Norman Lear’s Career in Photos

According to his official bio, Lear began his television writing career in 1950 with business partner Ed Simmons. The two wrote for Jack Haley’s The Ford Star Revue, then moved on to Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin’s Colgate Comedy Hour. From there they went to The Martha Raye Show, before Lear went solo for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show and The George Gobel Show.

Norman Lear and ‘All in the Family’

Lear struck pop culture gold with the creation of All in the Family, the CBS sitcom that ran for nine seasons beginning in 1971. The show tackled some touchy subjects for its time — racism, sexuality, anti-Semitism and women’s rights — which made ABC pass on the series and some Americans skip the show despite its No. 1 rating.

“It wasn’t a question of whether it was funny or not,” Lear told PEOPLE in 1999. “They peed in their pants. But they were afraid.”

“These were not new subjects to the American people,” he continued. “They just happened to be subjects that television had not touched.” The series earned 57 Emmy nominations and 22 wins.

Norman Lear and Wife Frances Lear

From 1956 to 1985, Lear was wed to Frances, with whom he has two daughters, Kate and Maggie. After the pair’s split, Frances launched a women’s magazine called Lear’s and penned a book about her life, The Second Seduction, though wrote little of her ex, with whom she said she remained cordial.

However, she did write that “the name and face and voice and character and personality of a Hollywood wife-of are so often unnoticed, not listened to, not admired, that in time she feels she does not exist,” giving a glimpse into how she felt while married to her producer husband during those early years of his fame.

When the pair officially divorced in 1986, Frances walked away with a $112 million settlement.

Lear’s first marriage, to Charlotte Rosen from 1943 to 1956, also ended in divorce and produced one child, daughter Ellen.

Norman Lear’s Big Hits

All in the Family led to a string of television mega-hits for Lear, including Sanford and Son, Maude, The Jeffersons (right, celebrating its 200th episode), One Day at a Time and Good Times.

Norman Lear’s ‘I Love Liberty’

In 1980, Lear pressed pause on his television career and created People for the American Way, a non-profit designed to “educate, energize, and equip Americans to build a country that more fully reflects the values of freedom, fairness, and opportunity in a diverse democratic society,” according to its website. The organization was formed in part to push back on the “divisive rhetoric of newly politicized televangelists,” per Lear’s bio.

As part of his work with PFAW, Lear produced an influential, star-studded political television special, I Love Liberty, in 1982. Though he continued to write and produce through the later ’80s and ’90s, the pace of his work slowed.

Norman Lear and Wife Lyn Davis

In 1987, Lear wed current wife Lyn Davis (pictured with the producer in February 2020). Together they have son Benjamin and twin daughters Madeline and Brianna.

“My wife is her own individual, and I fell in love with that,” Lear recently told PEOPLE of Lyn. “She is a sterling human being. I love that she loves me.”

Norman Lear Receiving the National Medal of Arts

In 1999, President Bill Clinton (with First Lady Hillary Clinton) presented Lear with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given to artists by the government.

“Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it,” the president said in his remarks.

Norman Lear at the Kennedy Center Honors

Lear joined LL Cool J, Lionel Richie, Gloria Estefan and Carmen de Lavallade at the 207 Kennedy Center Honors. Lear, an outspoken critic of then-President Donald Trump, didn’t plan to attend the event, though ultimately joined his fellow honorees in Washington, D.C., after the president and first lady announced their decision not to attend.

The producer — the oldest honoree ever — was lauded by J.J. Abrams, George Clooney, Dave Chappelle and longtime friends Rob Reiner and Rita Moreno.

Norman Lear and His Six Children