On the eve of the first-year anniversary of his departure, we felt compelled to write his biography. Not only did he reach the end of his journey over the age of 100, he also had quite an impact on the world.
The ideal life is one where a person has a positive impact on the lives of others and leaves a mark. That is exactly what Norman Milton Lear did with his life. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, this writer, creator, political activist and above all television producer extraordinaire was the force behind some of the biggest television shows in the 1970s and 1980s. But his mark was not in the production of television shows. It was in the production of television shows that brought to the forefront, uncomfortable things that Americans had up to that point, never discussed openly. His shows addressed serious issues in a funny way, full of humor, and that allowed these discussions to slip into the consciousness of the nation.
Television career
Mr. Lear, who died at the age of 101 on December 5th, 2023, at his home in Los Angeles, wrote over 100 shows over the course of his long and productive career. Many of his television shows and series were taped in front of a live studio audience. He is best known for bringing not just humor but also serious discussions into people’s living rooms all over the country. His shows were known to cover subjects such as race, war, abortion, sexuality and much more. Basically, he helped to start conversations around issues that families dealt with. His top shows included, but are not limited to, All in the family, One Day at A Time, The Jeffersons, Different Strokes, Maude, Sanford and Son among others.
After his involvement in World War II, he had a career in Public Relations. He moved to California to pursue it, and it was while he was there that his writing career blossomed. This was after he had met his cousin’s husband Ed Simmons who was an aspiring comedic writer and the two managed to write jokes for the show Martin and Lewis, where they rose to become the main writers.
He honed his skills in a few other shows, but when he finally tried to sell a sitcom show about a working-class family to ABC, the network refused. This was “All in the family”. The network refused it, but luckily for him and for the world, CBS took it up. However, CBS was cautious enough about it that they ran a disclaimer when they finally aired it.
To illustrate just how good his show was and how it might have led the ABC executives to regret their decision to pass on the opportunity to air the show, “All in the family”, by the end of 1971 when it aired, was the nation’s number 1 show. The characters, especially Archie Bunker, were household names and pop culture fixtures. In fact, President Richard Nixon was one of the many fans. The show aired from 1971 until 1979 during which it was the number 1 rated series for 5 consecutive years. In addition to that, Lear and his production partner Bud Yorkin produced 5 of the top 10 shows in 1974-1975, to show how popular his productions were.
Perhaps to illustrate just how relatable his shows were, his best ever show, had characters who partly depicted his father and his mother. The character of Archie had some depictions of his father, who had gone to prison for selling fake bonds. And Edith Bunker also had some references and depicted his mother.
Along with some of his other popular series, Good Times, which was one of his shows, was the first one to regularly feature a black family on television in 1974.
Awards
Over the course of his career, Lear was the recipient of many awards. He won 6 prime time Emmy Awards and won 2 Peabody Awards, one in 1977 and another one in 2017. He won the National Medal of Arts in 1999 from President Bill Clinton. In 2017, at the age of 95, he was also awarded the Kenedy Center Honors. In 2021, he got the Golden Globe Carol Burnett Award. In 1984, he was part of the first cohort of 7 inductees to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, among many other awards and recognitions.
For those who were not yet born when these groundbreaking sitcoms were aired, they can be found in streaming platforms such as Freevee and Amazon Prime. The platforms began airing the sitcoms in 2021 and includes All in the family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, One day at a time, Different Strokes and Sanford and Sons.
On screen controversies
In 1972, an episode of his series “Maude” made history and headlines when the show became the first on television to discuss and feature abortion, when the character decided to have it. Needless to say, it drew a lot of attention as well as protests. But with that came high ratings.
But that was not the only controversy. His other show “All in the family” featured a friend of Archie who was gay. It famously drew even the attention and ire of President Nixon who was said to have complained about the show promoting same sex relationships.
One might have been mistaken to think that those controversies were by accident. But from Mr. Lear’s admission, they were by design. He is quoted as saying that controversy suggested that people were thinking about things. He went on to say, “they’d better be laughing first and foremost or it’s a dog”.
Eric Monte, a black screenwriter, took Lear and Yorkin to court for what he termed as the, stealing of his ideas. This was for the shows Good Times as well as The Jeffersons and What’s Happening! The litigation went on to get him compensation of $1 million dollars, and 1 percent ownership of the show Good Times. However, he was blacklisted by the Hollywood producers and labelled as difficult to work with. His lack of business as well as legal knowledge, saw him lose royalties for other works he had created.
Family life
Normal Lear was married three times over the course of his life. He and Charlotte Rosen got married in 1943 but divorced in 1956. Thereafter, he and Frances Loeb got married in 1956 and got divorced in 1985. The resultant divorce settlement of $112 million, which was awarded to his wife, saw him drop from the Forbes List of the top 400 richest Americans in the following year. In 1987, he got married again to Lyn Davis, whom he was married to until his death. From his three marriages, he had 6 children. The last were twin daughters, born in 1994, and are said to be via surrogacy.
Even in his 90s, he still had a nose for comedy and was known to go out late at night to watch comedians, especially stand-up comedians. At home, he was also known to watch television until late at night.
Political activism
Lear, who grew up in a Jewish household to parents of Russian-Jewish heritage, was a staunch supporter of the Democrats, and he often funded Democratic candidates. In fact, he even went as far as to establish an advocacy group in 1980 known as “People for The American Way”. His organization works to protect religious liberty, promote voting rights, combat censorship, and defend the right to free speech, among other things. He did this following what he felt as the intrusion of religion in American politics and government. His advocacy was meant to dilute the rise and power of the religious right in politics and government. In interviews past, he credited his lifetime of activism to an antisemitic catholic radio priest.
He wanted to counter evangelists who he felt, according to him, were abusing religion. He went on to name evangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as those he felt did that. Jerry Falwell is also believed to have said at one time, that Norman Lear was the number one enemy of the family in America. Norman would then be quoted as saying that “This is not my America. You do not mix politics and religion this way”.
Part of his activism led him to be one of the members of the “Malibu Mafia”, which was a group of rich American Jewish men who promoted and funded liberal and progressive causes.
In addition, he was also a vocal advocate of the first amendment and other causes dear to him.
Business acumen
Unknown to many, Mr. Lear was also business savvy. He was in the cable, pay tv, movies and home video business through his Embassy Communications company, which he founded with his ex-partner Jerry Perenchio. It is said that the two sold the company to Coca Cola for $485 million in 1985 and that a year earlier, they had also sold their cable holdings for a huge sum of money.
It was part of this income which saw him included in the list of the top 400 richest Americans by Forbes in the year 1986. However, his divorce settlement dropped him off the list the following year as he lost $112 million dollars.
Other activities of interest
Together with renowned business magnate Warren Buffet and James E. Burke, they established the Business Enterprise Trust, through which they honored businesses that had a long-term effect on the country.
The television giant also founded the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg school for communication.
In 2001, together with his wife Lyn, he famously purchased the Dunlap Broadside, which is one of the first published copies of the United States Declaration of Independence for the mouthwatering sum of $8.1 million. It is said that only about 200 of them were printed, and that of the 200, only 25 copies survive to this day. Out of the 25, only 4 are in the hands of private citizens and Norman Lear is one of them.
When asked about it, he said that purchased it so he could tour the United States with it, and allow the country to experience its birth certificate. He took it to all the 50 states and allowed Americans all over the nation to get a chance to see it and experience it through the Declaration of Independence Road trip.
Conclusion
Norman Lear has been mourned and celebrated by many all over the world and especially the Hollywood fraternity for his impact on screen. His family said that he lived a life of curiosity, tenacity and empathy. They went on to say that “He deeply loved our country and spent a lifetime helping to preserve its founding ideals of justice and equality for all. He began his career in the earliest days of television and discovered a passion for writing about the real lives of Americans and not the glossy ideal”.
Other than the small matter of how Eric Monte was treated when he tried to get a fair share of his sweat, it can be said that Norman Lear largely lived by the standard quoted by his family. His was a life that indeed left a mark as the numerous A list television celebrities such as Tyler Perry, Jimmy Kimmel and many others who testified of the impact that he had in their lives, and how he inspired them in what they do.
Survived by his wife Lyn, 6 children (5 daughters and 1 son) and 4 grandchildren, Lear’s is a story of someone who did not discover his gift until later in life. His story is a testament to the fact that with hard work and purpose, one can achieve one’s dreams through one’s natural talents. He achieved his dreams despite dropping out of college to enroll in the US Airforce. He started out in Public Relations but found his way to his hidden talent of comedy writing and television production when he moved to California. Lear did not just serve laughter to others. He partook of it and credits it as one of the things that have led to his long life when he said that “I’ve never been in a situation in my life, however tragic, where I didn’t see comedy,”.