then he was married to Frances Loeb from 1956 until they divorced in 1986. He was married to Lyn Davis from 1987 until his death.

In 2014, Lear published a memoir titled Even This I Get to Experience.[7]

Lear died in his Los Angeles, California home on December 5, 2023, aged 101.[8][9][10] The cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by heart failure.[11]

References change

  1. "Norman Lear Biography (1922-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  2. "Norman Lear, Whose Comedies Changed the Face of TV, Is Dead at 101". The New York Times. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  3. "Lear Buys Declaration Of Independence". CBS News. June 30, 2000. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  4. Today Show interview with Katie Couric, February 8, 2002
  5. "press | Norman Lear | television, film, political and social activist, philanthropist". Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  6. Interview with Aish.com
  7. EVEN THIS I GET TO EXPERIENCE | Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  8. Severo, Richard; Keepnews, Peter (December 6, 2023). "Norman Lear, Whose Comedies Changed the Face of TV, Is Dead at 101". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  9. Horton, Adrian (December 6, 2023). "Norman Lear, celebrated US TV writer and producer, dies aged 101". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  10. Barnes, Mike (December 6, 2023). "Norman Lear, Sitcom Genius and Citizen Activist, Dies at 101". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  11. Evans, Greg (December 18, 2023). "Norman Lear's Cause Of Death Revealed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

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