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https://www.vulture.com/article/norman-lear-stories-memories.html?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s1&utm_campaign=vulture

Valerie’s words first….

“He was always a stabilizing force”

The first time I met him, I remember being in awe, even at that young age of 15, knowing that he was something special. I think it was my fourth callback for the show, and I sat right next to him at this big round table. I remember being very comfortable, which is not usual for those situations because I was really uncomfortable any time I had to go and interview for any show. We read it once and he said, “Well, try it again and do this, that, and the other,” and I was so raw and I didn’t know what I was doing. Now granted, I look a lot like his daughter, Maggie, is what he said, and I think that probably inspired him to give me a chance, knowing how green I was. I guess he saw something in me, and I’m glad he did because he changed my life.

There was even a point during the first season where he pulled me aside and he said, “Listen, we want to get you an acting coach to bring you out of your shell a little bit.” I had to cry in one of the last episodes, and crying was very uncomfortable for me on camera. Of course, in my brain, all I heard was, You’re terrible. You’re about to be fired. But he really was loving and wanted to help me. He knew that if I could not be so shy and just be more comfortable doing the work that it would be better for the show and it would, in the long run, make me a better actor. Norman said, “We’re gonna find you somebody to help you with the process of what it’s like to try and get to a place of vulnerability and still feel safe.” He really had faith in me when I never had faith in me.

As crazy and as horrible as Hollywood can be, I was extremely protected in every sense of the word. It was the kindest place to work. I learned so much and I never ever experienced a casting couch later, and I think a lot of that had to do with being taken under Norman’s wing. He was always a stabilizing force, for sure. When we were out in rough water, Norman would come to grab the steering wheel and calm everything down. He had it all under control in a way that was to protect all of us, starting with who we are, as people, not as a commodity. I felt like a real human being who was nurtured and treated with kindness. —Valerie Bertinelli (played Barbara Cooper in 1975’s One Day at a Time)

Now Mackenzie, same article link as above…

“He saw something in me that I certainly didn’t see in myself”

When I went in to meet with Norman for One Day at a Time, I remember going to this big office with this huge oval conference table. I’m 62, so I’m probably older now than Norman was when I met him, which is amazing for me to think about. I was coming right off American Graffiti, and obviously, he knew I had this crazy family. He said, “Mackenzie, America will one day realize this, but I’m gonna tell you this right now: Therapy is the backbone of a healthy family.” I think he was trying to give me some sort of hint, like, you know, “You’re gonna need some.” Certainly, in hindsight, it was an appropriate thing to say.

I remember conversations when we’d all be at the read-through table. We had older men writers — this was 1975 — and they sometimes would write something that they thought was “cool” for a teenager to say. Norman would always say, “Well, Valerie, Mack, if that’s not what a teenager would say, what would you say?” We had that freedom to say those things. There was a lot of give and take but it was always, always a group conversation.

Norman would be there for the first read-through on Monday and then new script pages would come in. They’re different colors — you get pink pages, then blue pages, then you get goldenrod. But midweek, one would come down, and it would be a full script. The cover would be yellow, and in the upper lefthand corner, it would say “Lear Polish,” which meant that Norman himself had taken the script and shined it up. I was always excited when we would get the Lear Polish. And I actually still have — God knows how after my crazy life — all of my scripts from One Day at a Time with my lines marked and “Lear Polish” in the upper lefthand corner.

We always had a network censor at run-through, and Norman fought them tooth and nail. You were allowed to say “jackass” but you couldn’t say “ass,” and Norman just thought that was ridiculous. He advocated for stuff that wasn’t allowed on TV. We were portraying and representing a very underserved and large portion of the American population — the single mom. To this day, all these years later, I have women, and men, come up to me and say, “You were the only show that represented what my family looked like. You made it okay for me to go to school and be part of a divorced family, living with a single mom.”

Norman had a curiosity about what isn’t being done that should be done, what isn’t being represented that should be represented. I don’t think his goal was to piss people off. Well, maybe it was, knowing Norman. But he wanted to shake things up. He wanted to push the envelope. He wanted to bring a voice to communities that weren’t represented as worthy of having a voice.

Over the years, all through the years of my struggles, whenever I would see him at an event, he would grab me by my face, gently, and say, “That punim, look at that punim! I’ve known you since you’re a baby! I love you.” That friendship was a slow growth because I would see him in passing, and sometimes I would be in a stage of recovery and sometimes I wouldn’t. Now, when I see Norman, I feel as though he has a deep respect and trust and admiration for me, as I do for him. It’s more of two grownups interacting. When I was 40, I still felt like a child around him. I don’t feel like a child around Norman anymore. He saw something in me that I certainly didn’t see in myself. He’s just a good man. —Mackenzie Phillips (played Julie Cooper in 1975’s One Day at a Time)

I've been loving the Norman Lear marathon on Antenna TV today. They showed some good ODAAT episodes and I especially liked the Maude episodes. But of all the Norman Lear series, I love The Jeffersons the most.

We always had a network censor at run-through, and Norman fought them tooth and nail. You were allowed to say “jackass” but you couldn’t say “ass,” and Norman just thought that was ridiculous. He advocated for stuff that wasn’t allowed on TV. We were portraying and representing a very underserved and large portion of the American population — the single mom. I'm sure I've heard Ann Romano say "ass."

I'm sure I've heard Ann Romano say "ass."

That does ring a bell, but I’m not placing the episode. If we’re right it means Norman won the battle with the censor.

That does ring a bell, but I’m not placing the episode. If we’re right it means Norman won the battle with the censor.

I'm thinking she called Ed an ass a few times.