12/06/2023

Norman Lear Dies at 101

He changed America by bringing social commentary to sitcoms

Norman Lear, the TV writer and producer who transformed the bland porridge of situation comedy into a zesty stew of sociopolitical strife and brutally funny speech and who gave the world such embattled comic archetypes as Archie Bunker, Fred Sanford, Maude Findlay and George Jefferson, died Dec. 5 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 101.

A family spokeswoman, Lara Bergthold, announced the death but did not provide an immediate cause.

Lear’s entertainment career spanned the late 1940s to the 21^st century, and he also found prominence in later life as a liberal political activist. But his legend was sealed in the 1970s, when he created a handful of shows that transformed the television medium into a fractious national town meeting and showcased the American family in all its hopes and dysfunctions.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.