Norman Milton Lear was an American television writer and producer who produced many 1970s sitcoms such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Maude. As a political activist, he founded the advocacy organization People for the American Way in 1981 and has supported First Amendment rights and progressive causes.
Starting out as a comedy writer, then a film director, Lear tried to sell a concept for a sitcom about a blue-collar American family to ABC. They rejected the show after two pilots were taped. After a third pilot was taped, CBS picked up the show, known as All in the Family. Lear's second big TV sitcom was the NBC show Sanford and Son. Numerous hit shows followed thereafter, including Maude, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, and Good Times. What most of the Lear sitcoms had in common was that they were shot on videotape in place of film, used a live studio audience, and dealt with the social and political issues of the day.
