All in the Family actor turned filmmaker and activist opens up about the passing of the TV great he considered to be his “second father” The great Norman Lear died on Dec. 5 at the age of 101. Over his eight-decade career in showbiz, the television wizard developed more than 100 shows, many of which presented a more idealistic vision for America: All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes. Lear’s shows tackled hot-button issues — including honesty, sexuality, misogyny, and abortion with brutal — thrusting important conversations into the cultural zeitgeist, while remaining entertaining and funny.
There will never be another Norman Lear, and on the day of his death, Rolling Stone spoke with Rob Reiner, who famously portrayed Michael “Meathead” Stivic, the progressive son-in-law of Archie Bunker who constantly butted heads with the bigoted patriarch over the aforementioned topics, about Lear’s TV and political legacy. Reiner, an actor, filmmaker and activist responsible for such classics of his own like This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally…, considered Lear to be “a second father,” and spoke glowingly about the TV legend’s political contributions, which included everything from fighting the Nazis in World War II and founding People for the American Way to combating the Christian right’s political influence to taking on Donald Trump.
What was your reaction when you heard the news that Norman Lear had passed?
