Rob Reiner: Norman Lear Fought People Like Trump His Entire Life
All in the Family actor turned filmmaker and activist opens up about the passing of the TV great he considered to be his “second father”
BY MARLOW STERN
The great
Norman Lear died on Dec. 5 at the age of 101. Over his eight-decade career in showbiz, the television wizard developed more than 100 shows, many of which
presented a more idealistic vision for America:
All in the Family,
Sanford and Son,
Maude,
Good Times,
The Jeffersons,
One Day at a Time,
Diff’rent Strokes. Lear’s shows tackled hot-button issues — including racism, sexuality, misogyny, and abortion with brutal honesty — thrusting important conversations into the cultural zeitgeist, while remaining entertaining and funny.
There will never be another
Norman Lear, and on the day of his death,
Rolling Stone spoke with
Rob Reiner, who famously portrayed Michael “Meathead” Stivic, the progressive son-in-law of
Archie Bunker who constantly butted heads with the bigoted patriarch over the aforementioned topics, about Lear’s TV and political legacy.
Reiner, an actor, filmmaker and activist responsible for such classics of his own like
This Is Spinal Tap,
The Princess Bride, and
When Harry Met Sally…, considered Lear to be ...
‘All in the Family’ actor turned filmmaker Rob Reiner talks to Rolling Stone about Norman Lear, who he considered to be a “second father.”
www.rollingstone.com
