Happy Birthday, Norman Lear, Television Writer and Producer of “All in the Family”

Norman Lear was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1922. He attended Emerson College in Massachusetts for just two years before joining the military to serve in World War II.

Lear’s writing career began in 1950 when he signed on to write for “The Ford Star Revue” with his partner, Ed Simmons. The two men completed only four episodes before being hired to write for the “Colgate Comedy Hour.” After that, Lear embarked on a solo career, writing for “The Martha Raye Show,” “The George Gobel Show” and “The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show.”

Some of Lear’s best accomplishments were his pioneering efforts in socially conscious television. Lear helped create “All in the Family,” which was “not only one of the most successful sitcoms in history, it was also one of the most important and influential series ever to air,” according to The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Featuring the Bunker family, the show launched a new era in television, addressing racism and other matters of social importance.

This YouTube clip from an “All in the Family” episode places Archie Bunker on the losing end of a Civil Rights debate, and illustrates just how many subjects the show was willing to broach publicly. In “The Little Atheist,” the series broaches the subject of religion.

Following “All in the Family,” Lear helped create several successful series, and his resume includes series such as “Maude,” “Sanford and Son” and “The Jeffersons.”

In 2003 he bridged an age gap of sorts when Norman Lear joined the creators of “South Park” to help write for the show’s seventh season. Lear’s teenage son introduced him to the show, and he called to compliment the creators on their work. When he was asked to write with them, the 80-year-old Lear said he didn’t consider the work a job. “They invited me to a party and we’re partying,” Lear said after a writers’ meeting. “There’s no way to overstate the kick of being welcomed by this group.”

Outside the entertainment industry, Norman Lear has founded multiple nonprofit organizations like People For the American Way, the Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the Business Enterprise Trust. In 2000, he and his wife, along with a friend, purchased one of 25 original prints of the Declaration of Independence. The print was part of the Declaration of Independence Road Trip and the Declare Yourself youth voter activism project, which took place from 2001 until the 2004 presidential election.

The 2008 presidential election has seen an active participant in Norman Lear, but not in the way one might expect of a Hollywood personality. In February 2008, the Los Angeles Times wrote, “While the rest of Hollywood is still agonizing over which candidate to publicly endorse, Lear ... has been busy signing up ... voters younger than 30.” Lear’s DeclareYourself.com became one of the most popular voter information sites on the Web.