Norman Lear
Biography: Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922 – December 5, 2023) was a legendary American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude. As a political activist, he founded the advocacy organization People for the American Way in 1981 and has supported First Amendment rights and progressive causes. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Enie/Jeanette (Sokolovsky) and Hyman "Herman" Lear, a traveling salesman. His grandparents were all Russian Jewish immigrants. Jeanette was the inspiration for the character Edith Bunker, and Herman for Archie Bunker. Lear won a one year-scholarship to Emerson College. He dropped out when news about Pearl Harbor struck, and decided to enroll in the United States Army. He was nineteen. In the army, Norman was a radio operator. He was discharged in 1945. Norman landed a press agent job but was not being paid well so decided to pursue another career. In 1954, he was a writer for the CBS sitcom, Honestly, Celeste! Lear then became the producer of NBC's The Martha Raye Show. In 1959, he created his first TV series with Roland Kibbee, The Deputy, on NBC, starring Henry Fonda. In 1967 his comedic writing career began. He wrote and produced the 1967 film, Divorce American Style, and directed the film, Cold Turkey, starring Dick Van Dyke. All In The Family came about when Lear read a British column on the show "Til Death Do Us Part", about a father and a son-in-law who fought about everything politically. He immediately knew it was just like him and his father. Lear tried to sell the "blue" collar sitcom to ABC, and two pilots were filmed and rejected. A third pilot was filmed, and CBS picked up the show. It premiered on January 12, 1971. When it was first aired, a big warning appeared on the screen stating none of the content being presented should be taken seriously and should only be seen for the purpose of hilarity. Next came Sanford And Son, along with creator Bud Yorkin, in 1972. It was inspired by British sitcom Steptoe and Son. In All In The Family, a guest-star named Bea Arthur appeared in an episode and in 1972 the first spin-off was formed called Maude, starring Arthur. A memorable episode from Maude which struck a degree of controversy was the abortion episode. A spin-off from Maude, Good Times, with the maid character played by Esther Rolle, premiered in 1974, dealing with issues like poverty, crime, welfare and life in low-income African-American housing areas. This wasn't the only sitcom to depict life for African-Americans: in 1975 The Jeffersons, another spin-off from All In The Family, followed. All In The Family received multiple Emmy awards. Good Times ran for five seasons till 1979, with multiple Golden Globe nominations. Maude ran for six seasons, till 1978, receiving multiple Emmy and Golden Globe wins and nominations. Sanford and Son ended in 1977 with a Golden Globe win and several Emmy nominations. All In The Family ended in 1979, after nine seasons. Next came another spin-off of the show called Archie Bunker's Place, with Caroll O'Connor and Danielle Brisebois. Archie Bunker's Place ended in 1983, and was his last successful television show. Lear made a comeback in 1990 with several short-lived shows, including Sunday Dinner and 704 Hauser.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: July 27, 1922
Deathday: December 05, 2023
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Known For
Cold Turkey
1971-02-19
Cold Turkey
Overview: Reverend Brooks leads the town in a contest to stop smoking for a month, But some tobacco executives don't want them to win, and try everything they can to make them smoke. If townspeople don't go nuts, from wanting a cigarette, or kill each other from irritation and frustration, they will win a huge prize.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1971-02-19
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Dean Martin: King of Cool
2021-11-14
Dean Martin: King of Cool
Overview: Dean Martin had a laid-back charm that made him successful in everything from big-screen comedies to television variety shows to live acts in Las Vegas. Filmmaker Tom Donahue explores Martin’s varied career, including his complicated relationships with Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, and others. We hear from admirers such as critic Gerald Early, actor Jon Hamm, and Hip-Hop artist RZA who testify to Martin’s enduring mystique.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-11-14
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Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
2021-12-07
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
Overview: The live special event features reenactments of episodes from “The Facts of Life” and “Diff’rent Strokes”.
Genres: Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-12-07
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Pablo
2012-10-17
Pablo
Overview: Pablo blends documentary and animation elements to tell the saga of "famous unknown" Pablo Ferro, a man with a personal journey that spans from Havana, during the pre-Cuban revolution to his current home, in the garage behind his son's house.
Genres: Animation Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-10-17
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The Super Bob Einstein Movie
2021-12-28
The Super Bob Einstein Movie
Overview: This documentary explores Bob Einstein’s unlikely discovery and enduring career, sharing the many evolving layers of his comedy from the people that knew him best.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-12-28
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Casting By
2012-11-01
Casting By
Overview: This essential new documentary pays tribute to the legacy of the late, legendary casting director Marion Dougherty and shines a light on one of the most overlooked and least understood crafts in filmmaking.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-11-01
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Lucy and Desi
2022-01-21
Lucy and Desi
Overview: Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-01-21
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Being Mary Tyler Moore
2023-03-13
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Overview: With unprecedented access to the Mary Tyler Moore Estate, friends, family, and colleagues, Being Mary Tyler Moore constructs an intimate mosaic of Mary's sixty-year career in show business.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-03-13
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The Television Revolution Begins: "All in the Family" Is On the Air
2009-06-09
The Television Revolution Begins: "All in the Family" Is On the Air
Overview: DVD featurette documenting the success of "All in the Family".
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-06-09
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Those Were the Days: The Birth of "All in the Family"
2009-06-09
Those Were the Days: The Birth of "All in the Family"
Overview: DVD featurette documenting the beginnings of "All in the Family"
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-06-09
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Funny Is Money
1999-10-01
Funny Is Money
Overview: Showtime's "In the 20th Century" is a millennium-related series of feature-length documentaries in which famous directors take on major subjects of their choosing. In the fifth of the six films, "Funny Is Money," filmmaker Norman Jewison delves into the topic of comedy, using the hype surrounding the finale of the wildly successful NBC series "Seinfeld" as his launchpad to explore how the artform has evolved over the past 100 years.
Genres: Documentary History Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-10-01
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Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption
2013-11-10
Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption
Overview: Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi is a play retelling the Jesus story, with Jesus as a gay man living in the 1950s in Corpus Christi, Texas. This documentary follows the troupe, playwright, and audience around the world on a five-year journey of Terrence McNally’s passion play, where voices of protest and support collide on one of the central issues facing the LGBT community: religion.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-11-10
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Viewer Direction Advised
2018-11-14
Viewer Direction Advised
Overview: Twenty-one year old Ben is on a journey - to follow his TV-obsessed dad and explore how television consumption has evolved from one generation to the next.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-11-14
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Robert Scheer: Above the Fold
2019-01-28
Robert Scheer: Above the Fold
Overview: A documentary on the six-decades long career of a muckraking journalist, who was involved with the radical 196os magazine Ramparts, with the Los Angeles Times newspaper, and later with the Internet website Truthdig.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2019-01-28
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A Different Approach
1978-01-01
A Different Approach
Overview: An all-star educational film about the positive side of hiring people with disabilities. A board sit and watch the film Michael Keaton's character's assembled to sell companies on hiring the handicapped, which takes "a different approach" by combining several approaches--most of them suggested by Hollywood personalities.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-01-01
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A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
2005-08-19
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
Overview: On May 8th, 1945, writer, director Norman Corwin broadcast ON A NOTE OF TRIUMPH, an unforgettable homage to the end of war in Europe. This film shines a light on a lost work of genius, and examines it's haunting resonance to today's current events.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-08-19
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Gratitude Revealed
2022-09-16
Gratitude Revealed
Overview: An epic journey forty years in the making, acclaimed filmmaker, Louie Schwartzberg, the director of Fantastic Fungi, takes us on a transformational, cinematic experience of how to live a more meaningful life full of Gratitude through his intimate conversations with everyday people, thought leaders, and personalities such as Norman Lear, Jack Kornfield, Luisah Teish, Alex Grey and other luminaries.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-09-16
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The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee
2017-12-04
The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee
Overview: An intimate portrait of Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee, tracing his remarkable ascent from a young Boston boy stricken with polio to the one of the most pioneering and consequential journalistic figures of the 20th century.
Genres: TV Movie Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-12-04
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Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter
2022-09-22
Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter
Overview: The one-night-only celebration honoring the life and legacy of the famed producer features intimate conversations, special performances and surprise reunions that pay homage to the man behind some of television’s greatest stories in celebration of his 100th birthday.
Genres: Documentary Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-09-22
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Norman Lear: A Life on Television
2023-12-08
Norman Lear: A Life on Television
Overview: An ET special that features new interviews with stars of the long-running comedies Lear created and never-before-seen interviews from the ET vault. This one-hour special features new interviews with stars of the long-running comedies Lear created, including Jimmie Walker and Mackenzie Phillips. Also included with this new footage and interviews is an in-depth sit-down interview with Lear that ET host Kevin Frazier conducted when Lear celebrated his 100th birthday, in which he reflected on his lengthy, groundbreaking career.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-12-08
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A Case for Kindness
2022-10-19
A Case for Kindness
Overview: A Case For Kindness is a journey to understand the true nature of Kindness, making a case for why it is our best way forward as a society. The film will examine different themes of kindness while exploring various stories, cultures and conversations. We thread the themes of bullying, hate, mental health, racial injustice, food insecurity and climate change. We interview experts, leading authorities and find real life moments to build the case that inspires humanity to adopt Kindness.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-10-19
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"Sr."
2022-09-02
"Sr."
Overview: A portrait of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr. (1936-2021), the visionary and fearless US filmmaker — father of actor Robert Downey Jr. — who in the sixties and seventies laid the foundations for countercultural comedy.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-09-02
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Come Blow Your Horn
1963-06-05
Come Blow Your Horn
Overview: The story of a young man's decision to leave the home of his parents for the bachelor pad of his older brother who leads a swinging '60s lifestyle.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1963-06-05
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Adventures In Christmasing
2021-11-29
Adventures In Christmasing
Overview: Parker Baldwin finds her Christmas plans upended when her network persuades her to spend three days in the wild with survivalist Finn Holt for a holiday television event.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-11-29
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Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
2016-01-21
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Overview: Arguably the most influential creator, writer, and producer in the history of television, Norman Lear brought primetime into step with the times. Using comedy and indelible characters, his legendary 1970s shows such as All In the Family, Maude, Good Times, and The Jeffersons, boldly cracked open dialogue and shifted the national consciousness, injecting enlightened humanism into sociopolitical debates on race, class, creed, and feminism.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-01-21
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The Golden Girls: Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series
2003-01-01
The Golden Girls: Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series
Overview: Lifetime's "Intimate Portrait" series shines a spotlight on the Golden Girls -- Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan -- with a collection of four programs offering an up-close look at the remarkable lives of the hit show's stars. Valerie Harper, John Ritter and Alex Trebek narrate this tribute, with guests including Angela Lansbury, Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Rosie O'Donnell and many others.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-01-01
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If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
2017-05-19
If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
Overview: Irrepressible writer-comedian Carl Reiner, who shows no signs of slowing down at 94, tracks down celebrated nonagenarians, and a few others over 100, to show how the twilight years can truly be the happiest and most rewarding. Among those who share their insights into what it takes to be vital and productive in older age are Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Kirk Douglas, Norman Lear, Betty White and Tony Bennett.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-05-19
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Color Adjustment
1992-01-29
Color Adjustment
Overview: From Amos 'n' Andy to Nat King Cole, from Roots to The Cosby Show, black people have played many roles on primetime television. Brilliantly weaving clips from classic TV shows with commentary from TV producers, black actors and scholars, Marlon Riggs blends humor, insight, and thoughtful analysis to explore the evolution of black/white relations as reflected by America's favorite addiction.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-01-29
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Perfect Moment
1997-03-21
Perfect Moment
Overview: In this documentary, artist-filmmaker Nicholas Hondrogen asks people to describe memorable moments of their lives. Some, such as Norman Lear and Indian activist Russell Means, talk about religion, while composer Philip Glass and film-producer Irwin Winkler discuss the births of their children. Pastor Jess Moody recalls WW II deaths of his friends, and artist Janice Blake remembers being raped.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-03-21
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The Brothers Warner
2008-10-16
The Brothers Warner
Overview: An intimate portrait and saga of four film pioneers--Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack who rose from immigrant poverty through personal tragedies persevering to create a major studio with a social conscience.
Genres: Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-10-16
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I Want My MTV
2019-05-01
I Want My MTV
Overview: The film is about the formation of a music channel that has shaped modern pop culture. On August 1, 1981, the life of a whole generation of Americans changed forever - on this day MTV began its broadcasting day, making VJ a new teen hero and creating a canon of music video as a vivid artistic statement.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2019-05-01
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Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"
2019-05-22
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"
Overview: Celebrities re-create an original episode each from "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons."
Genres: Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2019-05-22
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Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times"
2019-12-18
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times"
Overview: Live performances of classic holiday-themed episodes from Norman Lear's hit shows "All in the Family" and "Good Times."
Genres: Comedy TV Movie Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2019-12-18
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Find Your Groove
2020-03-24
Find Your Groove
Overview: In this uplifitng documentary, stars and musicians from across the industry speak to the power and importance of music in society. Here we examine how close we came to not having many of the incredible artists who we cherish today had it not been for arts programs. Music has the power to inspire and change world, and that starts with our supporting young talent.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2020-03-24
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Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
2021-06-18
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
Overview: Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Over a seventy year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-06-18
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All in the Family: 20th Anniversary Special
1991-02-16
All in the Family: 20th Anniversary Special
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-02-16
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A Virtual Princess Bride Reunion
2020-09-13
A Virtual Princess Bride Reunion
Overview: The cast of The Princess Bride is together again! The stars of the iconic 1987 fantasy film reunited for a virtual table read hosted by Jason Reitman. The 3-hour virtual reunion included director Rob Reiner and actors Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shaw, and Christopher Guest. A Q&A after was moderated by Patton Oswalt. Guest stars stepped in for actors who were not available, including Finn Wolfhard, Josh Gad, Eric Idle, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Genres: Fantasy Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2020-09-13
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