Norman Lear Shares Favorite Moment from "All in the Family"
by Dan Snierson
4/17/16


If you’ve ever laughed at a TV show from the ’70s, there’s a good chance you have Norman Lear to thank. (At one point, he had nine series on the air.)

Here, the 93-year-old Emmy-winning creator/ producer/legend — who will be honored at the TV Land Icon Awards (Sunday at 9pm ET, in celebration with EW) — recalls a few of his favorite moments from his provocative, socially conscious sitcoms.







“SAMMY’S VISIT” (1972)


There were some great racial lines in the buildup: Archie talking about, "If God had meant us to be together, he’d have put us together," and Sammy says, "Well, you must have told ’em where we were because somebody came and got us."

There was no kiss at all in the script. It was Sammy’s idea. He surprised everyone at rehearsal. The writers and I were blown away…. The audience’s reaction to it was huge. They loved it. There was something so lovely in the reaction.

As much as it was fun, the audience was making a statement: "We can handle this."

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/16/norman-lear-favorite-moments-all-family-jeffersons-good-times

That was an iconic moment in television history.

Oddly enough, what Norman Lear et al. could never understand was people laughed because it was hilarious, not because it was a political statement.