There have been just a small handful of people who made the medium of #television better in a big, enduring way, and #NormanLear is at the top of the list. #RIP
Hollywood legend Norman Lear died yesterday at age 101. The writer-producer-developer created sitcoms like "All in the Family" and "Sanford and Son," and produced "The Princess Bride" and "Stand by Me." Here's a 2019 interview from Variety, in which he discusses his career resurgence and approach to comedy — he once said of audiences: "If you could get them caring, the more they cared, the harder they laughed.”
Here's The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg on the difficulty of finding words to express Lear's influence. "'Genius' works. 'Genius' is right. But 'Citizen Activist' is perfect as well," says the magazine's Chief Television Critic.
So much of my current sense of humor has its roots in All in the Family and its spinoffs (I guess we would now say the All in the Family-verse) and MAS*H (first 5 seasons only). #normanlear
Not only transformed TV and culture, also helped us to understand each other via our unique differences and basic similarities. Genius. #NormanLear#Culture#RIP