Iconic television writer, producer, and developer Norman Lear died Tuesday at the age of 101.
Lear, who was behind iconic sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s such as, “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” and “Sanford and Son,” “passed away peacefully” at his Los Angeles home.
“It is with profound sadness and love that we announce the passing of Norman Lear, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather,” a post on Lear’s Instagram page said. “Norman passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023, surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end.”
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“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him,” the post continued. “He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music. But it was people – those he just met and those he knew for decades – who kept his mind and heart forever young.”
After already having established a career as a comedy writer, Lear went on to be nominated for an Academy Award in 1968 for his film, “Divorce American Style,” Variety reported.
Inspired by a British television show at the time, Lear created the idea for “All in the Family.”
While many television producers and writers tried to steer clear of controversial issues such as politics, racism, abortion, and homosexuality, Lear did not shy away from including such topics in his shows.
“Originally, with all the shows, we went looking for belly laughs,” Lear revealed during a 2005 interview with the Onion A.V. Club. “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.”