Celebrated television producer Norman Lear passed away at 101 on December 5. Although he had stayed highly active to the end of his life, Lear’s family was there for him as the grand show of his life approached its finale and before his passing, they serenaded him by singing sitcom songs.
Lear’s resume, which he’d been building since the ‘40s, included Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and of course All in the Family. It’s this esteemed list of television history that Lear’s family tapped into as they stayed by his side in the hours leading up to his passing, giving him a tender sendoff while celebrating his legacy.
Norman Lear’s family sang his sitcom songs before he passed
Lear was surrounded by family when he died at his Los Angeles home. Dr. Jonathan LaPook, Lear’s son-in-law who serves as chief medical correspondent for CBS News, says that they aimed to keep things upbeat for Lear in his final hours.
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“The family was gathered around the bed, he was very comfortable and resting peacefully, and we did what we knew he would want us to do” LaPook told CBS Mornings on Thursday. “We were singing songs from Les Mis, which he loved, and also some of the songs from his TV shows.”
Of course, that included All in the Family. As they cycled through Lear’s wheelhouse, emotions became harder to contain. So, LaPook admitted, by the time they got to The Jeffersons, LaPook grew tearful, thanks especially to some eerily meaningful lyrics.
Norman Lear’s family wanted to make him as comfortable as possible
“You never know when these moments are going to sneak up on you,” continued LaPook. “I kind of held it together, [but] then we were singing ‘movin’ on up to the East Side’ and I heard myself saying ‘to a deluxe apartment in the sky,’ I just lost it.” The parallels were too great. “Because he’s going to some deluxe apartment in the sky.”
The family prioritized minimizing Lear’s pain and making his final sendoff as pleasant and peaceful for him as possible. LaPook likened it to providing a “soft landing for the plane.”
“We wanted him to have a gentle landing and have no pain,” he explained. “If you were to say to someone in their 40s, ‘How do you want to die?’ [they would probably say,] ‘At age 101, surrounded by loved ones, with them singing to me and laughing and without any pain,’ and that’s exactly what happened. He had this expression: ‘Over and next.’ When something was over, it’s over, and it’s onto ‘next.’”
