Norman Lear and His Masterpieces

[Daniel Avery]

Another somewhat surprising off-shoot of the Norman Lear sitcoms occurred thanks to The Jeffersons. Near the end of that show's run, they hired Michael Moye and Ron Leavitt in producer/show-runner roles. When CBS unceremoniously cancelled The Jeffersons, Leavitt and Moye were freed up to collaborate on a pilot they pitched to a fledgling broadcast network that later became known as the Fox Broadcasting Channel...and that show was called Married With Children.

 

[Toni]

From my view, I think the producers and writers almost always viewed Sophia as a secondary character. More episodes sidelined her than highlight her, and those that feature her at the helm aren't always the best. She was a balance, someone for the other three to cling to for advice, look up to, and, in some ways, be held accountable to, but her nervousness, I think, limited her in ways. She was great at her job, but the writers, but not always the audience, were more eager to turn out stories about Dorothy's chronic fatigue syndrome, Rose's HIV scare, or Blanche dealing with a homosexual brother.

I think Sophia´s character always had the underlining trait of a possible (but unlikely) senility or Alzheimer that actually makes her, in today´s re-watchings, the most timely element of the show. They constantly wrote this in for one-episode characters or even for one-time jokes, but the overall feeling was that they were respectful toward elderly people, ill or not.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

 

[ClassyCo]

BROAD ​

 

[Chris2]

Sophia was considered a supporting character, while the other three were considered the leads. This is how they were nominated for Emmys. And if you look at the final scene in the intro, it shows the three leads without Sophia. During the first season, the “bumper” that aired before commercial breaks also showed the thread leads without Sophia (later bumpers showed all four).

 

[DallasFanForever]

Sophia was considered a supporting character, while the other three were considered the leads.

But she did get them all back for that with the Burt Reynolds episode

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Norman Lear just turned 100 this summer...

 

[ClassyCo]

Norman Lear, legendary TV producer of 'All in the Family,' 'The Jeffersons,' dies at 101

Norman Lear, who changed TV with the shockingly relevant \

www.usatoday.com

 

[Crimson]

There are very few people whose work in the entertainment field can be characterized as revolutionary, but Norman Lear is chief among them.


RIP

 

[darkshadows38]

i'd say Legend would be a better name/word it breaks my heart that he died but still at age 101 is a great age to go out on he lived a long good life and he put a lot of really great shows/movies out in his long Career. he Will be Missed hell i even have his Bio on hardback that he put out a few years ago i just haven't read it yet

 

[ChrisSumner]

Here is an ultra rare episode of Lear's comedy soap All That Glitters:

Linda Gray stars as a trans woman but she isn't featured in this episode. If I recall correctly, this was a late night 5 days a week soap with a reversal of gender roles. It's very obvious when watching the episode and I think its a fun premise. I had hoped as they started releasing so much of his stuff and streaming it that they'd get around to this. I'd love to see more to get a better feel for it.

 

[ClassyCo]

A long, but good retrospective of ALL IN THE FAMILY:

 

[DallasFanForever]

A long, but good retrospective of ALL IN THE FAMILY:

For me still the best sitcom ever. At its peak I don’t think it will ever be topped.