Lear, Norman (1922—)
Perhaps the most significant of several producers who reshaped American television in the 1970s, Norman Lear brought his particular genius to the situation comedy genre. In...
Read more
While much of television's history is filled with banality, writer/producer Norman Lear (born 1922) is credited with enlarging the scope of the medium. With such groundbreaking television series as Al...
Read more
Critical Essay by Bosley Crowther
[The satire, "Divorce American Style," screenplay by Norman Lear] is not as funny or trenchant as it tries very hard to be. Indeed, it is rather depres...
Read more
Critical Essay by Roger Rosenblatt
Comedy and death are old companions …, not merely in graveyard and funeral jokes, but in substance…. Both are forms of criticism and reality, shatteri...
Read more
Critical Essay by John J. O'connor
Although perhaps only temporarily, the Lear product has become noticeably strained. A good deal of the humor has settled into a monotonous groove of hostilit...
Read more
Critical Essay by Peter Sourian
I accuse Lear of being a closet scholar. Like most creators with the broad touch necessary for quality-cum-success, he seems sure enough of his own originality not to ...
Read more
Critical Essay by John J. O'connor
There is hardly anything new about satirizing talk shows. In some cases, the form almost satirizes itself, and it has long been the butt of comedy routines, ...
Read more
Critical Essay by Harry F. Waters
Alas, "Forever Fernwood" reads funnier than it plays. Norman Lear's syndicated sequel to "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" arrived on T...
Read more
Critical Essay by Michael Novak
[The] fact that Norman Lear's "All That Glitters" didn't strike gold doesn't mean that it didn't have importance for our cult...
Read more
The TV comedy "Ugly Betty" and the film "Pan's Labyrinth" won top honors Saturday at the 22nd annual Imagen Awards."Babel," the critically praised movie that weaves stories set in Mexico and four o...
Read more
College brochures tout Ivy-covered campuses, plush dorms and high-tech fitness centers. But when it comes to getting the attention of students _ and rival institutions _ nothing works as well as a ...
Read more
Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first presidential candidate to call for radio host Don Imus to be fired for making racially and sexually charged comments about the Rutgers women's ba...
Read more
Scores of actors, writers, producers and others from the entertainment industry have contributed to Al Franken's Senate campaign, helping the Minnesota Democrat get off to a strong fundraising star...
Read more
Scores of actors, writers, producers and others from the entertainment industry have contributed to Al Franken's Senate campaign, helping the Minnesota Democrat get off to a strong fundraising star...
Read more
Check your publicist at the boardroom door _ NBC is inviting celebrities to try to wow Donald Trump in the next version of "The Apprentice."And while it would make for a marquee matchup, don't expe...
Read more
Check your publicist at the boardroom door _ NBC is inviting celebrities to try to wow Donald Trump in the next version of "The Apprentice." And while it would make for a marquee matchup, don't exp...
Read more
Today is Friday, July 27, the 208th day of 2007. There are 157 days eft in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On July 27, 1789, President Washington signed a measure establishing the Department ...
Read more
Vibe: You were the fantasy of a lot of men who watched the show and a lot of women wanted to be Thelma. How does that make you feel?BernNadette: I’m very happy that I was chosen. It’s f...
Read more
Entrepreneurs looking to launch an innovative start-up -- and sell it for big bucks -- could learn lessons from Norman Lear, creator of a string of TV hits in the 1970s. Among the lessons?Knock on ...
Read more
Lear, Norman (1922—)
Norman Lear
Critical Essay by Bosley Crowther
'Ugly Betty' wins at 22nd Imagen Awards
