Post by jbrob on Dec 6, 2023 21:20:03 GMT -5
Norman Lear, who brought social commentary to the sitcom, dies at 101
The series, retitled “All in the Family,” premiered in January 1971 and introduced viewers to a blue-collar bigot named Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), who berated his angelic wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton), outraged his activist daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers), and heaped invective on his “pinko Polack” son-in-law, Mike (Rob Reiner), a.k.a. Meathead.
“Maude” (1972-1978) starred Bea Arthur as Maude Findlay, a much-divorced feminist firebrand (and cousin to Edith Bunker). “Good Times” (1974-1979) followed the family life of Maude’s former housekeeper, Florida Evans (Esther Rolle), in a Chicago housing project. And “The Jeffersons” (1975-1985), starring Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford, tracked the upward mobility of the Bunkers’ African American neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson.
Mr. Lear’s hits also included NBC’s “Sanford and Son” (1972-1977), based on the British series “Steptoe and Son,” which starred Redd Foxx as a crusty old junk dealer, and the CBS sitcom “One Day at a Time” (1975-1984), with Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother struggling to raise two teenage daughters.
www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/12/06/norman-lear-dead-tv-obituary-archie-bunker/
The series, retitled “All in the Family,” premiered in January 1971 and introduced viewers to a blue-collar bigot named Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), who berated his angelic wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton), outraged his activist daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers), and heaped invective on his “pinko Polack” son-in-law, Mike (Rob Reiner), a.k.a. Meathead.
“Maude” (1972-1978) starred Bea Arthur as Maude Findlay, a much-divorced feminist firebrand (and cousin to Edith Bunker). “Good Times” (1974-1979) followed the family life of Maude’s former housekeeper, Florida Evans (Esther Rolle), in a Chicago housing project. And “The Jeffersons” (1975-1985), starring Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford, tracked the upward mobility of the Bunkers’ African American neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson.
Mr. Lear’s hits also included NBC’s “Sanford and Son” (1972-1977), based on the British series “Steptoe and Son,” which starred Redd Foxx as a crusty old junk dealer, and the CBS sitcom “One Day at a Time” (1975-1984), with Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother struggling to raise two teenage daughters.
www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/12/06/norman-lear-dead-tv-obituary-archie-bunker/
