Norman Lear ’44, LHD ’68: An Appreciation

When TV legend Norman Lear passed away on December 6 at the age of 101, he was remembered as the man who forever changed television with such socially conscious 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time.

For all of us in the Emerson family, Norman was also a treasured friend who selflessly lent time and support to the College without fail. In 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, he made two Zoom appearances in the class I teach about him, answering questions from students and even singing a pitch-perfect rendition of our school song.

A native of Connecticut, Norman entered as a freshman drama major in the fall of 1940 after winning an American Legion oratory contest with a speech called “The Constitution and Me.” First prize was a four-year scholarship to Emerson.

Though he left midway into his sophomore year to voluntarily enlist in the Army during World War II (where he was also responsible for us being the first college in the country to sell war bonds), Emerson awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1968, and his loyalty and generosity never waned.

At the height of his fame in 1978, Norman personally donated $10,000 and—along with comedians Eddie Brill ’80 and Denis Leary ’79, LHD ’05—helped Emerson create one of the nation’s first-ever college comedy writing departments.

Early speakers in the program included the likes of fellow alumni and classic sitcom veterans Jerry Paris, P ’80, and Harvey Miller ’59 from The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Odd Couple, along with humorist Art Buchwald, P ’78, LHD ’78, and original Saturday Night Live head writer Marilyn Suzanne Miller.

In 1984, he was the keynote speaker at a conference on television and ethics co-sponsored by Emerson and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. And during the 1990s, Norman served on Emerson’s Board of Overseers (now Board of Advisors).

A fervent supporter of our LA program, more recently in 2018, Norman established a scholarship in his name for first-generation college students from underserved and under-represented backgrounds to study and pursue writing careers in television, film, and other genres.

That same year, at the still-spry age of 96, he and his family visited our main campus for the unveiling of a bronze statue in his likeness—donated by longtime friend, Trustee, and fellow sitcom legend Kevin Bright ’76, LHD ’11, who created Friends and In Living Color—that stands proudly in our Boylston Place Alley.

“Of all the times they’ve unveiled statues of me, this one is my favorite,” Norman said during the ceremony, dressed in his trademark white hat. “I’ve never stopped being in love with Emerson College.”

The City of Boston also proclaimed it “Norman Lear Day” and he was feted afterward in the dining center during a reception, complete with a replica of the All in the Family set, the Emerson Choral Society singing the theme songs of his classic shows, and video tributes from Denis Leary and Jay Leno ’73, LHD ’14.

Norman’s enormous footprint can especially be found among the courses taught in our Comedic Arts program, which was founded in 2016 by professor and screenwriter Martie Cook ’82, MFA ’00, who interviewed Norman for her book Write to TV: Out of Your Head and Onto the Screen. Cook—whose credits include Full House and Charles in Charge—also cites Norman for being one of the major reasons why she wanted to become a writer.

“He was an influencer in a big way because his comedy was always about something,” she said. “It was thought-provoking and so unexpectedly funny.”

As for how that translates at Emerson, Cook added: “He’s this beacon of light that shines down on all of us that we need to keep looking up to and never forget.”

And we never will. On behalf of all of us, Norman, thank you!

Tripp Whetsell ’94 is a journalist and the author of four books, including Norman Lear: His Life and Times, which is forthcoming this fall. An affiliated faculty member at Emerson, he created and teaches a course on Norman Lear. Learn more at twprcommunications.com.

Consider making a gift to the Norman Lear Scholarship in Norman’s memory for first-generation college students.