Norman Lear: His Career in Photos
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Norman Lear, who died Dec. 5 at 101, had a huge influence on television history. He turned the British sitcom “Till Death Us Do Part” into the massive hit series “All in the Family,” which ran for nine seasons and revolutionized what type of topics were acceptable on television. He went on to spin off “Sanford and Son” from the British show “Steptoe and Son,” and then created “Maude,” “The Jeffersons,” “One Day at a Time” and “Good Times.”
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‘Divorce American Style’
Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds starred in the 1967 comedy movie “Divorce American Style,” which Norman Lear wrote and produced before his hit TV shows, snaring an Oscar nom for screenplay.
‘Cold Turkey’
Before his TV career exploded, Lear directed his only feature film, comedy “Cold Turkey” starring Dick Van Dyke, with Pippa Scott as his wife.
‘All in the Family’
Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton starred in the long-running ’70s sitcom, which topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years.
‘Maude’
It didn’t take long before CBS ordered a spin-off of “All in the Family,” starring Bea Arthur and Adrienne Barbeau. The sitcom broke ground for introducing feminism to TV audienes of the 1970s.
‘Sanford and Son’
Like “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son” was also based on a British sitcom, with the setting transposed to Watts in Los Angeles. Redd Foxx starred as a junk dealer living with his son Lamont. It ran for six seasons.
‘The Jeffersons’
Like “Maude,” “The Jeffersons” was a spin-off of “All in the Family” and ran for an impressive 11 seasons from 1975 to 1985. Isabel Sanford and Sherman Hemsley starred as successful owners of a dry cleaning chain.
‘One Day at a Time’
“One Day at a Time” ran for nine seasons with Bonnie Franklin starring as a divorced mom raising daughters Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips (not shown.) The series was revived with a Latino cast in 2017.
‘Diff’rent Strokes’
In “Diff’rent Strokes,” Conrad Bain played a wealthy widower who adopts a boy from Harlem, played by Gary Coleman; Danny Cooksey, right, joined the cast in later seaons.
‘Good Times’
“Good Times” was a spin-off of “Maude,” about a family living in a Chicago housing project. Esther Rolle starred as the matriarch, who had played Maude’s maid, Florida. Jimmy Walker was their son J.J. and John Amos was the dad.
‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’
Louise Lasser starred in “Mary Hartman Mary Hartman,” a satirical soap opera that looked at the effects of consumerism on an American housewife. Running for two seasons, it became a cult hit.
‘Fernwood 2 Night’
A spin-off of “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” “Fernwood 2 Night” starred Martin Mull and was a parody of late-night talkshows.
‘One Day At A Time’ (2017)
Lear was executive producer on the reboot of “One Day at a Time” in 2017, which this time around was about a Latino family in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
