Zoneboy
06-05-2009, 10:48 PM
Link (http://www.nj.com/celebrity-news/index.ssf/2009/06/celebrating_norman_lear_70s_si.html)
The starkly modern Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills was full of no-holds-barred affection for an unassuming guy in blue jeans and a white hat. But that modest-looking man just happens to be one of the most influential producers in the history of television.
Norman Lear has been called a legend and an icon, but the stars on hand to pay tribute to him see Lear as the brilliant friend who launched their careers. They couldn't wait to get a hug and a picture with the creator of such critically acclaimed and award-winning primetime hits as All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and One Day At A Time.
Now, you can take a journey back through some of the funniest and most thought-provoking moments ever seen on the small screen with the Norman Lear Collection, 19 DVDs featuring the first seasons of seven groundbreaking series. Parade.com's Jeanne Wolf also got a hug—and a chance to capture some of the memories, starting with the guest of honor.
NORMAN LEAR
The secret of the white hat.
"I was spending 18 hours a day writing, and I was scratching my head so much I actually got a scab and my wife got tired of looking at it. So one day she threw a little white hat on my head, which she picked up somewhere, and I've worn it ever since."
His take on primetime.
"Right now you can see the best drama there ever was, and there's some great comedy too. When I see South Park or Family Guy, when I see Curb Your Enthusiasm, I laugh as hard as I could laugh at anything. I think we have to laugh at ourselves, the foolishness of the human condition."
If he took another shot at producing.
"You know what I want to do? I want to do the other side of South Park. I want to do old people in the right location with their families, a humorous take on the older generation."
Fighting censorship.
"We did an episode where Maude said, 'Walter, you son of a bitch,' because she thought he'd been cheating on her. So it was a moment where it was so right. And I get this call from the network censor, 'You've got to be kidding.' He said, 'There's got to be something else that she can say that would be every bit as right for the moment.' And I said, "You take 24 hours and if you can call me back and say, 'Norman, if Maude said this, it'll be every bit as right,' then I'll use it.' And we ended up leaving 'son of a bitch' in.'"
What kept him in touch with the audience in one hit after another.
"If it feels right, that's the guideline. If I think it's funny, then I imagine you'll think it's funny. If I think it's compelling, then I imagine you'll think it's compelling. And it's big business that does the research and the flow charts and all of that nonsense."
Why retirement isn't in his vocabulary.
"I need to wake up in the morning with something to do. That's as strong a need in me today as it was in my 20s. I have to get up and do something that I'm excited about doing. That's what keeps my pulse going. That's what keeps me alive so that need hasn't been diminished an iota. I know people ask that question, 'What does he need it for with all his money?' I know this is a cliche, but I never saw money as anything but a way to deliver happiness. And I need to work to be happy."
ROB REINER (All in the Family)
"I remember looking at some clips from All in the Family, which I hadn't seen in years and I was laughing but I was also moved to tears. I thought to myself, 'We did something great with Norman.' I've always made the joke that if I won the Nobel Prize they'd say, 'And the award goes to Meathead.' Now, I realize that being a part of that legacy that Norman created is a pretty good way to be remembered."
"I think we're living in a very PC world now. So if we were doing All in the Family it would probably be not as hard-hitting, not as edgy. But the issues are still there. And there's a way of addressing those issues and having passionate arguments on both sides. And you can laugh at them."
BONNIE FRANKLIN (One Day At A Time)
"The days of political correctness are here and none of Norman's stuff could be done in a world of political correctness. Can you imagine Archie Bunker on TV today? Norman always said, 'We can deal with these issues, but we're doing comedy. And you've got to have it be funny. Then you're not batting somebody in the head, telling them that they've got to think a certain way.' That's not what he was about. What Norman was able to do was to show you both sides of an issue."
JIMMIE WALKER (Good Times)
"Norman and I totally disagreed on everything. He's an ultra liberal. I'm a conservative. He said, 'We're trying to tell a little story and have a message.' And I said, 'Norman, if you want to do a message, go to work for Western Union. I'm here for comedy, baby.'"
"But Norman actually did both. I think political correctness stole a lot of stuff out of TV. You look at All in the Family. That couldn't get on the air today. You look at Norman's favorite show which was Maude. They did a show on Maude's abortion [it would] never make air today."
Ja'Net Dubois (Good Times)
"Norman didn't stand there and say, 'Don't.' He was like, 'If you can make it work your way, do it.' And that's why I love him. It's like he let me do my hats and my wigs and my clothes. He let me go. And I loved it."
The starkly modern Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills was full of no-holds-barred affection for an unassuming guy in blue jeans and a white hat. But that modest-looking man just happens to be one of the most influential producers in the history of television.
Norman Lear has been called a legend and an icon, but the stars on hand to pay tribute to him see Lear as the brilliant friend who launched their careers. They couldn't wait to get a hug and a picture with the creator of such critically acclaimed and award-winning primetime hits as All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and One Day At A Time.
Now, you can take a journey back through some of the funniest and most thought-provoking moments ever seen on the small screen with the Norman Lear Collection, 19 DVDs featuring the first seasons of seven groundbreaking series. Parade.com's Jeanne Wolf also got a hug—and a chance to capture some of the memories, starting with the guest of honor.
NORMAN LEAR
The secret of the white hat.
"I was spending 18 hours a day writing, and I was scratching my head so much I actually got a scab and my wife got tired of looking at it. So one day she threw a little white hat on my head, which she picked up somewhere, and I've worn it ever since."
His take on primetime.
"Right now you can see the best drama there ever was, and there's some great comedy too. When I see South Park or Family Guy, when I see Curb Your Enthusiasm, I laugh as hard as I could laugh at anything. I think we have to laugh at ourselves, the foolishness of the human condition."
If he took another shot at producing.
"You know what I want to do? I want to do the other side of South Park. I want to do old people in the right location with their families, a humorous take on the older generation."
Fighting censorship.
"We did an episode where Maude said, 'Walter, you son of a bitch,' because she thought he'd been cheating on her. So it was a moment where it was so right. And I get this call from the network censor, 'You've got to be kidding.' He said, 'There's got to be something else that she can say that would be every bit as right for the moment.' And I said, "You take 24 hours and if you can call me back and say, 'Norman, if Maude said this, it'll be every bit as right,' then I'll use it.' And we ended up leaving 'son of a bitch' in.'"
What kept him in touch with the audience in one hit after another.
"If it feels right, that's the guideline. If I think it's funny, then I imagine you'll think it's funny. If I think it's compelling, then I imagine you'll think it's compelling. And it's big business that does the research and the flow charts and all of that nonsense."
Why retirement isn't in his vocabulary.
"I need to wake up in the morning with something to do. That's as strong a need in me today as it was in my 20s. I have to get up and do something that I'm excited about doing. That's what keeps my pulse going. That's what keeps me alive so that need hasn't been diminished an iota. I know people ask that question, 'What does he need it for with all his money?' I know this is a cliche, but I never saw money as anything but a way to deliver happiness. And I need to work to be happy."
ROB REINER (All in the Family)
"I remember looking at some clips from All in the Family, which I hadn't seen in years and I was laughing but I was also moved to tears. I thought to myself, 'We did something great with Norman.' I've always made the joke that if I won the Nobel Prize they'd say, 'And the award goes to Meathead.' Now, I realize that being a part of that legacy that Norman created is a pretty good way to be remembered."
"I think we're living in a very PC world now. So if we were doing All in the Family it would probably be not as hard-hitting, not as edgy. But the issues are still there. And there's a way of addressing those issues and having passionate arguments on both sides. And you can laugh at them."
BONNIE FRANKLIN (One Day At A Time)
"The days of political correctness are here and none of Norman's stuff could be done in a world of political correctness. Can you imagine Archie Bunker on TV today? Norman always said, 'We can deal with these issues, but we're doing comedy. And you've got to have it be funny. Then you're not batting somebody in the head, telling them that they've got to think a certain way.' That's not what he was about. What Norman was able to do was to show you both sides of an issue."
JIMMIE WALKER (Good Times)
"Norman and I totally disagreed on everything. He's an ultra liberal. I'm a conservative. He said, 'We're trying to tell a little story and have a message.' And I said, 'Norman, if you want to do a message, go to work for Western Union. I'm here for comedy, baby.'"
"But Norman actually did both. I think political correctness stole a lot of stuff out of TV. You look at All in the Family. That couldn't get on the air today. You look at Norman's favorite show which was Maude. They did a show on Maude's abortion [it would] never make air today."
Ja'Net Dubois (Good Times)
"Norman didn't stand there and say, 'Don't.' He was like, 'If you can make it work your way, do it.' And that's why I love him. It's like he let me do my hats and my wigs and my clothes. He let me go. And I loved it."