Very well said, Stephen! (Sorry I'm late getting to this) You definitely put your finger on Lear's incredible knack of going beyond the simplistic, yet remain gut busting funny. Of course when All in the Family came out, I'm thinking yeah - mocking bigots! Then I learned that my uncle was a huge fan of Archie. I thought what the hell, yes, my uncle was in fact a bigot of sorts, but can he not see the error of his ways through Archie being a buffoon?? But of course I became increasingly aware that my uncle was not alone! I suppose that was the genius of Lear - nuance, layers, complex, but without being tedious or thick. In fact remarkable wit and memorably touching moments. He obviously changed the face of sitcoms for decades. Till that all got forgotten, lol. So while Archie, and the show, might not have been enlightening to my uncle, they sure as hell were enlightening to me, and I could start seeing the humanity of Archie and why he was the way he was. Not that his racism was to be excused, but it did give an inkling how one might cope with such people. And this was in the form of a gd sitcom! Ha. I had the great fortune of working with Lear - that was a lesson! He was personally at once fearsome and intimidating, and warm and nurturing. Empathy! And those attributes were reflected in his incredibly thoughtful body of work. I could never fathom how one person could be so creative and insightful on such a high level. It was absolutely awe-some to see his mind work. We (the other writers and me) would just try to keep up and go along for the ride. And believe me any kind of praise was wow, like being touched by some sort of deity. And I suppose, in a weird way, if one believes such stuff, he actually was one. I am blessed to have been in that lofty world. Thanks for this Stephen, and these video choices are fantastic.
John Amos was from Newark, and he spoke at our "24 Hours of Peace." He expressed irritation that "Good Times" focused on J.J. and his antics rather than on the hardworking kids. He had a point.
I'll remember Norman Lear for breaking boundaries on TV with the sound of a flushing toilet on "All in the Family," and the hilarity between Redd Foxx and Lawanda Gaines on "Sanford and Son."
When Redd Foxx read the plans for the series, he asked for, insisted, and got his childhood friend Lawanda in that role. They had both been the class clowns growing up together in St. Louis, and he had not forgotten.
She was perfect as Aunt Esther, glaring down at "that weasel-eyed ol' heathen fool," before declaiming, "I was BORN a Baptist! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!"
Ironically, Lawanda's stand-up routine in comedy clubs was unbelievably raunchy.
I'll also remember "Sanford and Son" for Whitman Mayo's wonderful "Grady" line: "Great Googly-Moogly."
Another irony was that Carroll O'Connor was permanently identified with the bigoted Archie Bunker. In actuality, he was a liberal Democrat.
When he became sheriff in the series, "In the Heat of the Night," he went in the opposite direction from Archie -- his character marries the very black Denise Nicholas.
Okay, I cried at the first customer clip. I also watched a ton of Normal Lear in syndication growing up. Maude was one of my mom's favorites and I, being a good child, dutifully accepted that Maude was awesome. My older sister and I watched the Jeffersons in the hours after school when she should have been doing homework. (I wasn't old enough to have much yet.) I remember Sanford & Sons playing during dinner on at least a couple of occasions, though to be honest I don't remember much about any of these shows' contents.
But even if I don't much remember the plots or content, I'm probably better off for seeing the complex characters. And if nothing else, they gave me some good memories of hanging with my big sis.
Cheers to Lear, and thanks for this reminder. Tempts me to go watch a few episodes myself.
Very well said, Stephen! (Sorry I'm late getting to this) You definitely put your finger on Lear's incredible knack of going beyond the simplistic, yet remain gut busting funny. Of course when All in the Family came out, I'm thinking yeah - mocking bigots! Then I learned that my uncle was a huge fan of Archie. I thought what the hell, yes, my uncle was in fact a bigot of sorts, but can he not see the error of his ways through Archie being a buffoon?? But of course I became increasingly aware that my uncle was not alone! I suppose that was the genius of Lear - nuance, layers, complex, but without being tedious or thick. In fact remarkable wit and memorably touching moments. He obviously changed the face of sitcoms for decades. Till that all got forgotten, lol. So while Archie, and the show, might not have been enlightening to my uncle, they sure as hell were enlightening to me, and I could start seeing the humanity of Archie and why he was the way he was. Not that his racism was to be excused, but it did give an inkling how one might cope with such people. And this was in the form of a gd sitcom! Ha. I had the great fortune of working with Lear - that was a lesson! He was personally at once fearsome and intimidating, and warm and nurturing. Empathy! And those attributes were reflected in his incredibly thoughtful body of work. I could never fathom how one person could be so creative and insightful on such a high level. It was absolutely awe-some to see his mind work. We (the other writers and me) would just try to keep up and go along for the ride. And believe me any kind of praise was wow, like being touched by some sort of deity. And I suppose, in a weird way, if one believes such stuff, he actually was one. I am blessed to have been in that lofty world. Thanks for this Stephen, and these video choices are fantastic.
Thank you! Your work is also a personal inspiration, as well!
You're very kind, Stephen. Thank you!
I'm late to this article, but thank you, SER.
John Amos was from Newark, and he spoke at our "24 Hours of Peace." He expressed irritation that "Good Times" focused on J.J. and his antics rather than on the hardworking kids. He had a point.
I'll remember Norman Lear for breaking boundaries on TV with the sound of a flushing toilet on "All in the Family," and the hilarity between Redd Foxx and Lawanda Gaines on "Sanford and Son."
When Redd Foxx read the plans for the series, he asked for, insisted, and got his childhood friend Lawanda in that role. They had both been the class clowns growing up together in St. Louis, and he had not forgotten.
She was perfect as Aunt Esther, glaring down at "that weasel-eyed ol' heathen fool," before declaiming, "I was BORN a Baptist! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!"
Ironically, Lawanda's stand-up routine in comedy clubs was unbelievably raunchy.
I'll also remember "Sanford and Son" for Whitman Mayo's wonderful "Grady" line: "Great Googly-Moogly."
Another irony was that Carroll O'Connor was permanently identified with the bigoted Archie Bunker. In actuality, he was a liberal Democrat.
When he became sheriff in the series, "In the Heat of the Night," he went in the opposite direction from Archie -- his character marries the very black Denise Nicholas.
Okay, I cried at the first customer clip. I also watched a ton of Normal Lear in syndication growing up. Maude was one of my mom's favorites and I, being a good child, dutifully accepted that Maude was awesome. My older sister and I watched the Jeffersons in the hours after school when she should have been doing homework. (I wasn't old enough to have much yet.) I remember Sanford & Sons playing during dinner on at least a couple of occasions, though to be honest I don't remember much about any of these shows' contents.
But even if I don't much remember the plots or content, I'm probably better off for seeing the complex characters. And if nothing else, they gave me some good memories of hanging with my big sis.
Cheers to Lear, and thanks for this reminder. Tempts me to go watch a few episodes myself.
Lear’s shows were so good. I watched nearly all of them. Your story reminded me of just how prolific he was and how missed he’ll be. Kudos.