Norman Lear's cause of death revealed as cardiac arrest

Jessica Wang
·2 min read
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Norman Lear's cause of death revealed as cardiac arrest
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The TV icon died Dec. 5 at the age of 101.

Prolific TV producer and creator Norman Lear's cause of death has been revealed nearly two week's after his death at age 101.

The award-winning creator of All in the Family and The Jeffersons died in his Los Angeles home on Dec. 5 from cardiopulmonary arrest (a.k.a. cardiac arrest), according to a death certificate obtained by TMZ. Congestive heart failure is also listed as an underlying cause on the certificate from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office.

The 17-time Emmy nominee and six-time winner, also behind such hits as Maude, One Day at a Time, and Good Times, was celebrated for revolutionizing the television landscape beginning in the 1970s.

<p>Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images</p> Norman Lear

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Norman Lear

Lear's son-in-law Dr. Jonathan LaPook, a chief medical correspondent for CBS News, recently told CBS Mornings that his family gave him a proper sendoff by serenading him with the theme songs from some of his beloved sitcoms in his final moments.

"The family was gathered around the bed; he was very comfortable and resting peacefully, and we did what we knew he would want us to do," LaPook said. "We were singing songs from Les Mis, which he loved, and also some of the songs from his TV shows."

That included the theme song of All in the Family, and when they got to the theme for The Jeffersons, LaPook said he became overcome with emotion. "I kind of held it together, [but] then we were singing 'movin' on up to the East Side' and I heard myself saying 'to a deluxe apartment in the sky,' I just lost it," he said. "Because he's going to some deluxe apartment in the sky."

"We wanted him to have a gentle landing and have no pain," LaPook later said.

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