Renowned screenwriter and TV producer Norman Lear died in December last year, and the cast members of one of his creations, All In The Family, reunited at the 2023 Emmy Awards event to pay tribute to him. The 78th ceremony took place on Monday, January 16, after a previous delay due to WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
In collaboration with Bud Yorkin, Norman was responsible for producing the classic sitcom that changed the landscape of American TV forever. The show had a tremendous cultural impact and humorously presented controversial social issues. “Controversy suggests people are thinking about something. But there’d better be laughing first and foremost, or it’s a dog,” Norman had said in 1994.
‘All in the Family’ stars pay tribute to Norman Lear
The lead actors, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, who played the show’s couple, Gloria and Michael, paid their respects to Norman on a set decorated like their TV home. “Sally and I were part of a unique television family: not just the Bunkers, but Norman Lear’s extended family,” he shared. “Over the decades, Norman brought us together, and he created groundbreaking television shows that depicted real people who made us laugh, made us think, made us feel.”
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He described the late legend’s daring creativity with a Yiddish word. “There’s a Yiddish word that describes Norman’s genius,” he said, mentioning the word. “For all you non-Jews out there, kochleffel is a ladle, a ladle that stirs the pot. And when Norman the kochleffel stirred that pot, he wound up changing American culture.”
Norman lived a life of gratitude
Sally followed up with Rob’s speech by remembering the legends of Hollywood who passed on in the past year. “We celebrate their lives and legacy and the joy they brought to us. So to all of the members of all of our television families who have passed on,” she said, and then Rob joined her to say, “Those were the days.”
Norman’s All In The Family is considered one of the most incredible series ever, earning multiple Emmys and birthing successful spin-offs like Maude, Archie Bunker’s Place, and The Jeffersons. His family released a statement on his website after his death from natural causes, emphasizing that he “was grateful for everything that brought him to the moment he was in.”
“Am I not the luckiest dude?” Norman reportedly asked often.