What's Hot: Day-by-Day Fall Schedule; R.I.P. Beloved TV Characters!; A Private Practice Departure?; Shows We Lost

Norman Lear

Celebrity

User Rating:

(3 ratings)
Add Your Rating:

Norman Lear Fast Facts:

As a high-school senior, won an American Legion oratorical contest for a speech about what the U.S. Constitution meant to him.
Was an Army Air Force radioman during WWII; flew 56 missions and received an Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
Began his show-business career in the early 1950s writing gags for Danny Thomas; later wrote Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin's material for NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour.
Modeled Bea Arthur's Maude character after his ex-wife Frances Lear.
Cofounded People for the American Way, a civil-liberties advocacy organization, in 1981.
Was an inaugural inductee into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1984 (along with Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Paddy Chayefsky, Edward R. Murrow, William S. Paley and David Sarnoff).
Purchased a Dunlap broadside, an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, for $8.1 million in 2001; it has been on display around the U.S. ever since.
In 2004, founded Declare Yourself, a nonprofit, nonpartisan campaign to encourage young adults to vote in political elections.
In 2009, started the Born Again American campaign, which promotes citizenship and activism.
Owns Act III Communications, a multimedia holding company.
Supports a variety of nonprofit organizations (including Habitat for Humanity, Heal the Bay and Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles) through the Lear Family Foundation.

Norman Lear Relationships:
Katey Sagal - Godchild
Brianna Elizabeth Lear - Daughter
Frances Loeb Lear - Ex-wife
Madeline Rose Lear - Daughter
Benjamin Davis Lear - Son
Herman Lear - Father
Maggie B. Lear - Daughter
Jeannette Seicol Lear - Mother
Charlotte Rosen - Ex-wife
Ellen Lear - Daughter
Kate B. LaPook - Daughter
Lyn Lear - Wife
Norman Lear Awards:
1971 Emmy: Outstanding Series - Comedy - Winner
1972 Emmy: Outstanding Series - Comedy - Winner
1973 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
1973 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Winner
1974 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
1976 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
1967 Oscar: Best Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Nominee
1991 Emmy: Outstanding Informational Special - Nominee
1977 Peabody: Personal Award - Winner
1985 Emmy: Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special - Nominee
1971 Emmy: Outstanding New Series - Winner
1973 Emmy: Outstanding New Series - Nominee
1972 Emmy: Outstanding Single Program--Drama or Comedy - Nominee
1971 Emmy: Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy - Nominee
1972 Emmy: Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy - Nominee
1982 Emmy: Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program - Nominee
College:
Attended Emerson College, Boston, MA