R.I.P. Norman Lear

[Greg]

"Norman Lear Was Still Making TV a Week Before His Death:"

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 235714999/

[Greg]

Supposedly, when CBS had All In The Family, Mash, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, and The Carol Burnett Show all on one after the other on Saturday night, it became the biggest night in television history.

[Mister Tee]

Even though I was in college and as divorced from TV watching as at any point in my life, I -- along with several friends -- watched the initial All in the Family broadcast (it was a mid-winter replacement, early 1971). The show simply blasted through the then-standards of network sitcoms -- in both subject matter (especially political/sexual) and attitude. I found the show kind of primitive in its comedy -- Archie was broadly conceived, Edith (certainly at first) a dimwit, and the play-to-the-live-audience approach came off pretty crude at home. (I was much more in tune, later, with MASH, whose comedy was more glancing and witty.) But there was no denying that the show broke barriers, and had far more to do with what was happening in society than any show prior.

My recollection is, the show wasn't instant cultural artifact. It ran on some weekday evening, and, to my knowledge, wasn't a ratings bonanza. But, surprisingly, it ended its half-season winning the Emmy for best comedy (over the more expected Mary Tyler Moore show). In the Fall, the show was moved to Saturday night, and that's when it became a cultural phenomenon: jumping to top-rated show of the season, a position it held several years.

Lear, of course, followed up with one hit show after another -- Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, probably more I'm forgetting. The style was pretty much consistent from show to show, meaning never truly to my taste (I still wasn't much a TV watcher, anyway). But it built an empire for Lear, and changed TV forever. (Ron Brownstein's book Rock Me on the Water has a lot of interesting detail on the show, as well as other cultural developments of the early 70s, for those interested in the subject.)

As a human being, Lear was a total mensch -- founding People for the American Way as counter-voice to the growing right wing dominance of American politics. I always admired him for his stances, and his efforts to bring them to fruition. It's truly a life well-lived, and worthy of salute.

[Sabin]

God tier. I wasn't around in the 1970s so a lot of his impact was told to me and passed down but he's been a legend as long as I've been alive. I'd be interested in knowing what some of this board thought of him during his run in the 1970s.

[danfrank]

It’s hard to think of anyone who changed television more than Norman Lear. Bravo for a life well lived.

[anonymous1980]

Story.

A major one. RIP.