Norman Lear
Encyclopedia
Norman Milton Lear is an American television
writer and producer
who produced such 1970s
sitcoms as All in the Family
, Sanford and Son
, One Day at a Time
, The Jeffersons
, Good Times
and Maude
. As a political activist, he founded the civil liberties advocacy organization People For the American Way
in 1981 and has supported First Amendment
rights and liberal causes.
, the son of Jeanette (née Seicol) and Herman Lear, who worked in sales. He grew up in a Jewish home and had a Bar Mitzvah. Lear went to high school in Hartford, Connecticut
and subsequently attended Emerson College
in Boston
, but dropped out in 1942 to join the United States Army Air Forces
. During World War II
, he served in the Mediterranean Theater as a radio operator/gunner on Boeing
B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with the 772nd Bombardment Squadron, 463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the Fifteenth Air Force
. He flew 52 combat missions, for which he was awarded the Air Medal
with four Oak Leaf Clusters. Lear was discharged from the Army in 1945. He and his fellow World War II crew members are featured in the book "Crew Umbriago" by Daniel P.Carroll (tail gunner), and also in another book: 772nd Bomb Squadron: The Men, The Memories by Turner Publishing Company.
CBS
sitcom, Honestly, Celeste!
, but the program was canceled after eight episodes. During this time, he became the producer of NBC
's The Martha Raye Show
, after Nat Hiken
left as the series director. In 1959, Lear created his first television series starring Henry Fonda
, a half-hour western for Revue Studios called The Deputy
. Starting out as a comedy writer, then a film
director (he wrote and produced the 1967 film Divorce American Style
and directed the 1971 film Cold Turkey
, both starring Dick Van Dyke
), Lear tried to sell a concept for a sitcom about a blue-collar
American family to ABC
. They rejected the show after two pilots were filmed. After a third pilot was shot, CBS picked up the show, known as All in the Family
. It premiered January 12, 1971 to disappointing ratings, but it took home several Emmy Awards that year, including Outstanding Comedy Series. The show did very well in summer reruns, and it flourished in the 1971-1972 season, becoming the top-rated show on TV for the next five years. After falling from the #1 spot, All in the Family still remained in the top ten, well after it transitioned into Archie Bunker's Place
. The show was based on the British
sitcom Til Death Us Do Part
, about an irascible working-class Tory
and his Socialist son-in-law.
Lear's second big TV hit was also based on a British sitcom, Steptoe and Son
, about a west London
junk dealer and his son. Lear changed the setting to the Watts
section of Los Angeles
and the characters to African-Americans, and the NBC
show Sanford and Son
was an instant hit. Numerous hit shows followed thereafter, including Maude
(the lead character of which was reportedly based on Lear's then-wife Frances
), The Jeffersons
(both spin-off
s of All in the Family), and One Day at a Time
.
What most of the Lear sitcoms had in common was that they were character-driven, had sets that more resembled stage plays than common sitcom sets, were shot on videotape
in place of film
, used a live studio audience, and most importantly dealt with the social and political issues of the day. Ironically, although Lear's shows are often considered somewhat autobiographical and closely identified with his personal experiences, his early hits were actually all adapted from someone else's creations: the two aforementioned British adaptations and Maude, while reputedly based on Lear's wife, was actually the brainchild of series producer Charlie Hauck.
Lear's longtime producing partner was Bud Yorkin
, who served as executive producer of Sanford and Son, split with Lear in 1975. He started a production company with writer/producers Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, but they had only two shows that ran more than a year: What's Happening!!
and Carter Country
. The Lear/Yorkin company was known as Tandem Productions. Lear and talent agent Jerry Perenchio
founded T.A.T. Communications (T.A.T. stood for "Tuchus Affen Tisch", which is Yiddish for "Putting one's butt on the line") in 1974, which co-existed with Tandem Productions and was often referred to in periodicals as Tandem/T.A.T. The Lear organization was one of the most successful independent TV producers of the 1970s.
He also developed the cult favorite TV series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
.
Lear himself stepped down as production supervisor on his shows in 1978 to work on a film dealing with his concerns about the growing influence of radical right-wing evangelists. The film was never fully developed, but the process stimulated his long engagement in political activism.
In 1982, the company bought out Avco Embassy Pictures
from Avco Financial Corporation, and the Avco part of its name was dropped. Embassy Pictures was led by (current Warner Bros.
President) Alan Horn and Martin Schaeffer, later co-founders of Castle Rock Entertainment
with Rob Reiner
. In 1985, Lear sold all his film and television production holdings to Columbia Pictures
(then owned by the Coca-Cola
Company) which acquired Embassy's film and television division (which included Embassy's in-house television productions and the television rights to the Embassy theatrical library) for $485 million in shares of The Coca-Cola Company. Lear and his longtime partner Jerry Perenchio split the net proceeds (about $250 mm). Coke later sold the film division to Dino De Laurentiis and the home video arm to Nelson entertainment (led by Barry Spikings).
The brand Tandem Productions was abandoned in 1986 with the cancellation of Diff'rent Strokes
, and Embassy ceased to exist as a single entity in late 1987, having been split into different components owned by different entities. The Embassy TV division became ELP Communications in 1988, but shows originally produced by Embassy were now under the Columbia Pictures Television
banner from 1988–1994 and the Columbia TriStar Television
banner from 1994-1998.
Lear attempted to return to TV production in the 1990s with the shows Sunday Dinner
, The Powers That Be
, and 704 Hauser
, the last one putting a different family in the house from All in the Family
. None of the series proved successful, despite critical acclaim.
Today, Lear's TV library is owned by Sony Pictures Television
.
However, Lear was successful as a businessman, especially with his leveraged acquisition vehicle Act III Communications, founded in 1986 and led initially by Tom McGrath (who met Lear while negotiating on behalf of Coca-Cola the acquisition of Lear's old company) and later by Hal Gaba, a former Embassy executive. This included: Act III Theatres, sold to KKR in 1997 at what is to this day considered a record premium; Act III Broadcasting, sold to Abry Communications; and Act III Publishing, sold to PriMedia. Lear is also the owner of Concord Records and in 2005 consummated a 50% interest in the film library and production assets of Village Roadshow Productions Pty Ltd.
Lear is unofficially credited with giving Rob Reiner
, son of Carl Reiner
(and a star of All in the Family
) his start as a director by financing the mockumentary
This is Spinal Tap
. Lear's Act III Communications, founded in 1986 with Tom McGrath as President, produced several notable films, including Rob Reiner's next three films: The Sure Thing
, Stand By Me
, and The Princess Bride
, as well as Fried Green Tomatoes
.
In 1997, Lear teamed up with Jim George to produce the Kids' WB
cartoon series, Channel Umptee-3
. It premiered on Kids WB's Saturday morning lineup on October 25, 1997. The cartoon made television history, as it was the first to meet the Federal Communications Commission
's then-new educational/informal programming requirements. Like Lear's other television works, it received positive reviews, but ratings were low due to the network's focus on their core high-rated programming at the time. A time switch from a concrete Saturday schedule to a revolving Friday timeslot caused the show's ratings to dip even more, and it was eventually canceled after one season. September 4, 1998 marked the last airing of Umptee-3 on the WB.
In 2003, Lear made an appearance on South Park
during the "I'm a Little Bit Country
" episode, providing the voice of Benjamin Franklin
. He also served as a consultant on the episodes "I'm a Little Bit Country" and "Cancelled
". Lear has attended a South Park writers' retreat, and served as the officiant at Trey Parker's
wedding.
In October 2010, it was reported that Lear is writing a new sitcom, which would star Burt Reynolds
and Loni Anderson
as retirement home residents. It is currently being pitched for the 2011 TV season.
for writing Divorce, American Style. Lear was among the first seven television pioneers inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1984. He received four Emmy Award
s (two in 1971, and one each in 1972 and 1973) and a Peabody Award
in 1978. He received the Humanist Arts Award from the American Humanist Association
in 1977. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
is located at
6615 Hollywood Boulevard
.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton
awarded the National Medal of Arts
to Lear, noting that “Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it.” Also in 1999, he and Bud Yorkin
received the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
and liberal
causes. The only time that he did not support the Democratic
candidate for President
was in 1980: he voted for John Anderson
because he considered the Carter
administration to be "a complete disaster".
In 1981, Lear founded People For the American Way
, a civil liberties advocacy organization. People For ran several advertising campaigns opposing the interjection of religion in politics. In 1987, People For campaigned against Robert Bork
's nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States
. The organization is still active.
In 1989, Lear founded the Business Enterprise Trust
, an educational program that used annual awards, business school case studies, and videos to spotlight exemplary social innovations in American business. In 2000, he provided an endowment for a multidisciplinary research and public policy center that exploring the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society, at the University of Southern California
Annenberg School for Communication
. It was later named the Norman Lear Center
in recognition.
Lear serves on the National Advisory Board of the Young Storytellers Foundation. He has written articles for The Huffington Post
.
Lear is a trustee emeritus at The Paley Center for Media.
—for $8.1 million. Not a document collector, Lear said in a press release and on the Today show that his intent was to tour the document around the United States so that the country could experience its "birth certificate" firsthand. Through the end of 2004, the document traveled throughout the United States in the Declaration of Independence
Roadtrip, which Lear organized, visiting several presidential libraries, dozens of museums, as well as the 2002 Olympics, Super Bowl XXXVI
, and the Live 8
concert in Philadelphia.
Lear and Rob Reiner
produced a filmed, dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence—the last project filmed by famed cinematographer
Conrad Hall
—on July 4, 2001, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia
. The film, introduced by Morgan Freeman
, features Kathy Bates
, Benicio del Toro
, Michael Douglas
, Mel Gibson
, Whoopi Goldberg
, Graham Greene
, Ming-Na
, Edward Norton
, Winona Ryder
, Kevin Spacey
, and Renée Zellweger
as readers. The film was directed by Arvin Brown
and scored by John Williams.
(1979), the Made-for-TV movie Heartsounds
, which aired on September 30, 1984, or the hit FOX series Married... With Children
.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
writer and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
who produced such 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
sitcoms as All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
, One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
, The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
and Maude
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
. As a political activist, he founded the civil liberties advocacy organization People For the American Way
People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, People For the American Way is organized as a tax-exempt 501 non-profit organization.-Purpose:...
in 1981 and has supported First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
rights and liberal causes.
Early life
Lear was born in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, the son of Jeanette (née Seicol) and Herman Lear, who worked in sales. He grew up in a Jewish home and had a Bar Mitzvah. Lear went to high school in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
and subsequently attended Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, but dropped out in 1942 to join the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served in the Mediterranean Theater as a radio operator/gunner on Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with the 772nd Bombardment Squadron, 463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
. He flew 52 combat missions, for which he was awarded the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
with four Oak Leaf Clusters. Lear was discharged from the Army in 1945. He and his fellow World War II crew members are featured in the book "Crew Umbriago" by Daniel P.Carroll (tail gunner), and also in another book: 772nd Bomb Squadron: The Men, The Memories by Turner Publishing Company.
Career
In 1954, Lear was enlisted as a writer hoping to salvage the new Celeste HolmCeleste Holm
Celeste Holm is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement , as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable and All About Eve...
CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom, Honestly, Celeste!
Honestly, Celeste!
Honestly, Celeste! is an eight-episode 1954 CBS situation comedy starring Celeste Holm as Celeste Anders, a 37-year-old college journalism professor from Minnesota who accepts a reporter’s position on the staff of the fictitious New York Express newspaper.-Synopsis:In the series premiere, Celeste...
, but the program was canceled after eight episodes. During this time, he became the producer of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Martha Raye Show
The Martha Raye Show
The Martha Raye Show is an hour-long comedy/variety show which aired live on NBC from January 23, 1954, to May 29, 1956. The series was hosted by the late Martha Raye, a Montana native, who often called herself "The Big Mouth." Her boyfriend on the program and a foil for her humor was portrayed by...
, after Nat Hiken
Nat Hiken
Nat Hiken was an American television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s.-Biography:...
left as the series director. In 1959, Lear created his first television series starring Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, a half-hour western for Revue Studios called The Deputy
The Deputy (TV series)
The Deputy is a 1959-1961 half-hour NBC western series featuring Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.-Production:...
. Starting out as a comedy writer, then a film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
director (he wrote and produced the 1967 film Divorce American Style
Divorce American Style
Divorce American Style is a 1967 American satirical comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin.Norman Lear produced the film and wrote the script based on a story by Robert Kaufman...
and directed the 1971 film Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey (film)
Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences...
, both starring Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
), Lear tried to sell a concept for a sitcom about a blue-collar
Blue collar
Blue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
American family to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. They rejected the show after two pilots were filmed. After a third pilot was shot, CBS picked up the show, known as All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
. It premiered January 12, 1971 to disappointing ratings, but it took home several Emmy Awards that year, including Outstanding Comedy Series. The show did very well in summer reruns, and it flourished in the 1971-1972 season, becoming the top-rated show on TV for the next five years. After falling from the #1 spot, All in the Family still remained in the top ten, well after it transitioned into Archie Bunker's Place
Archie Bunker's Place
Archie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...
. The show was based on the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
sitcom Til Death Us Do Part
Til Death Us Do Part
Till Death Us Do Part is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1968, 1970, and from 1972 to 1975. First airing as a Comedy Playhouse pilot, the show aired in seven series until 1975. Six years later, ITV continued the sitcom, calling it Till Death......
, about an irascible working-class Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
and his Socialist son-in-law.
Lear's second big TV hit was also based on a British sitcom, Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
, about a west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
junk dealer and his son. Lear changed the setting to the Watts
Watts, Los Angeles, California
Watts is a mostly residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Watts is located on the Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant...
section of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and the characters to African-Americans, and the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
show Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
was an instant hit. Numerous hit shows followed thereafter, including Maude
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
(the lead character of which was reportedly based on Lear's then-wife Frances
Frances Lear
Frances Lear was an activist, magazine publisher and writer. She was the wife of television producer Norman Lear. After her 1985 divorce, Lear used her $112 million settlement to start Lear's, a magazine targeting women over 35. The magazine folded six years later...
), The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
(both spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
s of All in the Family), and One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
.
What most of the Lear sitcoms had in common was that they were character-driven, had sets that more resembled stage plays than common sitcom sets, were shot on videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
in place of film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, used a live studio audience, and most importantly dealt with the social and political issues of the day. Ironically, although Lear's shows are often considered somewhat autobiographical and closely identified with his personal experiences, his early hits were actually all adapted from someone else's creations: the two aforementioned British adaptations and Maude, while reputedly based on Lear's wife, was actually the brainchild of series producer Charlie Hauck.
Lear's longtime producing partner was Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin is an American film and television producer, director, writer and actor.Yorkin was born Alan David Yorkin in Washington, Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in engineering from Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania...
, who served as executive producer of Sanford and Son, split with Lear in 1975. He started a production company with writer/producers Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, but they had only two shows that ran more than a year: What's Happening!!
What's Happening!!
What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976 as a weekly...
and Carter Country
Carter Country
Carter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.-Synopsis:Carter Country was set in the fictional small town of Clinton Corners in Georgia Carter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.-Synopsis:Carter Country was set in the...
. The Lear/Yorkin company was known as Tandem Productions. Lear and talent agent Jerry Perenchio
Jerry Perenchio
Andrew Jerrold "Jerry" Perenchio was the former chairman and CEO of Univision, the largest Spanish-language company in the United States.-Early life:...
founded T.A.T. Communications (T.A.T. stood for "Tuchus Affen Tisch", which is Yiddish for "Putting one's butt on the line") in 1974, which co-existed with Tandem Productions and was often referred to in periodicals as Tandem/T.A.T. The Lear organization was one of the most successful independent TV producers of the 1970s.
He also developed the cult favorite TV series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
.
Lear himself stepped down as production supervisor on his shows in 1978 to work on a film dealing with his concerns about the growing influence of radical right-wing evangelists. The film was never fully developed, but the process stimulated his long engagement in political activism.
In 1982, the company bought out Avco Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as The Graduate, The Lion in Winter, This Is Spinal Tap and Escape from New York.-Founding:The company was founded in 1942 by producer Joseph E...
from Avco Financial Corporation, and the Avco part of its name was dropped. Embassy Pictures was led by (current Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
President) Alan Horn and Martin Schaeffer, later co-founders of Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment is a film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a subsidiary of Warner Bros...
with Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
. In 1985, Lear sold all his film and television production holdings to Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
(then owned by the Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
Company) which acquired Embassy's film and television division (which included Embassy's in-house television productions and the television rights to the Embassy theatrical library) for $485 million in shares of The Coca-Cola Company. Lear and his longtime partner Jerry Perenchio split the net proceeds (about $250 mm). Coke later sold the film division to Dino De Laurentiis and the home video arm to Nelson entertainment (led by Barry Spikings).
The brand Tandem Productions was abandoned in 1986 with the cancellation of Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, and Embassy ceased to exist as a single entity in late 1987, having been split into different components owned by different entities. The Embassy TV division became ELP Communications in 1988, but shows originally produced by Embassy were now under the Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
banner from 1988–1994 and the Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television was the third name of the television studio Screen Gems, named after its then-current 1991 home video division....
banner from 1994-1998.
Lear attempted to return to TV production in the 1990s with the shows Sunday Dinner
Sunday Dinner (TV series)
Sunday Dinner is a short-lived 1991 CBS sitcom produced by Norman Lear, which marked his return to TV after an absence of several years. It ran as a summer entry on CBS' lineup from June 2, 1991 until July 7, 1991...
, The Powers That Be
The Powers That Be (TV series)
The Powers That Be is a United States television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman that aired briefly on NBC from 1992 to 1993. Norman Lear served as executive producer for the show.-Plot:...
, and 704 Hauser
704 Hauser
704 Hauser is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from April to May 1994. A spin-off of All in the Family , the series is built around the concept of an African American family, the Cumberbatches, moving into the former Queens home of Archie Bunker years after Bunker had sold the house...
, the last one putting a different family in the house from All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
. None of the series proved successful, despite critical acclaim.
Today, Lear's TV library is owned by Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
.
However, Lear was successful as a businessman, especially with his leveraged acquisition vehicle Act III Communications, founded in 1986 and led initially by Tom McGrath (who met Lear while negotiating on behalf of Coca-Cola the acquisition of Lear's old company) and later by Hal Gaba, a former Embassy executive. This included: Act III Theatres, sold to KKR in 1997 at what is to this day considered a record premium; Act III Broadcasting, sold to Abry Communications; and Act III Publishing, sold to PriMedia. Lear is also the owner of Concord Records and in 2005 consummated a 50% interest in the film library and production assets of Village Roadshow Productions Pty Ltd.
Lear is unofficially credited with giving Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, son of Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
(and a star of All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
) his start as a director by financing the mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
This is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
. Lear's Act III Communications, founded in 1986 with Tom McGrath as President, produced several notable films, including Rob Reiner's next three films: The Sure Thing
The Sure Thing
The Sure Thing is a 1985 romantic comedy directed by Rob Reiner, written by Steven L. Bloom and Jonathan Roberts and starring John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Viveca Lindfors, and Nicollette Sheridan...
, Stand By Me
Stand by Me (film)
Stand by Me is a 1986 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner. Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King, the film takes its title from the Ben E. King song of the same name, which plays over the end credits.-Plot:...
, and The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
, as well as Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Green Tomatoes (film)
Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 comedy-drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title. Directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski, it stars Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy,...
.
In 1997, Lear teamed up with Jim George to produce the Kids' WB
Kids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
cartoon series, Channel Umptee-3
Channel Umptee-3
Channel Umptee-3 was a Saturday morning animated television series created by Jim George and produced by Norman Lear that aired on The WB in 1997. Ogden Ostrich, Sheldon S...
. It premiered on Kids WB's Saturday morning lineup on October 25, 1997. The cartoon made television history, as it was the first to meet the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
's then-new educational/informal programming requirements. Like Lear's other television works, it received positive reviews, but ratings were low due to the network's focus on their core high-rated programming at the time. A time switch from a concrete Saturday schedule to a revolving Friday timeslot caused the show's ratings to dip even more, and it was eventually canceled after one season. September 4, 1998 marked the last airing of Umptee-3 on the WB.
In 2003, Lear made an appearance on South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
during the "I'm a Little Bit Country
I'm a Little Bit Country
"I'm a Little Bit Country" is the 100th episode of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired April 9 2003, a week prior to the U.S. invading Iraq. The episode is similar to the 1972 film 1776.- Plot :...
" episode, providing the voice of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
. He also served as a consultant on the episodes "I'm a Little Bit Country" and "Cancelled
Cancelled (South Park)
"Cancelled" is the season 7 premiere episode and the overall 97th episode, although intended to be the 100th, of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on March 19, 2003.- Plot :...
". Lear has attended a South Park writers' retreat, and served as the officiant at Trey Parker's
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
wedding.
In October 2010, it was reported that Lear is writing a new sitcom, which would star Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
and Loni Anderson
Loni Anderson
Loni Kaye Anderson is an American actress who played the role of Jennifer Marlowe on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.- Early life :...
as retirement home residents. It is currently being pitched for the 2011 TV season.
Awards
In 1967, Lear was nominated for an Academy AwardAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for writing Divorce, American Style. Lear was among the first seven television pioneers inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1984. He received four Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s (two in 1971, and one each in 1972 and 1973) and a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
in 1978. He received the Humanist Arts Award from the American Humanist Association
American Humanist Association
The American Humanist Association is an educational organization in the United States that advances Humanism. "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that...
in 1977. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
is located at
6615 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
awarded the National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
to Lear, noting that “Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it.” Also in 1999, he and Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin is an American film and television producer, director, writer and actor.Yorkin was born Alan David Yorkin in Washington, Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in engineering from Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania...
received the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
Political and cultural activities
In addition to his success as a TV producer and businessman, Lear is an outspoken supporter of First AmendmentFirst Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
and liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
causes. The only time that he did not support the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
was in 1980: he voted for John Anderson
John B. Anderson
John Bayard Anderson is a former United States Congressman and Presidential candidate from Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from the 16th Congressional District of Illinois for ten terms from 1961 through 1981 and an Independent candidate in the 1980 presidential election. He was previously...
because he considered the Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
administration to be "a complete disaster".
In 1981, Lear founded People For the American Way
People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, People For the American Way is organized as a tax-exempt 501 non-profit organization.-Purpose:...
, a civil liberties advocacy organization. People For ran several advertising campaigns opposing the interjection of religion in politics. In 1987, People For campaigned against Robert Bork
Robert Bork
Robert Heron Bork is an American legal scholar who has advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork formerly served as Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
's nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. The organization is still active.
In 1989, Lear founded the Business Enterprise Trust
Business Enterprise Trust
The Business Enterprise Trust, a nonprofit organization which was based in Palo Alto, California, celebrated exemplary acts of courage, integrity and social vision in American business...
, an educational program that used annual awards, business school case studies, and videos to spotlight exemplary social innovations in American business. In 2000, he provided an endowment for a multidisciplinary research and public policy center that exploring the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society, at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Annenberg School for Communication
USC Annenberg School for Communication
The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism comprises a School ofCommunication and a School of Journalism at the University of Southern California . It is led by Dean Ernest J. Wilson III, Ph.D....
. It was later named the Norman Lear Center
Norman Lear Center
Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the Norman Lear Center is a multi-disciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society...
in recognition.
Lear serves on the National Advisory Board of the Young Storytellers Foundation. He has written articles for The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
.
Lear is a trustee emeritus at The Paley Center for Media.
Declaration of Independence
In 2001, Lear and his wife, Lyn, purchased a Dunlap broadside—one of the first published copies of the United States Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
—for $8.1 million. Not a document collector, Lear said in a press release and on the Today show that his intent was to tour the document around the United States so that the country could experience its "birth certificate" firsthand. Through the end of 2004, the document traveled throughout the United States in the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
Roadtrip, which Lear organized, visiting several presidential libraries, dozens of museums, as well as the 2002 Olympics, Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
, and the Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert in Philadelphia.
Lear and Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
produced a filmed, dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence—the last project filmed by famed cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Conrad Hall
Conrad Hall
Conrad Lafcadio Hall, ASC was an American cinematographer from Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. Named after writers Joseph Conrad and Lafcadio Hearn, he was best known for photographing films such as In Cold Blood, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Beauty, and Road to...
—on July 4, 2001, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. The film, introduced by Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
, features Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
, Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
, Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
, Graham Greene
Graham Greene (actor)
Graham Greene is a Canadian actor who has worked on stage, and in film and TV productions in Canada, England and the United States.-Early life:...
, Ming-Na
Ming-Na
Ming-Na is a Macanese-born American actress. She has been credited with and without her family name, but most credits since the late 1990s have been without it...
, Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
, Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, and Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
as readers. The film was directed by Arvin Brown
Arvin Brown
Arvin Brown is an American theatre and television director and was the Artistic Director of the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut for 30 years. He was married to actress Joyce Ebert until her death in 1997....
and scored by John Williams.
Declare Yourself
In 2004, Lear established Declare Yourself, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign created to empower and encourage eligible 18-29 year-olds in America to register and vote. Since then, it has registered almost 4 million young people and contributed significantly to the unprecedented turnout of young voters.Born Again American
As part of the ongoing drive to promote active and thoughtful citizenship, Lear premiered BornAgainAmerican.org at the Presidential Inauguration in 2009. The BornAgainAmerican campaign includes a specially commissioned song and an interactive website, reminding visitors of the American values expressed in the Declaration of Independence.TV productions
Note: The above chart does not include the series The BaxtersThe Baxters
The Baxters is an American situation comedy television series produced by Norman Lear. The series premiered in broadcast syndication in 1979 and lasted two seasons, ending in 1981. The series was the first "interactive" sitcom depicting a middle-class St...
(1979), the Made-for-TV movie Heartsounds
Heartsounds
Heartsounds is an autobiographical book written by Martha Weinman Lear and first published in 1980 by Simon and Schuster....
, which aired on September 30, 1984, or the hit FOX series Married... With Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
.
External links
- The Official Norman Lear Website
- Biography of Norman Lear at the Museum of Broadcast Communications website
- 2005 interview with Norman Lear
- 2006 story on Lear and All in the Family that describes Lear's interests and his life in Vermont
- Independence Road Trip
- 463rd Bombardment Group Historical Society
- NNDB.com Profile
- Norman Lear Archive of American Television interview
- Born Again American website