Best Selling Books by Norman Lear

The New York Times bestselling memoir from the creator of some of the most iconic television programs ever, including All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. “Charming, candid, and copious . . . There is still a lot of zest, passion, and whimsy in the man who taught Americans to laugh at their failings.” —The New York Times Norman Lear’s iconic television programs—most memorably All in the Family—drew in as many as 120 million viewers each week. These shows dealt with the most serious issues of the day—racism, poverty, abortion—yet still left audiences howling with laughter. But TV is only a fraction of Lear’s tale. The renowned producer came of age during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, staging variety shows for his fellow airmen in addition to flying fifty-two bombing missions. After the war he caught his break as a comedy writer in Hollywood, soon working with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Movies with Frank Sinatra, Dick Van Dyke, and Jason Robards followed. Then came the ’70s and Lear’s legendary string of TV hits. Filled with moving insights and behind-the-scenes stories from the shows that redefined the medium, Even This I Get to Experience is a memoir as touching, funny, and remarkable as any of Lear’s unforgettable creations. "Lear is one of the great storytellers of our time...This book should be required reading for everyone working in Hollywood." —James Patterson “One of the best Hollywood memoirs ever written . . . an absolute treasure.” —Booklist, starred review

Originally produced on television by Tandem Productions, 1972.

All in the Family creator Norman Lear takes fans behind the scenes of the groundbreaking sitcom on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The face of television was changed forever in 1971 with the premiere of All in the Family. The working-class Bunker family of Queens, New York—lovable bigot Archie (Carroll O''Connor), his long-suffering “dingbat” wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), their liberal daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and son-in-law Mike "Meathead" Stivic (Rob Reiner)—instantly became, and half a century later still are, four of the most iconic characters in television. In All in the Family: The Show that Changed Television, Norman Lear shares his take on fifty essential episodes that exemplify why the show remains as funny and relevant as ever. Its boundary-pushing approach to hot-button topics is examined with commentary from co-stars O’ Connor, Stapleton, Reiner, and Struthers, as well as writers, directors, and guest stars from the show. With previously unseen notes from Lear, script pages, production designs, and a foreword by super-fan Jimmy Kimmel, this book is the ultimate companion to the seminal series and a must for fans of Lear’s shows and television comedy. “Norman Lear,” said New Yorker critic Michael Arlen, “has a feel for what people want to see before they know they want to see it.” All in the Family, like all of the Lear shows that followed, was a turning point in television’s handling of taboo subjects such as race relations, feminism, homosexuality, war, religion, gun control, social inequity, and other controversial subjects, all of which remain in the news today.