Norman Lear: His Life and Times

by Tripp Whetsell

Overview

Beginning in the 1970s, writer and producer Norman Lear forever altered the television landscape with such groundbreaking situation comedies as All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time. For over half a century his body of work boldly tackled race, class, sexuality, politics, and religion—topics previously considered too taboo to be the subject of comedy on the small screen.

Norman Lear: His Life and Times is the unforgettable story of an extraordinary seven-decade career. Veteran author and entertainment journalist Tripp Whetsell offers an intimate portrait of Lear that is the product of years of research and numerous interviews. Whetsell shows how Lear created the gold standard for television comedies, producing shows that were the first to give underrepresented members of society an authentic prime-time voice, while encouraging audiences to confront their own humanity and shortcomings. In the process, he explores one of television’s most transformative periods, detailing Lear’s legacy as one of its chief architects and catalysts.

This affectionate and candid tribute combines show-business history with an illuminating consideration of the inner workings of “the man in the white hat”—a figure who singlehandedly redefined an entire medium by reflecting the world around him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493068401
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Pages:	286
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Tripp Whetsell is a bestselling author, entertainment journalist, show-business historian, and adjunct media studies professor at Emerson College in Boston. His previous books include The Improv: An Oral History of the Comedy Club that Revolutionized Stand-Up. As a journalist, he has covered TV, film, comedy, music, theater, and other aspects of popular culture for more than two decades. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vulture, and Variety, Vanity Fair,The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide, among others. He lives in Manhattan.

Editorial Reviews

Tripp Whetsell’s soup-to-nuts biography of TV legend Norman Lear hits all the right notes in presenting this most remarkable, rags-to-riches life. Well researched and extremely readable, it will appeal to fans of Mr. Lear, lovers of TV sitcoms and comedy of all types. I highly recommend it.

Marc Eliot