Norman Lear, legendary writer and producer behind TV shows like “All in the Family” and “Maude,” celebrated his 90th birthday at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night. The nonagenarian charmed on the red carpet — hamming it up for the cameras, promising to dance with Kathleen Turner and telling reporters his favorite memories from his career are of “waking up.”
Lear drew plenty of stars from Hollywood and Congress, including “Glee” star Jane Lynch and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Though Lear said dramatic TV is experiencing a “golden age” and praised “South Park” and “Family Guy,” most of the party’s guests complained that television today is less progressive than Lear’s work from the 1970s.
Lynch credited Lear with introducing topics to TV that remain taboo. “He was the first guy to have a toilet flush on TV,” she said. “He dealt with subjects like homosexuality and religious bigotry and racism. Maude had an abortion.”
“In many ways, we’ve gone backward,” Lynch said, echoing a common sentiment on the red carpet that night. “What he did that was groundbreaking back then is still kind of groundbreaking today.”
Lynch is proud that “Glee,” while not an overtly political show, has had an impact on the conversation in America. “[Show creator] Ryan Murphy takes very seriously that kids watch the show, and they watch it to see themselves,” she said. “He put a kid in a wheelchair. He made a kid transgendered this year. There’s the jock, and the cheerleader, and the ambitious singing dancing girl, and the gay kid.”
She added, “It’s made a lot of people angry, and it’s made more people happy.”
As for Bristol Palin using “Glee” to take a swipe at President Obama’s announcement that he supports gay marriage, Lynch rolled her eyes.
“I don’t even consider her,” she said. “I don’t talk about that person.”
