Editing An American Family (section)

== The Loud family ==
The popularity of the series, which was viewed by 10 million Americans per week, gave the Louds a form of celebrity. Family members profiled were:

* Bill Loud (1921–2018)<ref>{{cite web |title=Family Announcement |url=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1873733629340662&id=107226672658042 |website=Facebook}}</ref><ref name="GBH">Cf. episode "Going Back Home"</ref><ref name="AAFINTRO">Cf. episode "An American Family: an introduction" narrated by producer Craig Gilbert, January 1, 1973</ref>
* Pat Loud (1926–2021)<ref name="AWOMANSSTORY">Cf. Loud, Pat, ''Pat Loud: A Woman's Story'', 1974</ref><ref name="GBH" /><ref name="AAFINTRO" />
* [[Lance Loud]] (1951–2001)
* Kevin Robert Loud (born 1953)
* Grant Loud (born 1954)
* Delilah Ann Loud (born 1955)
* Michelle Loud (born 1957)

Lance Loud is credited as the first continuing character on television who was openly gay,<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/american/ PBS - "Lance Loud! . An American Family"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416033121/http://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/american/|date=April 16, 2016}}.</ref> and he subsequently became an [[gay icon|icon]] within the [[LGBT]] community.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 4, 2002 |title=Lance Loud |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lance-loud-729879.html |first1=Adrian |last1=Dannatt |url-status=dead |access-date=2008-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323141233/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lance-loud-729879.html |archive-date=March 23, 2009}}</ref> He later became a columnist for the national LGBT news magazine ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]''. Lance, who had been a pen pal of [[Andy Warhol]], himself known for his commentary on celebrity, said the series fulfilled “the middle-class dream that you can become famous for being just who you are.”<ref name="lens"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=McGill |first=Douglas C. |date=1987-02-23 |title=ANDY WARHOL, POP ARTIST, DIES |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/23/obituaries/andy-warhol-pop-artist-dies.html |access-date=2022-11-08 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

One of the more notable moments of the series was when, after 21 years of marriage, Pat asked Bill for a divorce and to leave the house. Pat's saying to her husband, "You know there's a problem"&nbsp;&ndash; with Bill's response, "What's your problem?"&nbsp;&ndash; was chosen as one of the Top 100 Television Moments by ''[[TV Guide]]''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

The series drew intense interest, millions of viewers, and considerable controversy. The family was featured in ''[[Newsweek]]'' on March 12, 1973, in the article "The Broken Family".<ref>{{cite book |last=Ruoff |first=Jeffrey |title=An American Family: A Televised Life |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=0-8166-3561-7 |pages=xviii |no-pp=true}}</ref>

In 2003, PBS broadcast the show ''Lance Loud!: A Death in an American Family,'' which was filmed in 2001. Visiting the same family again at the invitation of Lance before his death,<ref name="pbs-landloud-about">{{cite web |title=About the film |url=https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015233609/http://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/about/ |archive-date=15 October 2008 |access-date=2008-10-23 |publisher=PBS.org}}</ref> the family members participated in the documentary, with the exception of Grant. Lance was 50 years old, had gone through 20 years of addiction to [[Methamphetamine|crystal meth]], and was [[HIV]] positive. He died of liver failure caused by a [[hepatitis C]] and HIV co-infection that year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lance: His life and legacy |url=https://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/lance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201055456/http://www.pbs.org/lanceloud/lance/ |archive-date=1 December 2008 |access-date=2008-10-23 |publisher=PBS.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lueck |first1=Thomas J. |date=29 December 2001 |title=Lance Loud, 50, Part of Family Documentary |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/29/us/lance-loud-50-part-of-family-documentary.html |access-date=1 June 2020}}</ref> The show was billed by PBS as the final episode of ''An American Family''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 50 TV Shows of All Time From ''TV Guide'' |url=http://www.ez-entertainment.net/features/tvguide50.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014001152/http://www.ez-entertainment.net/features/tvguide50.htm |archive-date=14 October 2008 |access-date=2008-10-23 |publisher=EZ-Entertainment.net}}</ref>

Subsequent to the showing of ''A Death in an American Family'', Pat and Bill Loud moved back in together,<ref>{{cite web |last=Jensen |first=Elizabeth |date=2003-01-06 |title=Lance Loud's last testament |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-06-et-jensen6-story.html |access-date=20 March 2011 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=3}}</ref> granting one of Lance's last wishes. They lived very close to three of their four surviving children—Grant, Michelle and Delilah—and kept in close contact with Kevin and his family, who lived in Arizona.<ref>{{cite web |title=America's First Reality TV Show |date=June 25, 2007 |url=http://www.neatorama.com/2007/06/25/americas-first-reality-tv-show/ |access-date=2011-08-26 |publisher=Neatorama}}</ref> In 2012, Pat Loud released a book about her son's life called ''Lance Out Loud''. Bill died in July 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yardley |first1=William |date=27 July 2018 |title=Bill Loud, the Father of TV's 'An American Family,' Is Dead at 97 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/obituaries/bill-loud-dead-american-family.html |access-date=1 June 2020}}</ref> Pat Loud died in her sleep from natural causes on January 10, 2021, at age 94.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yardley |first=William |date=2021-01-11 |title=Pat Loud, Reality Show Matriarch of 'An American Family,' Dies at 94 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/arts/television/pat-loud-dead.html}}</ref>