Norman Lear, ‘All in the Family’ Creator and Legendary TV Producer, Dead at 101

Legendary television writer, film producer, and activist Norman Lear has died. Lear, the creator of groundbreaking series such as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, and more, passed away at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes on Tuesday, Dec. 5, his publicist confirmed to Variety. He was 101.

“Thank you for the moving outpouring of love and support in honor of our wonderful husband, father, and grandfather,” Lear’s family said in a statement. “Norman lived a life of creativity, tenacity, and empathy. He deeply loved our country and spent a lifetime helping to preserve its founding ideals of justice and equality for all. Knowing and loving him has been the greatest of gifts. We ask for your understanding as we mourn privately in celebration of this remarkable human being.”

Born in New Haven, Connecticut in July 1922, Lear dropped out of Boston’s Emerson College to enlist in the U.S. Air Force in 1942. He served in World War II as a radio operator and gunner on B-17 bombers in the European theater, flying 52 missions, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a press agent after the war. One of the seven original inductees into the TV Hall of Fame in 1984, Lear soon transitioned into producing and would go on to be considered a game-changer for the American prime-time comedy lineup in the 1970s. 

Throughout his decades-long career, Lear, created or developed hit comedies like Mary Hartman, The Jeffersons, Maude, and more. He is best known for All In the Family, a sitcom that touched on a multitude of issues, including prejudice, menopause, rape, homosexuality, sexual dysfunction, and religion. The sitcom earned 57 Emmy nominations, winning 22 of them.

Lear remained active in his final years, even executive producing a reimagining of One Day at a Time for Netflix/Pop TV, as well as ABC’s of sitcom episode reenactments. Outside of Hollywood, Lear was also an activist. In 1981, he co-founded the nonprofit People for the American Way, whose vision “is a vibrantly diverse democratic society in which everyone is treated equally under the law, given the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams and encouraged to participate in our nation’s civic and political life.”

Lear is survived by wife Lyn and children Ellen (with ex-wife Charlotte Rosen), Kate and Maggie (with ex-wife Frances Loeb), and Benjamin, Madelaine and Brianna (with Lyn). In a statement shared to his Instagram page, his family said, “As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support.”