Norman Lear

On Norman Lear's 100th birthday, photos from 'All in the Family,' 'The Jeffersons,' 'Maude, 'Fried Green Tomatoes' and 'The Princess Bride'

He was an EP on the features Fried Green Tomatoes and The Princess Bride. Click on the photo above to see a gallery of it all. He’s won five Emmys — most recently in 2019 — and two Peabodys, was awarded the National Medal of Arts, received a Kennedy Center Honor and and was awarded the Air Medal after flying 52 missions in a B-17 during World War II.

On My 100th Birthday, Reflections on Archie Bunker and Donald Trump · Well, I made it. · At the same time, I have been moved by the courage of the handful of ...

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Norman Lear produced “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “The Jeffersons” and “Good Times,” among other groundbreaking television shows. I think of the brilliantly creative people I have had the pleasure to work with in entertainment and politics, and at People for the American Way, a progressive group I co-founded to defend our freedoms and build a country in which all people benefit from the blessings of liberty. Those encounters renew my belief that Americans will find ways to build solidarity on behalf of our values, our country and our fragile planet. But I think that the sight of the American flag being used to attack Capitol Police would have sickened him. Those closest to me know that I try to stay forward-focused. It is remarkable to consider that television — the medium for which I am most well-known — did not even exist when I was born, in 1922. Encouraging that kind of conversation was a goal of mine when we began broadcasting “All in the Family” in 1971. Those concerns have only grown with every revelation about just how far Mr. Trump was willing to go to stay in office after being rejected by voters — and about his ongoing efforts to install loyalists in positions with the power to sway future elections. I don’t take the threat of authoritarianism lightly. They give me hope that Americans can find unexpected common ground with friends and family whose politics differ but who are not willing to sacrifice core democratic principles. To be honest, I’m a bit worried that I may be in better shape than our democracy is.

Lear took to Instagram to reminisce the day before his 100th birthday with a video, singing a lick from the classic tune “That's Amore,” recalling how he once ...

Lear was bar mitzvahed in his native Connecticut, and he recalls that hearing antisemitic preacher Father Coughlin on the radio as a child helped fuel his interest in political activism. He currently co-hosts “Live In Front Of A Studio Audience,” a series of TV specials in which celebrities recreate episodes of his old sitcoms, and he also executive-produced the recent remake of his show “One Day At A Time,” as well as last year’s documentary “Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It.” Some of Lear’s other series, including “Good Times” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” are set for upcoming remakes, as well. He reached his 100-year milestone a few years ahead of peers Mel Brooks and Dick Van Dyke (both 96). But he’s had to say goodbye to other beloved longtime colleagues, including Carl Reiner (who died in 2020 at age 98), talent manager George Shapiro (who died in May at 91) and Betty White ( who died on New Year’s shortly before her own 100th birthday).

Norman Lear looks back and forever forward as the TV legend celebrates his 100th birthday. "A new century starts," he says. "How exciting is that?"

"My birthday will entirely consist of waking up in the morning to find my kids and grandkids there and spending the day together," Lear says. "You gotta get out of bed every day until you reach a 100," Lear says. "Tony and Alyssa bring this continuation of the Micellis to life,'' Lear says. We sit around a table and sing and play into the early morning," says Lear, who still enjoys his Cuban cigars. And so on." "Norman's career has been a lifetime of collaboration, and that hasn't changed," Miller says. Lear cut into a giant cake on the Sony studios lot July 19 in front of well-wishers. "It's been going on so long, and we enjoy each other. Lear still hosts a weekly cigar smoking club with musician friends, which had to go virtual during the pandemic. The updated version features "Schitt’s Creek" star Emily Hampshire, who will co-write and executive produce. Lear's gift to himself on his birthday is continuing the work he loves. If Lear's next century is anything like his first, then it's going to be a doozy.

Norman Lear, who turned 100, revolutionized family television in the 1970s with shows such as "Good Times," "Sanford and Son," "One Day at a Time" and “Mary ...

“Norman’s illustrious career is revered by so many, and we are honored to be celebrating his legacy with this special night of entertainment,” Craig Erwich, president of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment, said in a statement. On his birthday, ABC also announced that the network will air a two-hour special — “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter” — to honor his life and legacy at 9 p.m. on Sept. 22. “The moment between past and present, present and past, the moment between after and next.

"I could not be more grateful for sitting here today," Norman Lear tells PEOPLE of turning 100 years old.

"And over those years I've only learned more about why I should have cared in the first place and continued to care in the following place. I don't know that there's anything more romantic in living than all of that." "I've never chosen anything to do that I didn't wish to do," he says.

Known for popular sitcoms such as All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Lear has no intention of slowing down. He will be executive producing the remake of ...

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

An earlier version of this article misstated the date of an ABC special that will salute Norman Lear's 100th birthday. The special will air Thursday, Sept. 22.

Justina Machado, who starred as Penelope Alvarez in the 2017 Netflix reboot of “One Day at a Time,” which Lear executive-produced, calls him “an American hero,” “a true friend” and a “genius.” “Getting to know Norman and working with him is a highlight of my life and my career,” Machado says via email. And we have conversations today about the same things that he was writing about in the 1970s.” “It’s incredible because to some extent, he’s never changed in the most important ways,” she says. “The only reason I haven’t used the word is that I’m sure everybody is using it. “He was committed, unabashedly, to putting these provocative topics on television,” West says, citing “Maude’s Dilemma,” a two-part episode of “Maude” finding Bea Arthur’s Maude Findlay contemplating — and ultimately getting — an abortion. All of those are resonating today in 2022,” West says. “America has never been in more need of its solid, caring citizens,” Lear says. And that’s just one of the many, many times Lear’s sitcoms grappled with difficult topics. His birthday is Wednesday. He planned to spend it in Vermont “at what I call our Yiddish Hyannis Port with all my kids and grandkids. In 2004, he founded Declare Yourself, a campaign to urge young people to vote. In 1981, he founded People for the American Way, a nonprofit that aimed to challenge the agenda of the Moral Majority and that eventually became a political action committee. … What a super, super addition to the human race he is.”

Rita Moreno, John Amos, Valerie Bertinelli, and other collaborators reflect on working with the TV legend. ... Television as we know it could not exist without ...

He was so friendly and gracious and would look you in the eye and say, “You’re doing a great job.” I was really grateful to have his blessing. Also, we were rethinking a project of his that was a famous show, and he wanted to make sure it was in the right hands. I had met Norman at random industry events and in the social-justice world, but I got to know him when we worked together on One Day at a Time. You don’t have to draw anything out of Norman; he is an extrovert. Then I ran into him at a dinner, and he said, “I have a pilot that I’m going to do and I would love to have you in it. Come on!” I kept telling him to come and he wouldn’t. I said, “He just won’t come. Then he said, “Oh, the one with Charlie Durning.” I said, “You have no idea how that affected me!” We talked about it, and he said, “Well, you know, that makes sense to me. Norman said, “We’re gonna find you somebody to help you with the process of what it’s like to try and get to a place of vulnerability and still feel safe.” He really had faith in me when I never had faith in me. I was so moved, so struck by how present he was and how, in that moment, I was the most important person in the world to him. I came in looking spiffy and very cute, and he took one look at me and said, “You could never be Charlie Durning’s wife in anything.” I said, “What!?” and he said, “Rita, how old are you?” I said, “I’m 66,” and he said, “You don’t begin to look your age. There was even a point during the first season where he pulled me aside and he said, “Listen, we want to get you an acting coach to bring you out of your shell a little bit.” I had to cry in one of the last episodes, and crying was very uncomfortable for me on camera. I remember being invited to his house because he wanted to show his friends the pilot, and he said, “I want you to come and meet my friends.” I thought it would just be a couple of actors. I said, “Hello Mr. Peck,” and he said, “Call me Gregory,” and I said to myself, Yeah, right.

The celebrated writer and producer has been posting a series of #BreakfastThoughts videos on his social media accounts, and he shared a special one in honor of ...

Though Lear is at the incredible age of 100, he has not stopped working and has no plans to retire. He also talked about his plans with USA Today. "My birthday will entirely consist of waking up in the morning to find my kids and grandkids there and spending the day together," he said. The hammock in the middle of after and next. The moment between after and next. The moment between past and present or present and past. Lear, who is known for bringing shows including All in the Family and Good Times to TV, periodically shares videos he calls #BreakfastThoughts on his Instagram and Twitter accounts, which include whatever pieces of wisdom are on his mind.

On his 100th birthday, Emmy award-winning television producer Norman Lear said the secret to his long life has been laughter. On Wednesday, CBS News chief ...

"I think love and laughter are it! I remind myself how far we have come." "I couldn't emphasize that more.

Super producer Norman Lear turned 100 on Wednesday, and spent his birthday in Vermont with his family.

"Norman's illustrious career is revered by so many, and we are honored to be celebrating his legacy with this special night of entertainment," said Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich in a statement. Use it," he said. "Treasure it.

Norman Lear, Rob Reiner, Jimmy Kimmel and more spoke to Salon about the power of the legend's sitcoms.

"Good Times" was the first spinoff of a spinoff in television history, and it was also the first sitcom to depict a two-parent Black family. "The Jeffersons" became the most successful of Lear's "All in the Family" spinoffs: the second-longest-running series in television history featuring a Black family. The power of comedy and media is still here." Although abortions had been depicted on soap operas before then, Maude was the first primetime character to terminate a pregnancy (in a comedy no less), and the deftness with which "Maude's Dilemma" handled the subject matter met the delicate moment in America. Might that episode be next in line for the "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" treatment? The power of comedy and media is still here." Although the bulk of Lear's work as a television writer and producer was done by the mid 1980s, the shows he created remain relevant even to the present day. By the end of the 1970s, Lear had become a legend, but American political winds started to blow in a different direction. In the wake of his first three successes, Lear arrived at his office one day to find it occupied by members of the Black Panthers. They were intent on asking him why he only made shows featuring poor Black characters. The World formula in the context of a Black family. The series introduced substance abuse, mental health, and the struggles of women in the 1970s workplace into American entertainment at a time when they were barely spoken about publicly. Over the next five years, he created an Archie-verse of kindred series and interconnected spinoffs that captured the 1970s zeitgeist and remained popular until 1994, when "704 Hauser," the last direct "All in the Family" spinoff, went off the air. In the 1970s, when American television was still full of white middle class stories, Lear centered Black narratives, integrated Puerto Rican and queer characters into his stories, depicted interracial relationships, and introduced provocative subjects like racism and abortion into the primetime landscape.