Norman Lear, American television pioneer, dies at the age of 101

American television pioneer and sitcom king, the prolific and committed screenwriter, director and producer Norman Lear has died at the age of 101, his family announced Wednesday.

Those close to him emphasized that the man whose comedies revolutionized the small screen in the 1970s and 1980s continued throughout his career to narrate “the real lives of Americans, not an idealized magazine.”

Best known in the United States for his hit comedies such as “The Jeffersons” and “All in the Family,” Norman Lear was a pioneer in tackling sensitive topics on television through laughter.

Thus his series provoked racism, gender, inequality, and even political divisions, offering millions of American families a more realistic vision of family life.

“At first, his thoughts were met with closed doors and incomprehension. But he clung to his belief that “the madness of the human condition” would make good television, and he ended up listening.”

Norman Lear was also the first producer to regularly present on American television an African-American family, the Evanses, the main characters of the series “Good Times”, which has been broadcast since 1974 on the American channel CBS.

During his career, he was rewarded with six Emmy Awards.

History “Television can be divided into two parts, BN and AN: before Norman and after Norman,” declared American screenwriter and producer Phil Rosenthal in 2016.