Norman Lear, Prolific TV Writer and Producer Who Created All in the Family, Dead at 101

Norman Lear — the award-winning American television writer, film producer and activist — has died at the age of 101.

The Hollywood icon died on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes, according a release from his representatives. His family has also requested privacy at this time, and will hold a private service for immediate relatives, they said.

The news was also confirmed on Lear's official Instagram account beside a black-and-white photo of the television legend smiling. In the post, Lear's team said he died "surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end."

"Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music. But it was people—those he just met and those he knew for decades—who kept his mind and heart forever young," the caption read. "As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support."

A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Lear is best known for creating the groundbreaking comedy series, All in the Family, which broached social and political issues deemed controversial at the time.

Before his successful career in entertainment, Lear joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1942, where he fought through World War II. He was discharged in 1945 and became a publicist, ultimately moving his career and family to California.

After transitioning into producing, Lear — who was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1984 — went on to create multiple iconic TV series that established a socially-realistic genre and explored his democratic values, including All in the Family, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and The Jeffersons.

All in the Family — his sitcom which covered a multitude of issues, including prejudice, menopause, rape, homosexuality, sexual dysfunction and religion — earned 55 Emmy nominations and ultimately won 22 of them.

Lear's other notable shows include Maude, Good Times, Sanford and Son and Fernwood 2 Night.

Later in his career, Lear wanted to find another platform to express his political views and founded People for the American Way in 1981, a liberal coalition to defend core First Amendment freedoms. In 1991, he created the Business Enterprise Trust, a nonprofit that celebrated acts of integrity, courage and social vision in American businesses.

As a doting husband and father of six, Lear is survived by wife Lyn and children Ellen (with ex-wife Charlotte Rosen), Kate and Maggie (with ex-wife Frances Loeb), and Benjamin, Madelaine and Brianna (with Lyn).

Lear's death comes after he celebrated his 101th birthday in July. The revered TV creator marked his centenary plus one with a reflective yet playful video posted on his Instagram. 

“Good morning and good afternoon, good evening, depending on where you are, who you are,” Lear began, before breaking out laughing.

“It’s Norman Lear here, dribbling a bit because he’s entering his second childhood,” the One Day at a Time creator joked. “I’ve just turned 101, and that is, they tell me, my second childhood.”

He added, “It feels like that because of the kind of care I’m getting. I get the kind of care at this age that I see children getting, toddlers getting. And so I am now a 101-year-old toddler.”

Lear also marked his birthday by writing an impassioned op-ed in The Washington Post, in which he called for better protection of voting rights and spoke about his time serving in the Army.

"To legislators getting between people and the ballot box, and to senators who are standing in the dishonorable tradition of those who filibustered civil rights legislation, I say this: You may pass some unjust laws. You may win elections by preventing or discouraging people from voting," he wrote in the piece. "But you will not, in the end, defeat the democratic spirit, the spirit that animated the Tuskegee airmen to whom I owe my life, the spirit that powers millions of Americans who give of themselves to defend voting rights, protect our environment, preserve peaceful pluralism, defeat discrimination, and expand educational and economic opportunity."

"The right to vote is foundational to addressing all these issues. It is at the heart of everything I have fought for in war and in peacetime," he added. "Protecting voting rights should not be today's struggle. But it is. And that means it is our struggle, yours and mine, for as long as we have breath and strength."

In lieu of flowers or gifts, Lear's representatives say he requested contributions be made to People For the American Way.