Legendary Hollywood producer Norman Lear remembered in Atlanta and beyond

The legendary Hollywood producer who made Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, and Fred Sanford household names has died. Norman Lear was 101.

The sitcoms he created in the early 1970s took on subjects that until then were never discussed in primetime.

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Some say the shows Lear produced made America look in the mirror.

Dr. Brian Bentley of Clark Atlanta University remembers watching “The Jeffersons” when he got home from school.

“African Americans can stay in the high rise,” Bentley said. “African Americans can be successful in business.”

The professor appreciates the work of the legendary writer and producer.

It all started in January of 1971 when Lear made Archie Bunker a household name.

Sitcoms like “All in the Family” confronted the issues you couldn’t talk about in primetime, from feminism to racism.

Tributes to the late television trailblazer have poured in from Hollywood and from Tyler Perry in Atlanta.

Bentley said “All in the Family,” “The Jefferson,” “Sanford and Sons,” “Good Times,” “Maude,” “One Day at a Time,” all stand the test of time.

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But things have changed.

“Going back and looking at a lot of those shows from the ‘70s and comparing to the shows now—and the language is much different. The language used back then, you could not use that language today,” Bentley said.

At one point in the 1970s, five of the top 10 shows on television were produced by Lear.

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