Norman Lear Dead: ‘All in the Family’ Creator Dies at 101

UPDATE: 12/18/23 at 11:34 PM ET:

Lear died on December 5 after cardiac arrest, according to his death certificate, which was obtained by TMZ on Monday, December 18. The document also listed congestive heart failure as the underlying cause of death.

Original story below:

TV legend Norman Lear – the mastermind behind countless 70s sitcoms, including Everything in the family, The Jeffersons And Maud – died at the age of 101.

We weekly can confirm that he died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 5.

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

Lear’s name is synonymous with comedy television, which he helped shape with timely and groundbreaking sitcoms that defined the 1970s and beyond. As the creator of Everything in the family – which earned 55 Emmy nominations (and 22 wins) over its eight years – the producer changed the world of TV as viewers knew it, creating a critically acclaimed and sometimes controversial series that courageously confronted racism, sexism , homophobia and more.

Amid the show’s success, the World War II vet evolved Maudthe first spin-off from Everything in the family. The sometimes dark comedy – which ran for six seasons and featured Bea Arthur as the titular character – revolved around Edith Bunker’s liberal cousin. Like its predecessor, the show broke barriers in terms of content, most notably with the episode where Maude chooses to have an abortion.

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Everything in the family‘s second spin-off, The Jeffersons – based on Archie and Edith Bunker’s neighbors – became not only one of the most successful spin-off series of all time, but also one of the longest-running sitcoms in television history with eleven seasons. The show was the first to feature an interracial couple.

In addition to Everything in the family and its offshoots, Lear – who regularly incorporated his social activism into his work – continued to score comedic gold on 1970s television, thanks to sitcoms like Sanford and son, One day at a time And Good times (which itself was a spin-off of Maud).

Over the course of his decades-long career, the television pioneer – who celebrated his 100th birthday on July 27, 2022 – received six Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe for his work on TV. In 1975, the Academy Award nominee received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Nearly a decade later, Lear became one of the first people inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was honored with the National Medal of Arts by then-President Bill Clinton.

In 2016, at the age of 94, Lear revealed that his secret to such a long life was laughing – and lots of it.

“I believe my longevity depends in large part on the amount of laughter I have had in my life,” the television producer explained. SuperSoul Sunday, reminiscing about hearing the roar of the studio audience. “I could cry just thinking about this… When an audience laughs together – every seat, next to each other – they tend to get up and out of their seats a little, and then back down and up again. I mean, that’s prayer, that’s gratitude, that’s enjoyment.”

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Getting older didn’t seem to phase him. “I consider myself the colleague of the person I’m talking to,” he said at the time. “If I were sitting here talking to a twelve-year-old, I would be twelve. That’s how I would feel too.”

Lear, who was married three times, is survived by his six children – Ellen, Kate, Maggie, Benjamin, Brianna and Madelaine – and his wife, Lyn Davis Learto whom he had been married since 1987.