SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCCNews) — Legendary television producer Norman Lear passed away at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for his family.
Lear developed a number of popular situation comedies throughout the 1970s, such as “The Jeffersons,” “All in the Family,” and “Good Times.”
“In terms of entertainment television, Norman Lear is by far the number one most influential character to ever work in the medium,” said Bob Thompson, a television history professor at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School.
Thompson said Lear’s work left an impression on him personally.
“I remember when this show started,” Thompson told NCC News. “I was 11 years old and all of a sudden there was something in our living room that never happened there before.”
Lear’s shows were among the first to tackle contentious issues of the day like abortion and civil rights through humor. The concept was so new, television executives at CBS placed a disclaimer ahead of early episodes of “All in the Family” warning viewers about the content of the show they were about to watch.
“One episode had a main character dealing with sexual assault, another character had a cancer scare,” Thompson recalled. “Again, this is stuff that entertainment television didn’t do and certainly sitcoms didn’t do.”
Lear said he believed laughter was the key to longevity. He died at 101.
