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Norman Lear, seated right, in front of Jimmy Kimmel during the “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” special in 2019.
CNN –
An emotional Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to late producer Norman Lear at the start of his ABC show Wednesday night, calling him “one of the most important and impressive people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
Kimmel, who worked with the producer, who died at his home Tuesday at age 101, on the ABC special “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” praised Lear as “the genius who gave us some of the greatest television shows.” characters of all time.” He went on to list many of them, such as “All in the Family” and “Maude,” adding, “It’s an incredible list, and he was an incredible person.” He has the Situational comedy changed in the best way possible.”
Kimmel continued, “Anyone who works in television or even watches television owes him a lot.” He noted, “101 years, and somehow that wasn’t enough.”
After reading an amusing thank you card that Lear had sent him, the host said that Lear didn’t like to say goodbye, preferring to say “To be continued,” and concluded by saying, “To be continued.” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” then followed suit a disclaimer on the screen before the show that mirrored the one CBS showed before the first episode of “All in the Family” in 1971 – uncertain about viewer reaction.
Kimmel appeared alongside Lear in “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” in which actors performed live versions of episodes from Lear’s classic sitcoms, including “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.”
At 98, Lear became the oldest person to ever win or be nominated for an Emmy for producing the special with Kimmel.
Following news of his death, tributes to the producer poured in throughout the day. At the start of their primetime shows Wednesday night, all broadcast networks displayed a memorial card honoring Lear that featured his picture and simply read: “Thank you for making us all a family.”
Separately, Lear’s widow, Lyn Lear, sent a message to the Sentinel Awards, an event honoring television writers whose work has addressed important issues. The awards are presented by Hollywood, Health & Society, which is based at the Norman Lear Center, a research center founded by Lear at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.
Lear was proud of the center, wrote Lyn Lear: “And he wouldn’t have wanted us all to mourn. He wants us to celebrate the important shows you are honoring tonight, and most of all, he wants us to laugh.”
In an interview in 2020, Lear said that despite their groundbreaking aspects, he never found his shows to be “edgy,” noting, “We were just dealing with the problems that existed in our culture.”