Norman Lear

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Norman Lear Celebrates His 100th Birthday With Advice and a Song

Jeremy Caroll

On Wednesday, Jewish comedy legend Norman Lear turned a century old, and he still has a spring in his step.

The day before his 100th birthday, Lear took to Instagram to reminisce, singing a lick from the classic song “That’s Amore,” recalling how he once worked for Dean Martin, singing the same lick during the Colgate Comedy Hour in the 1950s.

My God, the miracle of being alive with everything at our disposal,” Lear said to his 44,000 followers.

Lear, the award-winning creator of “All In The Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Sanford and Sons,” and a slew of other groundbreaking TV sitcoms, has lived and worked in nearly every era of Hollywood comedy.

He passed the century mark a few years before peers Mel Brooks and Dick Van Dyke (both 96). However, he has had to say farewell to other beloved longtime colleagues, such as Carl Reiner (who died in 2020 at the age of 98), talent manager George Shapiro (who died in May at the age of 91), and Betty White (who died on New Year’s Eve, just before her 100th birthday).

In 2016, Lear received his own documentary and a Kennedy Center, Honor.

Even at the age of 100, he has refused to rest on his laurels. He currently co-hosts “Live In Front Of A Studio Audience,” a TV special series in which celebrities recreate episodes of his old sitcoms, and he also executive-produced the recent remake of his show “One Day At A Time,” as well as the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It” last year. Some of Lear’s other series, including “Good Times” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” is also set for remakes in the near future.

Lear had his bar mitzvah in Connecticut, and he recalls hearing anti-Semitic preacher Father Coughlin on the radio as a child, which fueled his interest in political activism. He has given large sums to progressive causes since the 1970s, and in 1981 he founded an organization to counter the influence of the Christian religious right wing in politics.

Norman Lear (1)

Lear expressed gratitude for every moment of his century when reflecting on it.

“Living in the moment, the moment between past and present, present and past, the hammock between after and next,” he advised. “Keep it safe. “Use it with care.”

“My God, the miracle of being alive with everything at our disposal,” Lear said to his 44,000 followers.

Lear, the award-winning creator of “All In The Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Sanford and Sons,” and a slew of other groundbreaking TV sitcoms, has lived and worked in nearly every era of Hollywood comedy. He passed the century mark a few years before peers Mel Brooks and Dick Van Dyke (both 96). However, he has had to say farewell to other beloved longtime colleagues, such as Carl Reiner (who died in 2020 at the age of 98), talent manager George Shapiro (who died in May at the age of 91), and Betty White (who died on New Year’s Eve, just before her 100th birthday).

Lear received his own documentary in 2016 when he visited San Francisco to accept the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s Freedom of Expression Award, and he has received a Kennedy Center honor as well as nearly every other award under the sun. Even at the age of 100, he has refused to rest on his laurels. He currently co-hosts “Live In Front Of A Studio Audience,” a TV special series in which celebrities recreate episodes of his old sitcoms, and he also executive-produced the recent remake of his show “One Day At A Time,” as well as the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It” last year. Some of Lear’s other series, including “Good Times” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” is also set for remakes in the near future.

Norman Lear (2)

Lear had his bar mitzvah in Connecticut, and he recalls hearing anti-Semitic preacher Father Coughlin on the radio as a child, which fueled his interest in political activism. He has given large sums to progressive causes since the 1970s, and in 1981 he founded an organization to counter the influence of the Christian religious right wing in politics.

Lear expressed gratitude for every moment of his century when reflecting on it.

“Living in the moment, the moment between past and present, present and past, the hammock between after and next,” he advised. “Keep it safe. “Use it with care.”

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