Norman Lear, known for producing classic shows such as “All in the Family” and “One Day at a Time,” has died.
Lear, who was 101 years old, died of natural causes on Tuesday. He was surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement posted to the TV producer’s website.
“Thank you for the moving outpouring of love and support in honor of our wonderful husband, father, and grandfather,” Lear’s family statement read. “Norman lived a life of creativity, tenacity, and empathy. He deeply loved our country and spent a lifetime helping to preserve its founding ideals of justice and equality for all. Knowing and loving him has been the greatest of gifts.”
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Norman Lear has died. He was 101 years old. (Getty Images)
“We ask for your understanding as we mourn privately in celebration of this remarkable human being.”
Lear was known for producing a long list of comedies, such as “Sanford and Son,” “Maude,” “Good Times” and “The Jeffersons.”
While Lear’s sitcoms were a ratings success, they also touched on social topics, including racism, homosexuality and war. “All in the Family,” which ran from 1971 until 1979, was awarded four Emmys along with a Peabody Award in 1977 and led to six spinoffs.
Norman Lear died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
“Originally, with all the shows, we went looking for belly laughs,” Lear said during a 2005 Onion A.V. Club interview, via Variety. “It crossed our minds early on that the more an audience cared – we were working before, on average, 240 live people – if you could get them caring, the more they cared, the harder they laughed.”
Lear was also the executive producer behind several hit films. The filmmaker is known for “The Little Rascals,” “The Princess Bride” and “Fried Green Tomatoes.”
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He was lauded with many accolades throughout his career, which boasted over 100 producing credits. In 1984, Lear was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame.
President Bill Clinton honored Lear with the National Medal of Arts in 1999. “Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it,” Clinton said at the time.
Outside of Hollywood, Lear participated in advocacy – creating People for the American Way in 1981. The group’s agenda included “reducing social tension and polarizations, encouraging community participation, fostering understanding among different segments of our society, and increasing the level and quality of public dialogue,” according to the website’s founding mission statement.
Norman Lear was known for TV shows such as “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons” and “Sanford and Son.” (Getty Images)
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Lear was born in Connecticut in 1922. He attended Boston’s Emerson College before dropping out and joining the U.S. Air Force in 1942. He later began his career in Hollywood as a press agent before beginning to write comedy.
He is survived by his third wife, Lyn Davis, along with his six children and grandchildren.
Norman Lear was known for the movies “The Little Rascals,” “Princess Bride” and “Fried Green Tomatoes.” (Unique Nicole/Getty Images)
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