Norman Lear

 

Norman Lear (center) and the All in the Family cast.

Normal Lear, the screenwriter and producer, has died at the age of 101.

He left and absolutely indelible mark on American television. That is not hyperbole in any form. He was involved in the production, writing, and developing of over 100 shows.

Now, not everything was a hit, but let's focus on a couple of icons.

In my house, All in the Family was a staple. First runs were appointment TV and reruns were constant. In fact, on weeknights from 7-8, my father settled into his recliner after dinner for M*A*S*H and All in the Family.

He even watched Archie Bunker's Place though not with the same zest. Admittedly the writing was nowhere near as sharp and the cast, frankly, simply couldn't live up to the amazing group that was assembled from 1971-1978.

While so many of us say "That could never be made today," Lear and Jimmy Kimmel assembled two All in the Family scripts for their Live in Front of a Studio Audience series in 2019 and 2020.

But those were essentially one-offs and, again, you simply can't touch a masterpiece like the original. 

For me, the summit will always be the episode featuring Sammy Davis Jr, when the legendary entertainer, playing himself, sidles up to the always clueless Archie for a picture. As the camera flashes, Davis plants a kiss of Archie's cheek.

The screaming laughter roars on decades later.

Lear was unafraid to tackle major topics during his career. Things that seemed untouchable, especially on an American sitcom, fell to him with ease. Homophobia, racism, sexism, economic disparity, inner-city struggles, rape, death, and so many other topics were presented in a way that somehow could also produce laughter.

That's where a character like Archie Bunker came in because his general bigotry and cluelessness could be used to the advantage of humor while still driving the point home.

In my house, the politics of it all weren't considered. They were characters -- ones who made us laugh and think while still providing entertainment.

In the process, All in the Family produced spinoffs, including most notably, Maude, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.

Good Times, about a family in inner-city Chicago, presented things that a kid in Mahopac, NY growing up in the mid-1970s had never seen. It was funny -- and what kid didn't love Jimmie Walker's euphoric "Dynmite!" -- but it also showed series topics as well, especially following the firing of co-star John Amos at the end of season three. The show had Amos's character die in a car accident and it followed the process of the family's mourning, culminating in the stoic Florida Evans finally expressing her emotions at the death of her husband.

These were groundbreaking things in the 70s.

Then there was Sanford and Son, the brilliant sitcom mined from England that showcased the hilarity of comedian Redd Foxx. Foxx's Fred G. Sanford was a schemer and cantankerous bigot who, like Archie Bunker, had a way with words and outrageous behavior.

There are scholars much brighter than I am who can break all of this down, and I'd be remiss if I didn't at least note One Day at a Time, another Lear-developed show that was on all the time in the Adams house during that era.

I'd leave the analysis to those people. 

I'll lean on the fact that these shows produced the great sound of my father's laugh. They also produced much laughter from me.

In some ways, there were a lot of lessons to draw to help mold behavior as well.

Thanks for the entertainment.

Oh, and one more thing.

Rob Reiner has always been a Meathead.