Editing Norman Lear (section)

==Career==
===1950–1959===
After [[World War II]] Lear had a career in [[public relations]].<ref name=WNYC-Lopate-2014 /> The career choice was inspired by his Uncle Jack: "My dad had a brother, Jack, who flipped me a quarter every time he saw me. He was a press agent so I wanted to be a press agent. That's the only role model I had. So all I wanted was to grow up to be a guy who could flip a quarter to a nephew."<ref name=Aish-2001 /> Lear decided to move to California to restart his career in publicity, driving with his toddler daughter across the country.<ref name=WNYC-Lopate-2014 />

His first night in Los Angeles, Lear stumbled upon a production of [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s ''[[Major Barbara]]'' at the 90-seat [[theater-in-the-round]] Circle Theater off Sunset Boulevard. One of the actors in the play was [[Sydney Chaplin (American actor)|Sydney Chaplin]], the son of actors [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Lita Grey]]. Charlie Chaplin, [[Alan Mowbray]], and Dame [[Gladys Cooper]] sat in front of Lear, and after the show was over, Charlie Chaplin performed.<ref name=WNYC-Lopate-2014 />

Lear had a first cousin in Los Angeles, Elaine, who was married to an aspiring comedy writer named [[Ed Simmons (screenwriter)|Ed Simmons]].  Simmons and Lear teamed up to sell home furnishings door-to-door for a company called The Gans Brothers and later sold family photos door-to-door. Throughout the 1950s, Lear and Simmons turned out comedy sketches for television appearances of [[Martin and Lewis]], [[Rowan and Martin]], and others. They frequently wrote for Martin and Lewis when they appeared on the ''Colgate Comedy Hour'', and a 1953 article from ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine stated that Lear and Simmons were guaranteed a record-breaking $52,000 ({{Inflation|US|52000|1953|fmt=eq|r=-4}}) each to write for five additional Martin and Lewis appearances on the ''[[Colgate Comedy Hour]]'' that year.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgoEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Martin+and+Lewis%22+radio+intitle%3ABillboard&pg=PA12-IA1|title=52G to Simmons, Lear to Do Five Martin-Lewis TV Shows |magazine=Billboard|date=October 31, 1953|via=Google Books|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=December 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195112/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgoEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Martin+and+Lewis%22+radio+intitle%3ABillboard&pg=PA12-IA1#v=snippet&q=%22Martin%20and%20Lewis%22%20radio%20intitle%3ABillboard&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2015 interview with ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', Lear said that [[Jerry Lewis]] had hired him and Simmons as writers for Martin and Lewis three weeks before the comedy duo made their first appearance on the Colgate Comedy Hour in 1950.<ref name="Gray-2015">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/features/norman-lear-recalls-early-days-as-tv-comedy-writer-1201629371/|title=Norman Lear Looks Back on Early Days as TV Comedy Writer|first=Tim|last=Gray|date=October 30, 2015|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206002704/https://variety.com/2015/tv/features/norman-lear-recalls-early-days-as-tv-comedy-writer-1201629371/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lear also acknowledged in 1986 that he and Simmons were the main writers for ''[[The Martin and Lewis Show]]'' for three years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.normanlear.com/backstory/interviews/writing-for-early-live-television/|title=Writing for Early Live Television &#124; television, film, political and social activist, philanthropist|work=Norman Lear |access-date=April 27, 2017|archive-date=May 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520050555/http://www.normanlear.com/backstory/interviews/writing-for-early-live-television/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1954, Lear was enlisted as a writer and asked to salvage the new [[CBS]] sitcom starring [[Celeste Holm]], ''[[Honestly, Celeste!]]'', but the program was canceled after eight episodes. During this time he became the producer of [[NBC]]'s short-lived (26 episodes) sitcom ''The Martha Raye Show'', after [[Nat Hiken]] left as the series director. Lear also wrote some of the opening monologs for ''[[The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show]]''<ref name="Gray-2015"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXCjAQAAQBAJ&q=tennessee+ernie+ford+show+norman+lear&pg=PA330|title=100 Entertainers Who Changed America: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries|first=Robert C.|last=Sickels|date=August 8, 2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|via=Google Books|isbn=9781598848311|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=December 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195159/https://books.google.com/books?id=kXCjAQAAQBAJ&q=tennessee+ernie+ford+show+norman+lear&pg=PA330|url-status=live}}</ref> which aired from 1956 to 1961. In 1959, Lear created his first television series, a half-hour western for [[Universal Media Studios|Revue Studios]] called ''[[The Deputy (TV series)|The Deputy]]'', starring [[Henry Fonda]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/alton-evening-telegraph-john-n-jones/131200627/|first=John N.|last=Jones|title=TV digest|date=June 4, 1959|work=Alton (Illinois) Evening Telegraph|access-date=September 4, 2023|page=35|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=September 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904152622/https://www.newspapers.com/article/alton-evening-telegraph-john-n-jones/131200627/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1967–1977===
[[File:Norman Lear standing before bank of camera monitors, 1975.jpg|thumb|left|Lear standing before a bank of camera monitors in 1975]]
Starting out as a comedy writer, then a film director (he wrote and produced the 1967 film ''[[Divorce American Style]]'' and directed the 1971 film ''[[Cold Turkey (1971 film)|Cold Turkey]]'', both starring [[Dick Van Dyke]]), Lear tried to sell a concept for a sitcom about a [[blue-collar]] American family to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. They rejected the show after two pilots were taped: "Justice for All" in 1968<ref name="All In the Family before it was aired">{{cite web |title=Justice For All |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OzG4qnpTvI&t=108s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/5OzG4qnpTvI| archive-date=November 7, 2021 | url-status=live|via=YouTube | date=September 6, 2018 |access-date=September 6, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and "Those Were the Days" in 1969.<ref>{{cite web |title=Those Were The Days |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7QTS8ARMNg&t=145s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/F7QTS8ARMNg| archive-date=November 7, 2021 | url-status=live|via=YouTube | date=October 8, 2018 |access-date=October 8, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After a third pilot was taped, CBS picked up the show, known as ''[[All in the Family]]''. It premiered on January 12, 1971, to disappointing ratings, but it took home several [[Emmy Awards]] that year, including Outstanding Comedy Series. The show did very well in summer reruns,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ONKnx6JA0IC&q=all+in+the+family+1971+summer+reruns&pg=PA29|title=See No Evil|first=Geoffrey|last=Cowan|date=March 28, 1980|publisher=Simon and Schuster|via=Google Books|isbn=9780671254117|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=December 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195156/https://books.google.com/books?id=0ONKnx6JA0IC&q=all+in+the+family+1971+summer+reruns&pg=PA29#v=snippet&q=all%20in%20the%20family%201971%20summer%20reruns&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and it flourished in the 1971–72 season, becoming the top-rated show on TV for the next five years.<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oarWAQAAQBAJ&q=all+in+the+family+nielsen+ratings+five+years+1971-1976&pg=PA45| title=African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings| isbn=9780275995157| last1=Leonard| first1=David J| last2=Guerrero| first2=Lisa| date=April 23, 2013| publisher=Abc-Clio| access-date=October 19, 2020| archive-date=December 6, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195155/https://books.google.com/books?id=oarWAQAAQBAJ&q=all+in+the+family+nielsen+ratings+five+years+1971-1976&pg=PA45| url-status=live}}</ref> After falling from the {{abbr|No.|Number}} 1 spot, ''All in the Family'' still remained in the top ten, with the exception of the [[Top-rated United States television programs of 1976–77|1976-1977 television season]] where it ranked No. 12,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle |date=2007 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present |publisher=Ballantine Books |page=1688 |edition=Ninth |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 }}</ref> and eventually became ''[[Archie Bunker's Place]]''. The show was based loosely on the British sitcom ''[[Till Death Us Do Part]]'', about an irascible working-class [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tory]] and his [[socialist]] son-in-law.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prial |first=Frank J. |author-link=Frank J. Prial |date=May 12, 1983 |title=CBS-TV is Dropping Archie Bunker |language=en-US |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/12/arts/cbs-tv-is-dropping-archie-bunker.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524140239/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/12/arts/cbs-tv-is-dropping-archie-bunker.html |archive-date=May 24, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Lear's second big TV sitcom, ''[[Sanford and Son]]'', was also based on a British sitcom, ''[[Steptoe and Son]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Sanford And Son'' may have copied other shows, but Redd Foxx was an original|url=https://www.avclub.com/sanford-and-son-may-have-copied-other-shows-but-redd-f-1798249550|first=Noel|last=Murray|access-date=September 25, 2021|website=The A.V. Club|date=July 19, 2016|language=en-us|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925030238/https://www.avclub.com/sanford-and-son-may-have-copied-other-shows-but-redd-f-1798249550|url-status=live}}</ref> about a west London junk dealer and his son. Lear changed the setting to the [[Watts, Los Angeles|Watts]] section of Los Angeles and the characters to African Americans, and the [[NBC]] show ''Sanford and Son'' was an instant hit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.emmys.com/news/features/significance-sanford-and-son|title=The Significance of ''Sanford and Son''|last=Deggans|first=Eric|date=February 11, 2022|publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|Television Academy]]|access-date=December 6, 2023|archive-date=July 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724122306/https://www.emmys.com/news/features/significance-sanford-and-son|url-status=live}}</ref> Numerous hit shows followed thereafter, including ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'', ''[[The Jeffersons]]'' (both [[spin-off (media)|spin-offs]] of ''All in the Family''), ''[[One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'', and ''[[Good Times]]'' (which is a spinoff of ''Maude'').<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Tim|date=January 12, 2021|title=How 'All in the Family' Spawned the Most Spinoffs of Any Sitcom|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/spotlight/all-in-the-family-spinoffs-the-jeffersons-good-times-1234878187/|access-date=September 25, 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=January 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118160315/https://variety.com/2021/tv/spotlight/all-in-the-family-spinoffs-the-jeffersons-good-times-1234878187/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Most of these Lear sitcoms share three features: they were shot on [[videotape]] in place of [[film stock|film]], used a live studio audience, and dealt with current social and political issues.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Weinman|first=Jaime|date=September 30, 2008|title=Is It Time For Sitcoms To Go Back to Videotape?|url=https://www.macleans.ca/uncategorized/is-it-time-for-sitcoms-to-go-back-to-videotape/|access-date=September 25, 2021|website=Maclean's|language=en|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925032515/https://www.macleans.ca/uncategorized/is-it-time-for-sitcoms-to-go-back-to-videotape/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Maude'' is generally considered to be based on Lear's wife Frances, which she confirmed, with [[Charlie Hauck]] serving as main producer and writer.<ref name="NYTimes-FrancesObit-1996">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/01/us/frances-lear-a-mercurial-figure-of-the-media-and-a-magazine-founder-dead-at-73.html |url-access=subscription |title=Frances Lear, a Mercurial Figure of the Media and a Magazine Founder, Dead at 73 |first=Enid |last=Nemy |author-link=Enid Nemy |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 1, 1996 |access-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204164803/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/01/us/frances-lear-a-mercurial-figure-of-the-media-and-a-magazine-founder-dead-at-73.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=February 4, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lee|first=Janet W.|date=November 20, 2020|title=Charlie Hauck, Writer-Producer of 'Maude' and 'Frasier,' Dies at 79|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/obituaries-people-news/charlie-hauck-dead-maude-frasier-writer-1234836972/|access-date=September 25, 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925032515/https://variety.com/2020/tv/obituaries-people-news/charlie-hauck-dead-maude-frasier-writer-1234836972/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lear's longtime producing partner was [[Bud Yorkin]], who also produced ''All in the Family'', ''Sanford and Son'', ''[[What's Happening!!]]'', ''Maude'', and ''[[The Jeffersons]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=August 19, 2015|title=Bud Yorkin, Writer and Producer of 'All in the Family,' Dies at 89|language=en-US|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/arts/television/bud-yorkin-writer-and-producer-of-all-in-the-family-dies-at-89.html|access-date=September 25, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925032708/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/arts/television/bud-yorkin-writer-and-producer-of-all-in-the-family-dies-at-89.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Yorkin split with Lear in 1975. He started a production company with writers and producers [[Saul Turteltaub]] and [[Bernie Orenstein]]; however, only two of their shows lasted longer than a year: ''What's Happening!!'' and ''[[Carter Country]]''. The Lear/Yorkin company was known as [[Tandem Productions]] and was founded in 1958. Lear and talent agent [[Jerry Perenchio]] founded [[T.A.T. Communications]] ("T.A.T." stood for the Yiddish phrase ''tuchus affen tisch'', "putting one's ass on the line".<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Miller |first=Taylor Cole |year=2017 |title=Syndicated Queerness: Television Talk Shows, Rerun Syndication, and the Serials of Norman Lear |type=PhD |chapter=Chapter 2: Rewriting Genesis: Queering Genre in Norman Lear's First-Run Syndicated Serials |publisher=University of Wisconsin–Madison}}</ref>) in 1974, which co-existed with Tandem Productions and was often referred to in periodicals as Tandem/T.A.T. The Lear organization was one of the most successful independent TV producers of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/writers/|title=The Writers|last=Banks|first=Miranda|date=March 4, 2015|magazine=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]]|access-date=December 6, 2023|archive-date=August 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816131416/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/writers/|url-status=live}}, excerpted from {{cite book|title=The Writers: A History of American Screenwriters and Their Guild|last=Banks|first=Miranda J.|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|date=January 14, 2015|isbn=9780813571409}}</ref> TAT produced the influential and award-winning 1981 film ''[[The Wave (1981 film)|The Wave]]'' about [[Ron Jones (teacher)|Ron Jones]]' social experiment.<ref>{{cite book|title=Snitch Culture: How Citizens are Turned Into the Eyes and Ears of the State|last=Redden|first=Jim|date=2000|publisher=[[Feral House]]|page=190|isbn=9780922915637}}</ref>

Lear also developed the cult favorite TV series ''[[Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman]]'' (''MH MH'') which was turned down by the networks as "too controversial" and placed it into first run syndication with 128 stations in January 1976. A year later, he added another program into first-run syndication along with ''MH MH'', ''[[All That Glitters (American TV series)|All That Glitters]]''. He planned in 1977 to offer three hours of prime-time Saturday programming directly having stations place his production company in the position of an [[Fourth television network|occasional network]].<ref name="Gray-2015"/><ref name="Nadel">{{cite news |last=Nadel |first=Gerry |date=May 30, 1977 |title=Who Owns Prime Time? The Threat of the 'Occasional' Networks |work=New York |pages=34–35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YeMCAAAAMBAJ&q=%22MetroNet%22%2B%22Metromedia%22&pg=PA35 |access-date=October 4, 2009 |archive-date=December 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195622/https://books.google.com/books?id=YeMCAAAAMBAJ&q=%22MetroNet%22%2B%22Metromedia%22&pg=PA35#v=onepage&q=%22MetroNet%22%2B%22Metromedia%22&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1977, African-American screenwriter [[Eric Monte]] filed a lawsuit accusing [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and [[CBS]] producers Norman Lear, [[Bud Yorkin]], and others of stealing his ideas for ''Good Times'', ''The Jeffersons'', and ''[[What's Happening!!]]'' Monte received a $1-million settlement and a small percentage of the residuals from ''Good Times'' and one percent ownership of the show. Monte, due to his lack of business knowledge and experience as well as legal representation, would not receive royalties for other shows that he created. However, Lear and other Hollywood producers, outraged over the lawsuit, blacklisted Monte and labeled him too difficult to work with.<ref name="npr.com">Dunn, Katia (July 29, 2006), [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5591655/ "Classic TV Producer, Good Times No Longer"], NPR.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907010117/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5591655/ |date=September 7, 2021 }}.</ref>

===1980–1999===
In 1980, Lear founded the organization [[People for the American Way]] for the purpose of counteracting the [[Christian right]] group [[Moral Majority]] which had been founded in 1979.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 25, 1981 |title=Lear TV Ads to Oppose The Moral Majority |language=en-US|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/25/arts/lear-tv-ads-to-oppose-the-moral-majority.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 7, 2024|issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524083526/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/25/arts/lear-tv-ads-to-oppose-the-moral-majority.html}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In the fall of 1981, Lear began a 14-month run as the host of a revival of the classic game show ''[[Quiz Kids]]'' for the CBS Cable Network. In January 1982, Lear and Jerry Perenchio bought [[Avco Embassy Pictures]] from Avco Financial Corporation. In January 1982,  after merging  with company with T.A.T. Communications, the Avco was dropped, and the combined entity  was renamed as Embassy Communications, Inc.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 5, 1982|title=Avco Embassy|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/05/business/avco-embassy.html|access-date=September 25, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925033401/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/05/business/avco-embassy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Embassy Pictures was led by [[Alan Horn]] and Martin Schaeffer, later co-founders of [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] with [[Rob Reiner]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/alan-horn-disney-chairman-1201749971/|title=Disney's Alan Horn Uses Low-Key Approach, Keen Creative Vision to Find Hits of the Future|last=Rainey|first=James|date=April 11, 2016|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=December 6, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220182244/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/alan-horn-disney-chairman-1201749971/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 1982, Lear produced an ABC television special titled ''[[I Love Liberty]]'',  as a counterbalance to groups like the [[Moral Majority]].<ref name=liberty82>{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=John J. |title=TV Weekend; LEAR'S 'I LOVE LIBERTY' LEADS SPECIALS (Published 1982) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/19/arts/tv-weekend-lear-s-i-love-liberty-leads-specials.html?mcubz=3 |website=The New York Times |date=March 19, 1982 |access-date=September 6, 2017 |archive-date=August 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830194334/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/19/arts/tv-weekend-lear-s-i-love-liberty-leads-specials.html?mcubz=3 |url-status=live }}</ref> Among the many guests who appeared on the special was conservative icon and the 1964 U.S. presidential election's Republican nominee [[Barry Goldwater]].<ref name=liberty82 />

On June 18, 1985, Lear and Perenchio sold Embassy Communications to [[Columbia Pictures]] (then owned by [[The Coca-Cola Company]]), which acquired Embassy's film and television division (including Embassy's in-house television productions and the television rights to the Embassy theatrical library) for $485&nbsp;million of shares of The Coca-Cola Company.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://normanlear.com/backstory_press.html |title=Coke Buys Embassy & Tandem |author=Michael Schrage |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 18, 1985 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502052811/http://www.normanlear.com/backstory_press.html |archive-date=May 2, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://normanlear.com/backstory_press_2.html|title=Lear, Perenchio Sell Embassy Properties|author=Al Delugach|date=June 18, 1985|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 25, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518112723/http://www.normanlear.com/backstory_press_2.html|archive-date=May 18, 2013|author2=Kathryn Harris}}</ref> The brand [[Tandem Productions]] was abandoned in 1986 with the cancellation of ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]'', and Embassy ceased to exist as a single entity in late 1986, having been split into different components owned by different entities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ryan|first=Joal|title=Former Child Stars: The Story of America's Least Wanted|location=United Kingdom|publisher=[[ECW Press]]|year=2000|isbn=9781550224283|page=150|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11AdAQAAIAAJ|access-date=June 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622152728/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Former_Child_Stars/11AdAQAAIAAJ|archive-date=June 22, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> Coca-Cola sold the film division to Dino De Laurentiis and the home video arm to Nelson Holdings (led by Barry Spikings).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-16-ca-2810-story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230419052301/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-16-ca-2810-story.html|archive-date=April 19, 2023|title=De Laurentiis Rejoins the Ranks – at Embassy|last=Friendly|first=David T.|date=November 16, 1985|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-06-fi-1406-story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210630052156/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-06-fi-1406-story.html|archive-date=June 30, 2021|title=Coke Will Sell Embassy Unit for $85 Million: Nelson Entertainment Gets Co-Production Deal|last=Harris|first=Kathryn|date=August 6, 1986|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> The TV properties continued under the [[Columbia Pictures Television]] banner.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-14-fi-3719-story.html|title=Columbia TV on a Spending Binge for Talent|last=Lippman|first=John|date=October 14, 1990|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=December 6, 2023|url-access=limited|archive-date=December 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195622/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-14-fi-3719-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lear's [[Act III Communications]] was founded in 1986 and in the following year, [[Thomas B. McGrath]] was named president and chief operating officer of ACT III Communications Inc after previously serving as senior vice president.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Los Angeles County|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-12-fi-6601-story.html|date=December 12, 1987|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419000322/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-12-fi-6601-story.html|archive-date=April 19, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Executive Changes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/14/business/executive-changes-913987.html|date=December 14, 1987|website=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426215224/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/14/business/executive-changes-913987.html|archive-date=April 26, 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 2, 1989, Norman Lear's Act III Communications formed a joint venture with Columbia Pictures Television called ''Act III Television'' to produce television series instead of managing.<ref name="Knoedelseder">{{Cite web|title=Norman Lear, Columbia Form Joint TV Venture|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-02-fi-2616-story.html|date=February 2, 1989|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=William K. Jr.|last=Knoedelseder|author-link=William Knoedelseder|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123021020/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-02-fi-2616-story.html|archive-date=January 23, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Lear Joins With Columbia To Produce TV, Not Manage|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/02/business/lear-joins-with-columbia-to-produce-tv-not-manage.html|date=February 2, 1989|website=[[The New York Times]]|first=Richard W.|last=Stevenson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308122206/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/02/business/lear-joins-with-columbia-to-produce-tv-not-manage.html|archive-date=March 8, 2021|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Act III Communications purchased several business journals, including ''Channels'' magazine that had been founded by [[Les Brown (journalist)|Les Brown]], former ''New York Times'' TV correspondent. ''Channels'' closed in 1990, by which time Act III and Brown published and edited ''Television Business International'' (''TBI'').<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/08/business/channels-magazine-to-publish-final-issue.html|title=Channels Magazine to Publish Final Issue|last=Carmody|first=Dierdre|date=December 8, 1990|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=December 6, 2023|archive-date=March 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331154535/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/08/business/channels-magazine-to-publish-final-issue.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/article/daily-news-channels/136379638/|title=Scrambled Channels|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|page=6|date=December 11, 1990|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=December 6, 2023|archive-date=December 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206195631/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-channels/136379638/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Norman lear 2014.jpg|thumb|Norman Lear was at the [[Texas Book Festival]] in 2014.]]
In 1997, Lear and Jim George produced the [[Kids' WB]] series ''[[Channel Umptee-3]]''. The cartoon was notable for being the first television show to meet the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s then-new educational programming requirements.<ref name="Variety 1997">{{cite news|title=WB's 'Umptee-3' has Norman Lear's signature|url=https://variety.com/1997/tv/news/wb-s-umptee-3-has-norman-lear-s-signature-1116677702/|access-date=May 28, 2011|newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 15, 1997|archive-date=April 20, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420032642/https://variety.com/1997/tv/news/wb-s-umptee-3-has-norman-lear-s-signature-1116677702/}}</ref>

===2000–2023===
In 2003, Lear appeared on ''[[South Park]]'' during the "[[I'm a Little Bit Country]]" episode, providing the voice of [[Benjamin Franklin]]. He also served as a consultant on the episodes "I'm a Little Bit Country" and "[[Cancelled (South Park)|Cancelled]]". He attended a ''South Park'' writers' retreat,<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Dan|last=Snierson|url=https://ew.com/article/2003/03/14/all-familys-creator-joins-south-park/|title=All in the Family's creator joins South Park|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=March 14, 2003|access-date=December 29, 2013|archive-date=November 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107102404/http://www.ew.com/article/2003/03/14/all-familys-creator-joins-south-park|url-status=live}}</ref> with some of his ideas making it onto ''South Park'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1347325/norman-lear-says-theres-nobody-in-our-business-hes-admired-more-than-this-surprising-comedy-duo|title=Norman Lear Says There's 'Nobody In Our Business' He's Admired More Than This Surprising Comedy Duo|first1=Spencer|last1=Lubitz|last2=Trainor|first2=Daniel|publisher=E!|date=September 21, 2022|accessdate=July 23, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723213411/https://www.eonline.com/news/1347325/norman-lear-says-theres-nobody-in-our-business-hes-admired-more-than-this-surprising-comedy-duo|url-status=live}}</ref> and was the officiant at co-creator [[Trey Parker]]'s wedding.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391792/index.htm |title = 'South Park' creators haven't lost their edge |access-date = January 23, 2010|first=Devin |last=Leonard |work = CNN {{!}} Money |date = October 27, 2010 |archive-date = November 7, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131107220939/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391792/index.htm |url-status = live }}</ref> ''South Park'' served as a bond between Lear and his son Benjamin, who was not familiar with his more known work from the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/all-about-norman-lear-kids-8363775|title=Norman Lear's 6 Children: Everything to Know|first=Stephanie|last=Kalai|work=People|date=December 6, 2023|accessdate=January 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-fathers-day-norman-ben-lear-20160610-snap-story.html|title='We're proud of each other':For Norman and his son Ben, the moving picture spans generations|first=Josh|last=Rottenberg|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 16, 2016|accessdate=January 13, 2023}}</ref>

In 2014, Lear published ''Even This I Get to Experience'', a memoir.<ref name="Morris"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/norman-lear/even-this-i-get-to-experience/|title=EVEN THIS I GET TO EXPERIENCE {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|language=en|date= July 26, 2014|access-date=September 25, 2021|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925175522/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/norman-lear/even-this-i-get-to-experience/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lear is spotlighted in the 2016 documentary ''Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/06/opinion/not-dead-yet.html|title=Not Dead Yet|date=July 5, 2016|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 6, 2016|author1-last=Ewing|author1-first=Heidi|author2-last=Grady|author2-first=Rachel|archive-date=July 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706033826/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/06/opinion/not-dead-yet.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, he served as executive producer for ''[[One Day at a Time (2017 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'', the reboot of his 1975–1984 show of the same name that premiered on [[Netflix]] starring [[Justina Machado]] and [[Rita Moreno]] as a Cuban-American family. He hosted a podcast, ''All of the Above with Norman Lear'', since May 1, 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/11/all-of-above-norman-lear-podcasts-sitcom-veteran-amy-poehler-jerrod-carmichael-chatshow-guests|title=All of the Above With Norman Lear: the 94-year-old king of podcasts|last=Verdier|first=Hannah|date=May 11, 2017|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 21, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421221539/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/11/all-of-above-norman-lear-podcasts-sitcom-veteran-amy-poehler-jerrod-carmichael-chatshow-guests|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-of-the-above-with-norman-lear/id1229548410|title=All of the Above with Norman Lear on Apple Podcasts|website=Apple Podcasts|date=July 9, 2018|language=en-us|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421221538/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-of-the-above-with-norman-lear/id1229548410|url-status=live}}</ref> On July 29, 2019, it was announced that Lear had teamed with [[Lin-Manuel Miranda]] and [[Steven Kunes]] to make an [[American Masters]] documentary about Moreno's life, tentatively titled ''[[Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/29/entertainment/rita-moreno-doc-lin-manuel-miranda-norman-lear/index.html|title=Rita Moreno documentary coming from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Norman Lear|first=Whitney|last=Friedlander|date=July 29, 2019|website=CNN Digital|access-date=July 30, 2019|archive-date=July 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730212520/https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/29/entertainment/rita-moreno-doc-lin-manuel-miranda-norman-lear/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, it was announced that Lear and Act III Productions would executive produce a revival of ''[[Who's the Boss?]]''<ref>{{Cite web|title='Who's the Boss' Sequel in the Works at Sony|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/whos-boss-sequel-works-at-sony-1305982|first=Rick|last=Porter|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=August 4, 2020|archive-date=December 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226095323/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/whos-boss-sequel-works-at-sony-1305982|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of his death in 2023, he was overseeing multiple shows in development, including a planned reboot of ''[[Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/norman-lear-tv-making-1235714999/|title = Norman Lear Was Still Making TV a Week Before His Death|last = Goldberg|first = Lesley|date = December 6, 2023|accessdate = December 6, 2023|work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]]|archive-date = December 7, 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231207133200/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/norman-lear-tv-making-1235714999/|url-status = live}}</ref> His last finished project to came out was the Amazon series [[Clean Slate (TV series)|Clean Slate]], which came out in February 2025, and was in the editing process after finishing filming when he passed away.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://deadline.com/2025/04/lean-slate-canceled-laverne-cox-explains-1236371911/|title = 'Clean Slate' Canceled By Prime Video: Laverne Cox & Creators Talk Labor Of Love, Norman Lear & Lessons Learned|last1 = Cox|first1 = Laverne|last2 = Ewen|first2 = Dan|last3 = Wallace|first3 = George|date = April 18, 2025|accessdate = April 19, 2025|work = [[deadline.com]]}}</ref>